Snake handling in Christianity

File:Handling serpents at the Pentecostal Church of God. (Kentucky) by Russell Lee. - NARA - 541335.jpg

Snake handling at the Church of God with Signs Following at Lejunior in Harlan County, Kentucky, 15 September 1946 (NARA). Photo by Russell Lee.

Snake handling, also called serpent handling, is a religious rite observed in a small number of isolated churches, mostly in the United States, usually characterized as rural and part of the Holiness movement. The practice began in the early 20th century in Appalachia and plays only a small part in the church service. Participants are Holiness, or Pentecostals. The beliefs and practices of the movement have been documented in several films and have been the impetus for a number of state laws related to the handling of venomous animals.

History

Early Christianity

Gnosticism

In the 2nd century the Ophites reportedly handled snakes during their services,<ref>Joseph Campbell & M. J. Abadie (1981). The Mythic Image. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, p. 296.</ref> and also worshipped the serpent.<ref>Tuomas Rasimus (2007). "The Serpent in Gnostic and Related Texts". In Painchaud, Louis; Poirier, Paul-Hubert (eds.). L'Évangile selon Thomas et les textes de Nag Hammadi: Colloque International. Presses Université Laval, p. 804.</ref>

Egyptian monasticism

The Sayings of the Desert Fathers detail an Egyptian monk named Paul, who was said to be able to hold snakes in his hand and cut them open. The account attributes this ability to a special grace from God.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

American Christianity

The practice of snake handling first appeared in American Christianity around 1910<ref>Encyclopedia of American Religions gives the year as 1909; the Encyclopedia of Religion in the South gives it as 1913.</ref> and was associated with the ministry of George Went Hensley of Grasshopper Valley in southeastern Tennessee. Hensley's role in initiating the practice has been disputed by academic studies.Template:Sfnp Kimbrough notes that claims of Hensley being the originator of snake handling are usually found to be unsubstantiated by research, and the origins of the observance are unclear.Template:Sfnp Hood and Williamson similarly argue that the beginnings of Pentecostal snake-handling rituals cannot be ascribed to a single person,Template:Sfnp and that the observance arose independently on multiple occasions.Template:Sfnp

However, historians agree that Hensley's advocacy, leadership, and particularly his personal charisma, were important factors in advancing the Pentecostal snake handlingTemplate:Sfnp and spreading it throughout the southeast United States.Template:Sfnp Coverage of Hensley's ministry was influential in prompting various churches to include the practice in their services.Template:Sfnp The media has focused on popular snake handlers such as Hensley, and the deaths of ministers due to snakebite have received particular attention.Template:Sfnp

The Church of God with Signs Following

Hensley was a minister of the Church of God, now known as the Church of God (Cleveland), founded by Richard Spurling and A. J. Tomlinson. In 1922, Hensley resigned from the Church of God,Template:Sfnp citing "trouble in the home";Template:Sfnp his resignation marked the zenith of the practice of snake handling in the denomination, with the Church of God disavowing the practice of snake handling during the 1920s.Template:SfnpTemplate:Efn

In the 1930s, he traveled the Southeast resuming his ministry and promoting the practice.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfnp If believers truly had the Holy Spirit within them, Hensley argued, they should be able to handle rattlesnakes and any number of other venomous serpents. They should also be able to drink poison and suffer no harm whatsoever. Snake handling as a test or demonstration of faith became popular wherever Hensley traveled and preached in the small towns of Tennessee, Kentucky, the Carolinas, Virginia, Ohio, and Indiana. Sister-churches later sprang up throughout the Appalachian region.Template:Sfnp In 1943, Hensley and Ramond Hayes, a young adherent of Hensley's teachings, started a church together in 1945, which they named the "Dolly Pond Church of God with Signs Following".Template:Sfnp Snake-handling churches influenced by Hensley's ministry are broadly known as the Church of God with Signs Following. In July 1955, Hensley died following a snakebite received during a service he was conducting in Altha, Florida.

The Church of Lord Jesus with Signs Following

Serpent-handling in north Alabama and north Georgia originated with James Miller in Sand Mountain, Alabama, at about the same time. Miller apparently developed his belief independently of any knowledge of Hensley's ministry. Whereas Hensley's ministry was trinitarian, the snake-handling churches influenced by Miller's ministry are non-trinitarian, and are broadly known as the Church of Lord Jesus with Signs FollowingTemplate:Citation needed. This version dominates snake-handling churches north of the Appalachians.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Prevalence

Each church body is independent and autonomous, and the denominational name is not consistent in all areas. However they are typically some variation of the name "Church of God" (Trinitarian) or "Church of (Lord) Jesus" (Oneness).

The exact membership is unknown, and has recently been estimated as low as 1,000 and as high as 5,000 with possibly fifty to a hundred congregations. According to the Encyclopedia of American Religions, churches "can be found from central Florida to West Virginia and as far west as Columbus, Ohio." The snake-handling sect of beliefs and practices go as far as to cross the border into Western Canada in 2004 to Lethbridge and Edmonton, Alberta.Template:Citation needed

Most religious snake handlers are still found in the Appalachian Mountains and other parts of the southeastern United States, especially in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. In 2001, about 40 small churches practiced snake handling, most of them considered to be Holiness, Pentecostals, or Charismatics. In 2004, there were four snake-handling congregations in the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, Canada.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Ralph Hood, professor of social psychology and the psychology of religion at the University of Tennessee, who has studied the snake handling movement, indicated in 2003 that the practice is "currently at a fairly low ebb of popularity".<ref name="ng">Template:Cite news</ref> A 2013 article by NPR gave a figure of "about 125" churches where snakes are handled, but also indicated that "snake handlers are notoriously private".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Common doctrines

Biblical foundation and "signs following"

Practitioners believe serpent handling dates to antiquity and quote the Gospel of Mark (chapter 16) and the Gospel of Luke to support the practice: Template:Blockquote

Churches that practice snake handling and drinking poison as a demonstration of the strength of their faith during worship services frequently describe themselves with the phrase "with sign following"; this is based on a literal interpretation of the following biblical passage which they cite for biblical validation: Template:Blockquote

These passages are part of the longer ending of Mark which many biblical scholars regard as a later addition to the manuscript tradition and it is noted as such in many modern translations of the Bible, such as the New International Version.<ref>Template:Bibleverse</ref> However, the longer ending is part of the received text and the canonical status of these passages is rarely disputed.

Another passage from the New Testament used to support snake handlers' beliefs is Template:Bibleverse, which relates that Paul was bitten by a venomous viper and suffered no harm: Template:Blockquote

Only snake-handling churches interpret these passages as a call to handle serpents, while others dispute these interpretations.<ref name="cgg" />Template:Better source needed

Practices

As in the early days, worshipers are still encouraged to lay hands on the sick, speak in tongues, provide testimony of miracles, and occasionally consume poisons such as strychnine.<ref name= Covington>Template:Citation</ref> Worship services usually include singing, praying, speaking in tongues, and preaching. The front of the church, behind the pulpit, is the designated area for handling snakes. Rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, and copperheads (venomous snakes native to North America) are the most common, but even cobras have been used. During the service, believers may approach the front and pick up the snakes, usually raising them into the air and sometimes allowing the snakes to slither on their bodies. Handling the snakes is not compulsory for those attending services. Some believers will also engage in drinking poison (most commonly strychnine) at this time.

Although individual incidents may actually be understood in a variety of ways, those who die from snakebites are never criticized for lack of adequate faith; it is believed that it was simply the deceased's time to die.<ref name=Duin>Template:Cite news</ref> Bitten believers usually do not seek medical help, but look to God for their healing.Template:Citation needed They fully believe that adherents need to handle the snakes as a demonstration of their having the Holy Spirit within. Darlene Summerford, when asked how it felt to handle venomous serpents, replied, "It's just knowing you got power over them snakes".<ref name=Covington/>Template:Rp And, if they get bitten by the snake, then they lack the true Spirit.<ref name=Covington/>Template:Rp Moreover, if they are bitten, then the congregation prays over them.<ref name=Covington/> If they die, then God intended for that to happen.<ref name=Duin/><ref name=Covington/>

Legal issues

Legality

All Appalachian states except West Virginia outlawed the snake-handling ritual when it first emerged. The states of Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee have passed laws against the use of venomous snakes or other reptiles that endangers the lives of others without a permit.

The Kentucky law specifically mentions religious services; in Kentucky snake handling is a misdemeanor and punishable by a $50 to $100 fine.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Snake handling is legal in the state of West Virginia, as the current state constitution does not allow any law to impede upon nor promote a religious practice.<ref name="Bastress">Template:Cite book</ref>

Snake handling was made a felony punishable by death under Georgia law in 1941, following the death of a seven-year-old from a rattlesnake bite. However, the punishment was so severe that juries would refuse to convict, and the law was repealed in 1968.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The American Civil Liberties Union has defended the religious freedom of snake handlers against various attempts to have the practice banned.Template:Sfnp

Manslaughter and murder

In 1992, Glenn Summerford, a serpent-handling preacher, was convicted of attempted murder of his wife with a rattlesnake, by forcing her to be bitten on two occasions, at their home.<ref name=Covington/>Template:Rp<ref name="hm">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="history of snake handling">Template:Cite web</ref> During the trial, some members of the congregation sided with Glenn Summerford, and others with his wife, Darlene.<ref name=Covington/>Template:Rp Each Summerford accused the other of infidelity, and "backsliding" from their faith by drinking alcohol.<ref name=Covington/>Template:Rp Dennis Covington, a journalist who covered the Summerford trial<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> discusses his first-hand, investigative experiences at a snake-handling church in Appalachia, in his book, Salvation on Sand Mountain.<ref name=Covington/>Template:Rp

Possession and transportation of venomous snakes

In July 2008, ten people were arrested and 125 venomous snakes were confiscated as part of an undercover sting operation titled "Twice Shy". Pastor Gregory James Coots of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus' Name (FGTJN) in Middlesboro, Kentucky, was arrested and 74 snakes seized from his home as part of the sting.<ref name="alford">Template:Cite news</ref>

Jamie Coots (son of Gregory Coots) was cited in 2013 for illegal possession and transportation of venomous snakes when three rattlesnakes and two copperheads were discovered in his vehicle during a vehicle check in Knoxville, Tennessee.<ref name=knox>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Author missing</ref> Later in 2013, Coots published an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal making an argument for U.S. Constitutional protection regarding religious freedom, especially freedom to practice the unique variety of religion found in snake-handling churches.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Coots died on 15 February 2014 from a snakebite.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Author missing</ref>

Andrew Hamblin, who appeared alongside Jamie Coots in Snake Salvation, was cited for having dangerous wildlife in 2014, but a grand jury declined to indict him.<ref name="hamblin">Template:Cite web</ref>

Risks

The handling of venomous snakes has significant risks. Ralph Hood observes, "If you go to any serpent-handling church, you'll see people with atrophied hands, and missing fingers. All the serpent-handling families have suffered such things".<ref name="ng"/> Jamie Coots, a pastor who subsequently died from a snakebite, said, "Handlers get bitten all the time, and every few years someone dies".<ref name="npr">Template:Cite news</ref>

Various figures for the total number of deaths from snakebite during religious services have been proposed:

• "over 100 documented deaths" (2003) by Ralph Hood.<ref name="ng"/>
• "around 120" (2005) by Robert Winston.<ref name="guardian">Template:Cite web</ref>
• "about 100 deaths" (2013) by Julia Duin, a journalist who has covered snake handling churches and is writing a book on the subject.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• "91 documented snake bite deaths" (2015) by Paul Williamson, professor of psychology at Henderson State University and co-author of books with Ralph Hood.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• "105 cases that were found in literature."(2015) by Amy Waters.<ref>Template:Cite thesisTemplate:Page needed</ref>

Another source indicates that 35 people died between 1936 and 1973.<ref name="cgg">Template:Cite web</ref>

Hood also notes that the practice does not present a danger to observers. There is no documented case of a non-handling member being bitten by a serpent handled by another believer.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Media coverage

File:Holy Ghost People still.jpg

Snake handling in the Holy Ghost People documentary

A number of films and television programs have been made about religious snake handling.

• Holy Ghost People is a 1967 documentary by Peter Adair. It is about the service of a snake handling Pentecostal community in Scrabble Creek, West Virginia, United States. This documentary has entered the public domain and is available at the Internet Archive.
• Heaven Come Down is a 2006 television documentary film about some unusual worship practices of some Pentecostal Christians in Appalachia, including snake handling.
• Snake Salvation is a 2013 series produced by the National Geographic Channel, comprising 16 episodes in a reality television format.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The show featured two modern snake-handling pastors and their congregations. The show's focus was on Jamie Coots, who subsequently died of a snakebite. The other featured pastor was Andrew Hamblin, pastor of the Tabernacle Church of God in LaFollette, Tennessee. Hamblin, a protégé of Coots, was worshiping at his mentor's church alongside Coots when the fatal snake bite occurred in February 2014.<ref name="kentucky.com">Template:Cite web</ref>
• Them That Follow is a Sundance Film Nominee about a small Church and community that practices this religion. The film stars Walton Goggins.
• Alabama Snake is a 2020 HBO documentary which focuses on the 1991 attempted murder of Darlene Summerford by her husband, snake handling pastor Glenn Summerford.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Known snake-handling churches

Alabama

• Old Rock House Holiness Church, Section (sometimes "Old" is omitted or "Rock House" written as a single word)<ref name="hm"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="cgg" />

Georgia

• Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, Kingston<ref name="evans">Template:Cite news</ref>
• New River Holiness Church, Enigma<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Wades Chapel, Cartersville<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Indiana

• Highway Holiness Church of God, Fort Wayne (sometimes written as "Hi-Way")<ref name="hamblin"/><ref name="nyt">Template:Cite webTemplate:Author missing</ref>

Kentucky

• Church of Jesus Christ, Baxter<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Crockett Saylor Pentecostal Church, Crockett<ref name="ky"/>
• East London Holiness Church, London<ref name="long">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Author missing</ref>
• Free Pentecostal House of Prayer, Gray<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name, Middlesboro<ref name=knox/>
• Mossie Simpson Pentecostal Church, Jenson<ref name="brock">Template:Cite web</ref>

North Carolina

• Unnamed church, Marshall<ref name="cnn">Template:Cite news</ref>

South Carolina

• Holiness Church of God in Jesus Name, Greenville<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Tennessee

• Apostolic Church of God of the Lord Jesus, Greeneville<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
• Cobb Creek Church of God, Thomasville<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Edwina Church of God in Jesus Name, Del Rio<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Holiness Church of God in Jesus Name, Carson Springs<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• House of Prayer in Jesus Name, Morristown<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Tabernacle Church of God, LaFollette<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Virginia

• Arthurs Chapel, Rose Hill<ref name="Google News">Template:Cite web</ref>

West Virginia

• Church of the Lord Jesus, Jolo<ref name="duin">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• House of the Lord Jesus, Matoaka<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• House of the Lord Jesus, Squire<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Lord Jesus Temple, Mile Branch<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable deaths

• The first report of a death from a serpent bite occurred in 1922 at the Church of God Evangel.<ref name="history of snake handling"/>
• In 1955, George Went Hensley, the founder of modern snake handling in the Appalachian Mountains, died after being bitten by a rattlesnake during a service in Altha, Florida.<ref name="guardian"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• In 1961, Columbia Chafin Hagerman died after being bitten by a timber rattlesnake during a service at the Church of the Lord Jesus, Jolo, West Virginia.<ref name="duin"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• In 1967, Jean Saylor, wife of a snake-handling preacher, died after being bitten by a rattlesnake in Bell County, Kentucky.<ref name="ky">Template:Cite web</ref>
• In 1982, Rev John Holbrook died after being bitten by a rattlesnake during a service in Oceana, WV.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="BDT"/><ref name="Mathews">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="holbrook">Template:Cite web</ref>
• In 1983, Mack Ray Wolford died after being bitten by a timber rattlesnake during a service at the Lord Jesus Temple in Mile Branch, near Iaeger, West Virginia.<ref name="BDT">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Author missing</ref><ref name="holbrook"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="duin2">Template:Cite news</ref>
• In 1995, Melinda Brown of Parrottsville, Tennessee, died after being bitten by a timber rattlesnake during a service at the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name in Middlesboro, Kentucky.<ref name="alford"/><ref name="cgg"/><ref name="cnn"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="bbc">Template:Cite web</ref>
• In 1995, Kale Saylor (husband of Jean), a Pentecostal preacher, died after being bitten by a rattlesnake during a service at Crockett Saylor Pentecostal Church in Crockett, Kentucky.<ref name="ky"/>
• In 1997, Daril Colins died after being bitten by a snake during a service in Bell County, Kentucky.<ref name="ky"/>
• In 1998, John Wayne "Punkin" Brown (husband of Melinda), a snake-handling evangelist, died after being bitten by a timber rattlesnake during a service at the Rock House Holiness Church in rural northeastern Alabama.<ref name="cgg"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• In 2004, Dwayne Long, a Pentecostal pastor, died after being bitten by a rattlesnake during a service in Rose Hill, Lee County, Virginia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Google News"/>
• In 2006, Linda Long died after being bitten by a timber rattlesnake during a service at East London Holiness Church, London, Kentucky.<ref name="long"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• In 2012, Mark Randall "Mack" Wolford (son of Mack), a Pentecostal pastor, died after being bitten by a timber rattlesnake while officiating at an outdoor service at Panther Wildlife Management Area, West Virginia.<ref name="duin2"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• In 2014, Jamie Coots died after being bitten by a timber rattlesnake during a service at the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name in Middlesboro, Kentucky.<ref name="kentucky.com"/><ref name="bbc"/> Coots starred in the TV series Snake Salvation and his death was widely reported.<ref>A google search reveals numerous reports.</ref>
• In 2015, John Brock died after being bitten by a rattlesnake during a service at Mossie Simpson Pentecostal Church in Jenson, Kentucky.<ref name="brock"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In popular culture

• In the 1992 film Guncrazy, Billy Drago plays a small-town preacher who utilizes live snakes in his sermons.Template:Cn
• In 2013, during the fourth season of FX's Justified, actor Joseph Mazzello played Preacher Billy,<ref name="yahoo.com">Template:Cite web</ref> a fearless snake handler, who hosted tent revivals in Harlan County, Kentucky.<ref name="yahoo.com"/>
• Gospel singer Wendy Bagwell's song "Here Come the Rattlesnakes" describes his Gospel band, Wendy Bagwell and the Sunliters, performing in a small, remote Kentucky church that practiced rattlesnake handling.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref>
• In the third episode of the fourth season of The Simpsons, "Homer the Heretic", Homer invites bartender Moe Szyslak to join his religion, to which Moe replies: "Sorry, Homer. I was born a snake handler, and I'll die a snake handler." whilst revealing hands covered in bites, bruises and adhesive bandages.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• In the ninth episode of the seventh season of The X Files, "Signs and Wonders ," Scully and Mulder investigate the death of a young man who used to be a member of a serpent-handling church.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• In the fifth episode of the third season of The Righteous Gemstones Peter Montgomery is shown using this practice in the church where he preaches.Template:Cn

See also

• Serpent symbolism

Bibliography

Books Template:Refbegin

• Template:Cite book
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• Dennis Covington: Salvation on Sand Mountain: Snake Handling and Salvation in Southern Appalachia: New York: Penguin: 1996.
• Fred Brown and Jeanne MacDonald: The Serpent Handlers: Three Families and Their Faith: Winston-Salem: J.F.Blair: 2000.
• Weston La Barre: They shall take up serpents: The psychology of the Southern Snake Handling Cult: University of Minnesota Press: 1962.
• Jim Morrow and Ralph Hood: Handling Serpents: Pastor Jimmy Morrow's Narrative History of his Appalachian Jesus' Name Tradition: Macon: Mercer University Press: 2005.
• Pond, Lauren. 2017. Test of Faith: Signs, Serpents, Salvation. Duke University Press.

Articles Template:Refbegin

• Template:Cite journal
• Stephen Kane: "Ritual Possession in a Southern Appalachian Religious Sect" The Journal of American Folklore: 27:348 (October–December 1974): 293–302.
• Paul Williamson and Ralph Hood Jr: "Differential Maintenance and Growth of Religious Organisations Based on High-Cost Behaviours: Serpent Handling with the Church of God" Review of Religious Research: 46:2 (December 2004): 150–168.
• Paul W. Williamson and Howard R. Pollo: "The Phenomenology of Religious Serpent Handling: A Rationale and Thematic Study of Extemporaneous Sermons" Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion: 38:2 (June 1999): 203–218.

External links

• The Washington Post photo gallery
• University of Virginia article on serpent handlers
• Vice Magazine interview with Andrew Hamblin
• Taking Up Serpents – by Andrea Perkins
• Chattanooga Times Free Press article on snake handlers
• MA thesis on Appalachian snake handling
• Ralph W. Hood and W. Paul Williamson Holiness Churches of Appalachia Recordings and Interviews