About Snake Handling

Among a few Pentecostal churches, the test of exposing yourself to immediate harm can demonstrate a worshiper's level of faith. The practice is based on a literal reading of New Testament passages from Mark and Luke describing the benefits afforded to a believer in Christ. One of these, from Mark 16, is the ability to safely "take up serpents." While practitioners of these sects also engage in healing of the sick, speaking in tongues and the drinking of strychnine, snake handling is their most widely known rite.

Features

Members of snake handling churches begin their services as many other Pentecostals do, with prayer and singing. A preacher leads the congregation through the reading and interpretation of bible passages. The services can reach an intense spiritual pitch as the believers feel the presence of God descend upon them, an event they call becoming anointed. These meetings may last for a short while or may go on for hours, and they do not always end in snake handling. Only if those present feel sufficiently moved do they pick up the venomous serpents placed in wait near the pulpit. The handlers, men and women both, expect not to be bitten as they pray and speak in tongues with the serpents in their hands or crawling along their bodies, and they usually aren't. A bite signifies a failure or a weakness of faith.

History of

The origins of snake handling go back to the influence of two different men in two different parts of the Appalachians. George Went Hensley, a Church of God preacher, introduced the practice around 1909 in Tennessee. Hensley's first instance of snake handling may have occurred when, as he delivered a sermon on the relevant passage of Mark, some men in attendance emptied a box of rattlesnakes in the pulpit. Hensley held a snake without ill effect, and proceeded to spread the news. A few years later in Alabama, a man named James Miller was led to handle snakes by his own contemplation of scripture. Snake handlers in Alabama and Georgia consider Miller their first antecedent, while those in the Northern Appalachian region see Hensley as their originator.

Geography

The concentration of snake handlers exists in the Appalachian region of the American South. There are two general affiliations of snake handling churches, and each dominates a particular area of the Appalachians. One, called The Church of God with Signs Following (C.G.W.S.F.), which derives from George Went Hensley's experience, is based in the more southern states of Alabama and Georgia. The other, based on James Miller's independent revelation, is called The Church of Lord Jesus with Signs Following (C.L.J.W.S.F), and practices in the northern Appalachian states. Since 2004, there have also been a few snake handlers associated with the C.G.W.S.F. in Alberta, Canada.

Type

Both of the snake handling sects are Pentecostal, and therefore interpret the Bible literally and view baptism as necessary to salvation. Both also impose certain common restrictions on their members, such as no cosmetics, no smoking and no alcohol. There is, however, a significant theological difference between these two churches: C.G.W.S.F. is Trinitarian, while C.L.J.W.S.F. is Unitarian. This has bearing on the manner in which each performs baptisms, but their snake-handling practices are the same.

Risk Factors

The snakes that play a part in the services are generally local pit vipers like copperheads, cottonmouths and rattlesnakes. These species vary in the power of their venom, and there is variation, too, within each species. While the bites of these snakes can be fatal, they rarely are for adults, especially if after the attack the victim takes an antivenin serum. What makes snake handling risky is not simply the possibility of snakebite, but the unwillingness on the part of most handlers to seek medical treatment. To do so would question the spirit of God's ability to protect the anointed from harm. George Went Hensley himself, after being bitten hundreds of times, finally died from snakebite in 1955. Even when not fatal, untreated snakebites are excruciating and can cause disfigurement. The practice of snake handling is also illegal in some states, and may be subject to prosecution.

Misconceptions

Not every member of the snake handling churches is obliged to take up the serpents, and minors are forbidden do so by most. Snake handling is a product of the Appalachian tradition, but is not characteristic of the region, where only a few thousand people practice the faith. And while other Pentecostal sects share some things in common with the snake handlers, none encourage or condone the introduction of snakes into worship.

Resources

• The official site of the Holiness Snake Handlers of Appalachia.
• A 1975 account of a snake handling church in West Virginia.
• An article by Robert Winston that examines snake handing in the wider context of religious belief.