I am from the pentacostal faith but i do not attend church right now. Anyhow i am wondering how many of you or the people you know practice this type of thing in church.
I know how they say if you get bitten that god will not allow you to die if you have the holy ghost,spirit in you.
But i know a preacher that handled a rattlesnake and it bite him and he died, they kept saying he wouldn't but he did 3 days after the snake had bit him.
So what do you think about this?
(I see no point in it)
2007-03-25 16:22:26 · 18 answers · asked by ஐ♥Julian'sMommy♥ஐ 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I think it is ridiculous, and illegal (in some states)
It is like testing God, one day God is gonna say, ok dude, you think you have the spirit but this this and that,, so go ahead and handle the snake and see what happens.
2007-03-25 16:28:11 · answer #1 · answered by ♫O Praise Him♫ 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The Snake handlers (Church of God with Signs Following) believe this. They are mainly Appalachian Pentecostals and independant churches.
The belief is an interpretation of Mark 16:18
"And they shall take up serpents..." and Luke 10:19.
"Behold I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions..."
This belief is approximately 100 years old, and is believed to have originated with George Hensley in the hills of Tennessee.
2007-03-25 23:29:47 · answer #2 · answered by great gig in the sky 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
the scripture they take this from doesn't mean you catch a snake and keep it like a pet,feed it and bathe it.When Paul and his companion's were ship wrecked and washed up on that island they built a fire and a serpent came out of the fire and bit him he shook it off into the fire and the native's knew he would die.But he didn't and that's how he introduced them to Jesus whom he preached.I was in one of those services 27 yr's ago and I saw a woman dance in the Spirit with her eye's closed and the snake hung from her hand like dead.But I saw other's with the snake up with it's tounge flicking.The Word say's not to tempt the Lord and I feel that they do when they handle snake's. The pastor died from a snake bite that wasn't his first a few month's after this.
2007-03-25 23:55:12 · answer #3 · answered by flossie mae 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I'm glad we Independent, Fundamental Baptists don't hold snakes. I'm scared of them. i've heard some churches did this a long time ago and someone said some churches do this in the South, but I don't know of any. Creepy
2007-03-25 23:31:25 · answer #4 · answered by the pink baker 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
I believe that most of the practitioners of snake handling and those that drink the deadly poison strychnine though sincere in their boast of faith,are actually testing and tempting God in reality. They have erred in the taking of scripture out of context and have built a mini-religion around it.
Yet many,I believe ( though in serious error) have moved God in their faith,to be merciful.
2007-03-25 23:36:39 · answer #5 · answered by bonsai bobby 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
No I don't believe that one should practice this. Doesn't it say Thou shall not put the Lord Thy God to the test?
2007-03-26 00:01:56 · answer #6 · answered by Midge 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would like to know how that activity got started in the first place...
If religion is supposed to be about how to live your life...unless they are going to find their values in a snake's mouth, then leave the deadly critters out of it...
2007-03-25 23:31:26 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋
NO, I do not believe in that sort of thing ! It's like playing Russian roulette. It's nuts ! These folks are probably drinking tainted moonshine.
2007-03-25 23:28:46 · answer #8 · answered by Scorpius59 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I do not believe in testing God (e.g., by snake handling).
Cordially,
John
http://www.GodSci.org
2007-03-26 00:10:53 · answer #9 · answered by John 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I do believe that God loves us very much and would never want anything bad happen to us but I think that these people are nuts! Yes God loves us, but I really don't think that he wants us to put our lives in danger to prove how much he really loves us!
2007-03-25 23:30:36 · answer #10 · answered by booellis 5 · 4⤊ 1⤋