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Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA
Pastor Mack Wolford handles a timber rattlesnake during a service at the Church of the Lord Jesus in Jolo, W.Va., on Sept. 3.
West Virginia preacher Mark Randall "Mack" Wolford, who believed Christians should handle snakes to test their faith, died after a rattlesnake bit him over the weekend.
Wolford was bitten on the thigh about 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon, but he didn't come to the hospital until 10:30 p.m., a nursing supervisor at Bluefield Regional Medical Center told the Charleston Daily Mail. The incident occurred during an outdoor service at Panther State Forest, about 80 miles west of Bluefield in southern West Virginia, the paper said.
Wolford had turned 44 on Saturday. He had seen his father die of a snakebite when he was teenager, the Daily Mail reported.
The Washington Post Magazine had profiled Wolford in a story in November about the snake-handling faith. The Post said adherents cite Mark 16:17-18: “And these signs will follow those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Snake-handling is legal in West Virginia, and Wolford was trying to keep it alive there and in neighboring states where it is not, the Post reported.
The Daily Mail reported that Wolford was bitten Sunday by a yellow timber rattlesnake -- named Sheba -- that he had often handled.
Wolford's sister told the Post that during the service he passed the snake to another church member and his mother, then laid it on the ground. "He sat down next to the snake, and it bit him on the thigh," the sister said, according to the Post.
The Post said Wolford was taken to a relative's house in Bluefield to recover, as he had from previous bites, but his condition worsened.
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Leave a Comment:
'He had seen his father die of a snakebite when he was teenager, the Daily Mail reported.'
Apparently stupidity IS hereditary. The world will not miss this guy.
Just keep thinnin the herd, start with the stupid ones first!
Doctor Jim59
Agreed. Didn't he know that god hates to be upstaged? He's proved it often enough.....
Instead of focusing on the part of Mark 16:17-18 that talks about taking up serpents, why not start laying hands on the sick and healing them? That seems a lot more productive. Or maybe snakes are just more fun, and one can often get away with it (as opposed to "healing" someone with terminal cancer -- that absurdity is likely to be exposed very quickly).
This was not the first time he was bitten. He should have fed the snake a good meal and milked it before playing God
As always these types have their head up their @#$
Like they say...Live by the snake, die by the snake.
Stupid is as stupid does.
Just plain stupid.
Uh? Not sure why this what to say? To each his own I guess....RIP
Handling dangerous animals, drinking strychnine, etc. are all feats that fly in the face of common sense.
If you believe in God, then you most likely believe he (she?) also gave us a sense of self-preservation. I choose to believe in God, and I further choose to believe that God helps those--and protects those--who help and protect themselves.
Playing with venomous snakes without proper training probably isn't covered in our warranty.
Still, this is a sad event, Darwin Award jokes notwithstanding.
If there's any consolation here, it's perhaps that the publicity will save others by finally driving home the fact that prayer won't always save you from folly.
He saw his father die as a teenager. This must have been traumatic for him - as it is for any child that loses a parent. He was probably suffering from the psychological phenomenon of "undoing" where people try to repeat the situations they were severely traumatized by as children in the hope that they can then "undo" the trauma. Unfortunately it doesn't work and more people end up being traumatized. If he had any children, then they have been traumatized.
Stupid is as stupid does.
..And they claim there are no jobs in America?
I think a job just opened up?
Perhaps we can teach the Taliban about handling timber rattlesnakes?
Ill be happy to send them a few with Instructions..........
Apparently this snake...oh yes, a poisonus RATTLESNAKE had not read his Bible. Yes siree, that snake is a SINNER. Disobeyed God and bit the preacher. Preacher showed him....yeah, he sure did. Sadly, it reminds me of Steve Irwin. The animals don't watch your shows nor go to your Church and sure don't believe in your God. They bite, sting, maul, claw. That's what they do when threatened.
Another misguided interpretation of the Bible. At least in this case he is the one who payed the price.
Should be on the next list of winners of the Darwin Award. Remove these serious dumbasses from the gene pool.
yep, them snakes can sure tell a phony, ya betcha. by the way, Jesus admonished the disciples to not test God's promises on earth, but rely on them ffor eternity in heaven.
and now a word from our sponsor: it's called the Sinful Nature for a reason. that's why the only way out is Jesus; mankind can't clean up its own act.
Snake handling is a very interesting bit of right-wing fundamentalist Christian doctrine. Every time a person touches a snake and is not bitten or is bitten and recovers without medical aid, this is supposedly the work of God. But if a person is bitten and dies, as this man does, it is the work of Satan or an irrelevant accident.
But snake handlers know well what they are doing. They make sure the snakes are fed beforehand so they do not bite from hunger. They keep the snakes in a cooler with ice to make them slow and sluggish. They often remove the fang sacs from rattlers to make them non-poisonout. They mix in large non-poisonous snakes, such as pine snakes, which bear a resemblence to a copperhead. And until the moment of handling they keep the cages covered which disorients them when they are taken out and handled.
Um, one word comes quickly to mind ....
.... "Darwin."
PS. Comedian Ron White may be wrong. Apparently you CAN "fix stupid."
Maybe GOD sent the snake a message!
Jesus responded, "The Scriptures also say, 'You must not test the LORD your God.'"
dadoftim,
I was just about to write the same thing. LMAO
Just more proof that Ron White is right when he says:
Rattlesnakes do bite their prey. But they would never and could never attempt to kill and eat even a very small person.
He got bitten because the snake felt threatened, or was in a bad mood, or because it was "God's will". In any event, if he had not waited 8 hours before seeking medical treatment, he might have survived.
But I'm still sorry for the man and his family.
I'm not one bit sorry for him. Anybody that intentionally puts himself in a dangerous situation like that deserves to be dead.
It was stated previously that this man would not be missed, no matter how stupid he was I am sure his family will miss him. Now if they would read all the Bible and not just what they want it says in Luke 4:12 "Do not tempt the Lord thy God".
The greatest threat to the human race is religious fanaticism. Religious fanatics reject science, progress and intellectualism. Listening to Rick Santorum during the republican primaries gave me a better perspective on the true dangers of that fundamentalist perspective. We need to keep people like this away from the control of our government. You can bet the farm that preachers like this idiot preach political as well as religious doctrine. A real threat to the future of our country. Well one LESS threat at least.
makememad: yes. Especially since he didn't even seek medical treatment.
Steve in WA-2586156
Instead of focusing on the part of Mark 16:17-18 that talks about taking up serpents, why not start laying hands on the sick and healing them? That seems a lot more productive. Or maybe snakes are just more fun, and one can often get away with it (as opposed to "healing" someone with terminal cancer -- that absurdity is likely to be exposed very quickly).
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I do believe that you are spot on with this observation. I've often suspected this myself.
I wish more folks would test their faith this way....
To Test His Faith. He's a jaywalker. You jaywalk across a busy road often enough, the law of averages run out and you will be hit by a car.
Is he the reincarnation of Steve Irwin? F with things until they finally kill you. The real story is that now he is finding out whether there really is a promised land and he is back together with Pops.
It appears to be as risky and foolish as someone having sex without a condom. No one here would be as equally STUPID as a snake handler, would they?
The trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed. Can't remember who said that.
It was said by C.S. Lewis, in his Narnia book "The Magician's Nephew."
It was said by C.S. Lewis, in "The Magician's Nephew."
"oh yea i saw my dad die from a snake when i was a kid so im gonna go ahead and do the same thing" what a dumbass
So...did we taxpayers get to subsidize this nutjob's church, too? Probably.
Wow! You've ever looked at these guy's family tree? They have NO branches! Stupid as _____fill in your blank.
chris749391...or whatever obviously you know nothing of snakes if you think a pine is similar to a copperhead. Please just refrain from talking snakes all together. Of course the way you started your post about right wing religion shows you have a bias already and I wouldn't expect you to get it anyway. BTW- Not religious or right wing. Just a little common sense and 20+ years working with and keeping snakes. On another note, snakes are not poisonous. It is venom. If they were poisonous you couldn't eat em.
CHRIS79391- Snake handling is a very interesting bit of right-wing fundamentalist Christian doctrine. Every time a person touches a snake and is not bitten or is bitten and recovers without medical aid, this is supposedly the work of God. But if a person is bitten and dies, as this man does, it is the work of Satan or an irrelevant accident.
But snake handlers know well what they are doing. They make sure the snakes are fed beforehand so they do not bite from hunger. They keep the snakes in a cooler with ice to make them slow and sluggish. They often remove the fang sacs from rattlers to make them non-poisonout. They mix in large non-poisonous snakes, such as pine snakes, which bear a resemblence to a copperhead. And until the moment of handling they keep the cages covered which disorients them when they are taken out and handled.
On another note, how would feeding them help prevent bites from feeding responses or hunger? Unless it's someone with rats for hands. Snakes don't eat people. The statement made about feeding them to reduce risk of envenomation is more proof Chris has no idea what he is talking about. Is that a common around here?
I'd say he sent the Preacher a message.
Ahh ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ... x a LOT!
Since most christians are basically ignorant of biblical history, people like this man and his fellow worshippers have no idea that every biblical historian will tell you that those verses they cling to were not original but added much much later and today are considered completely bogus. But hey, most christians really don't care if what they believe is true anyway so long as it makes them feel warm and cozy and sometimes dead. To a believer, facts and what is actually true has little or no meaning, they just go by whatever their clergy tells them. Their god forbids thinking for yourself and using reason or actually digging to find out if what you've been told is actually true and backed up by reasonable evidence.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
This ended exactly as it should. Sure, I feel bad when people die unexpectedly. . . . But not this time.
West Virginia preacher Mark Randall "Mack" Wolford, who believed Christians should handle snakes to test their faith, died after a rattlesnake bit him over the weekend.
The snake was tired of old the bad rap that has gotten all these years. Adam and Eve kept on blaming the snake for eating the "forbidden fruit" All that the snake wanted, was to be left alone.(SARCASM)
Oh Well...Poetic justice for keep on bothering it.
I guess his faith was tested and was found to be lacking.
Personally, I think that poor snake just could not sit, lie, through another boring sermon comparing him to a demon. Think about how many other people handled that same snake that day and it chose the preacher to bite. Hmmmmm. Maybe snakes aren't so deaf after all!
yes sir i say he took up the snake, and then lost his faith. As a comedian once said, If the Lord God commanded me to take up the serpent i would. But he didnt so i aint.
Al-750574 - You could be right. However, more likely than not, this was just a random result of "being in the right place at the right time."
I am not a Bible scholar. However, I am not aware of anything that mentions that Jesus Christ handled rattlesnakes. From what I have read about King James, he would have been very afraid of rattlesnakes.
By the way, it should be required reading of all Christians - The History of Scotland, and in particular the information about King James, the famous Bible editor. It will be rather eye-opening, if not stunning.
For anyone to seriously believe that "handling rattlesnakes" proves you are on God's side of the fence, is just plain STUPID.
Huh, jostling and jarring a venomous animal angers it so that it feels the urge to bite... I'll have to write that down in "The Book of Obvious Facts" I'm writing. You'd be surprised how often people miss the complicated ones like this.
How ironic; he proved Darwin was right.
Maybe God sent the snake a message..... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! I tried not to laugh, but damn man.... Way Too Fing Funny.....
Live by the Sword, die by the Sword, errrr Snake.
Interesting, if you die worshipping a mythical god, you're obviously doing it wrong. So, wheres that healing power he preached about............................
Ladies and Gentlemen, I now present the 2012 winner of the Darwin Award!
I think that preacher had a stupid streak i don't think he just fell out of a stupid tree i think he fell out of the whole stupid forest .My dad always taught us kids ,when we were growing up 2 leave all poisonous snakes alone and respect them by staying out of their way .It's sad 2c how many ppl just can't respect a wild animal that should have been left alone in the first place.
One less idiot to make West Virginians look like a bunch of moronic hillbillies. It's really hard to feel sorry for these people. Those snakes aren't theirs to grope and abuse in the first place. Sensible West Virginians know better than to handle venomous snakes for any reason.
...And The Lord Thy God filled the snake with hate, and destroyed the false preacher...
My condolences to his family and friends.
The guy should have paid less attention to Mark and more to Corinthians
Also he cant win a Darwin, he has offspring I would assume.
Or how about Matthew 4:5-7, where Satan quotes the passage from Isaiah that states God would protect Jesus from all harm and then dares him to jump off the roof of the temple. Jesus responded by quoting the passage that warned against putting God to a test. Ones faith in God is not proven by trying Him at every opportunity. It is evidenced by living righteously.
Well, maybe you're right about the Darwin, moltke5104, but the story could still get into "1000 Ways to Die".
I have no religious belief but had quite a lot of Biblical training, and along with "Do not put the Lord thy God to the test" coming to my mind immediately, isn't the serpent in Genesis the bearer of temptation? People? Wouldn't the verse mentioning "handling serpents" therefore mean handling temptation and resisting the urge to aggrandize oneself, like this showoff did? Just my opinion.
What an idiot, there was no reason he couldn't have gone to a hospital and gotten anti venom and lived. Did he have some stupid faith that God would keep him alive? LOL That is the problem with God, he doesn't exist to save all those morons.
I feel bad for his family, they have suffered a loss...a preventable loss, but a loss nonetheless.
Yeah, he's stupid alright. P.T. Barnum stupid.
The reason he didn't go to the hospital is because it would tarnish the ruse he had in place with his parishoners. These people are paying to see this guy handling snakes. He was just filling the demand, and cashing in nicely on a weekly basis (in an all-cash business).
Going to the hospital kills the ruse. Plus, he had been bitten several times before and toughed it out. I'm sure he thought he could tough it out again. Gotta keep the ruse going in order to keep the gravy train running.
No. He probably had faith that his immunity had built a tolerance to snake bites, since he had been bitten so many times before.
This guy wasn't an idiot. He was a risk taker like Evel Knievel. I'm sure it paid him nicely, in the poorest area in the country. Now, he and P.T. Barnum are in heaven together, swapping "sucker born every minute" stories.
"Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God".
Show Biz is tough. If he'd just been a carnival geek biting the heads of chickens he'd still be alive now.
I could say some things here, but I will be polite. Rattlesnakes bite. They are poisonous. You get bitten and you don't get help and you die. Your father died when you were a teen from the same preventable cause. Did you expect a different outcome? I will just shake my head and not say the rest of what comes to mind here about the way they test their faith and what it says that he died the same way his father did.
If they want to test their faith let them go over to Iran
with a bible and start preaching…..
lmao...you have of course noticed the lack of faith among the faithful when it comes to this nations wars...
Wow; what a deal. Yes, these things go on in Appalachia. It's a cultural phenomenon, deeply ingrained in the actions of folks in this region. NOW, if only we could get the entire Congress in Washington, DC to convert to this religion. The only religion that takes place there is the worship of money and power. It is no coincidence that of 20 counties with the highest median incomes; 10 suburbs that ring the DC metro area are among them. (Nationwide)
rather than belabour the point regarding the utter stupidity of handling rattlesnakes, i too, noticed the NON-coincidence regarding the amazing fact about the 10 suburbs that ring the DC metro area being among those 20 counties with the highest median incomes. i also noted that there was only one county west of the mississippi, as well as almost every one of those 20 counties are within an extraordinarily short, and for the most part, easy daily commute to DC. It actually did not suprise me, it only reinforced my absolute conviction that those in congress are utterly and completely out of touch with their constituents. Many of them may have begun with the best intentions, but the power and adoration that soon follow is far more addictive than any narcotic ever created. I apologize for getting away from the initial subject.
FYI everyone -
Poison vs Venom
The terms poison and venom are often used interchangeably, but they actually have very different meanings. It is the delivery method that distinguishes one from the other.
Poison is absorbed or ingested; a poisonous animal can only deliver toxic chemicals if another animal touches or eats it.
Venom, on the other hand, is always injected. Every venomous animal has a mechanism to inject toxins directly into another animal. Stab with tails. Slash with spines. Pierce with fangs. Spike with spurs. Shoot with harpoons. Chew with teeth.
For example, frogs are usually poisonous while snakes are usually venomous.
One thing that confuses me is there is the quote from the Book of Luke about not testing God and yet doesn't Jesus say something like "pray twice and it will happen" deal-i-o??? Isn't that a contradiction??
Do you think the preacher may have fared better by praying to God that he never gets bitten by a venomous snake, instead of picking one up to play with it? I think that Luke and Jesus were both correct without contradiction.
As when humans adopt a fetish the brain becomes "wired" and it is more powerful than a drug. Mix a dangerous fetish like this with religion, what a surmountable combination that another "leader" will take his place.
One thing that confuses me is there is the quote from the Book of Luke about not testing God and yet doesn't Jesus say something like "pray twice and it will happen" deal-i-o??? Isn't that a contradiction??
Whaaat!! A contradiction in the bible??? You gotta be kidding!
Oh good grief. I promise we're not all crazy lunatics. So ridiculous.
I'd love to know what this preacher thought about Darwin's teachings. Any guesses?
He was a preacher, I doubt he thought much about Darwin
He honored Darwin with his last act.
I don't feel sorry for this guy , his family , maybe. Sounds like he comes from a long line of idiots.
But anybody stupid enough to try these STUNTS deserves what happens. If he has offspring and they also get bit , well , those are the consequences of just having some VERY stupid parental units.
And people think snakes are useless !!!! (sarcasm)
If he has kids I hope they go into another line of work. You can't keep running that play till you get it right!
Darwin not withstanding….at least he believed in something…..
Wow; what a deal. Yes, these things go on in Appalachia. It's a cultural phenomenon, deeply ingrained in the actions of folks in this region. NOW, if only we could get the entire Congress in Washington, DC to convert to this religion. The only religion that takes place there is the worship of money and power. It is no coincidence that of 20 counties with the highest median incomes; 10 suburbs that ring the DC metro area are among them. (Nationwide)
Wanna bet? If they do, they will eventually run out of players.
No different fromthe behavior of most teenagers. Hollywood even made 3 successful movies on the same kind of behavior. See "Jackass" movies.
As far as I know, Charles Darwin was not a teacher and taught no subject. He was a very observant man with a brilliant mind and was the discoverer of the process by which species diversify over time by natural selection. He spent decades going over the evidence and eventually wrote On the Origin of Species (not the origin of life as many accuse him of doing). In his book he carefully layed out his years of research and results of his experiments. He was not alone in this discovery but was accompanied by Alfred Russell Wallace who also had made the same discovery independently and wrote to Darwin about it. What started out as an hypothesis by Darwin became a scientific Theory of Evolution because of the huge proponderence of evidence which could not be falsified by others. Over time, other scientists have expanded and confirmed this Theory to the point we can call it fact now. Darwin was a little off on a very few things for which he simply did not have modern technology at his disposal for, but his work was extremely thorough otherwise. Only willful ignorance can doubt Evolution in light of what has been proven to be beyond doubt.
Maybe if he'd held the snake properly, it wouldn't have gotten mad enough to bite him?????
Hope the snake's OK.
Another conservative, christian, republican bites the dust. Maybe we can get John Boehner, Mitt Romney, Eric Cantor, Rush Limbaugh et al. to take it up.
China Teacher, Why be a bigot? Is it OK to be a bigot as long as those you feel a false sense of superiority over don't agree with you? Is that how it works? Enlighten me....
Is it OK to wish people dead as long as they do not agree with your core beliefs?
It's so simple!! You don't have to expend the effort think critically and understand opposing viewpoints or put any effort into understanding anything outside your little bubble at all. You have given me the secret to an easier life....THANK YOU!
@China teacher......and another liberal shows their arse by bringing politics into the discussion w/o merit. Did I miss the part of the article that mentioned politics?
That's right....according to China Teacher, every conservative is; a radical Christian, a Racist, and a war monger. Did I forget anything china teacher?
Life sure is simple when EVERYONE can so easily be categorized.
scomata and raider sorry you don't recognize a little sarcasm when you see it.
My condolences to the family. Wow all for a myth.
I don't know how we could send any condolences. When you do dangerous things, expect dangerous outcomes. The family will comfort themselves in the most upmost stupidity stating that their god took him home. Maybe the remaing family and flock will follow in his footsteps and remove that ignorance from the voting population.
It's called out of respect. At least Athiests such as myself would do the same.
What do you expect from folks who beleive in stone-aged fairytales? Logical thinking? Naw, lets pick up a snake, dance around and "talk" in tounges.
Lucky for me, the Flying Spaghetti Monster doesn't "test" his follower's faith and doesn't make anyone do stupid and dangerous things in His Noodly Name!
Why do so many who believe in nothing despise those who believe
in something…if their belief helps them through the day and does not hurt
others…I would not care if they believe in a rock!
It is impossible to believe in "nothing" for believing in nothing constitutes a belief.
I think you answered your own question. A whole lot less anti-religion would be on these boards if our laws were not being manipulated by religion in a way that is detrimental to women, minorities, gay people, etc.
mbtw you haven't seen the Gahan Wilson cartoon "Is Nothing Sacred?".
Anybody care to guess the words that came out of his mouth when he got bit? My guess is god D — — N it!
Mac-White, Most of the hurt in the world (hurting others, killing others, etc etc) come from what "others" beliefs are. It's pretty rareto say that ones belief doesn't or hasn't hurt anyone. This guys belief killed himself, and his Father before him!
The problem being that their religious beliefs DO hurt others. Perhaps you haven't noticed the religious rights influence on the abortion debate, the gay marriage question, support for the illegal jewish settlements in palestine, the destruction of the south american cultures by the catholics, the priest pedophile scandal among others.
If only they all played with rattle snakes
lol :D
..all good comments ppl. i love read stories like this
Wait...you love reading stories where someone has died? explain.
I...it's just that...oh what the hell...ya just can't fix stupid.
Sure there's a fix. It's generally referred to as "death".
Well, I don't know much about this guy, but I'm not ready to call him stupid yet. To me, he's a modern day P.T. Barnum. This guy knows there's a sucker born every minute, and he figured out a way to get those "suckers" to give him their hard earned money. He lives in the poorest area of the country, yet without knowing for sure, I bet he lived more comfortably than his neighbors.
This guy was a pro with these snakes. Allegedly, each time you are bitten by a poisonous snake, your immunity learns how to fight the toxin and you become a little more immune to the poison (allegedly). This guy had been bitten many times before. He probably thought he could tough it out, as he had done many times before. If you go to the hospital, you tarnish the ruse you've created for the people who are handing over their hard earned money every week. He didn't go to the hospital because he knew it might reduce the weekly gravy train.
Snake handler or snake oil salesman? In this case, one in the same. It's okay to call him dead, but don't call him stupid. He probably worked half as hard and earned 10 times as much as his neighbors. It was quite a ruse, until it caught up with him.....
Sorry but it should have that dumbass Worley not Wolford. Although the world hasn't lost a bright star, it lost a guy with balls (and a serious bite).
Gee, I guess his faith wasn't strong enough, eh? <sarcasm>
Fanaticism about ANYTHING will cause you harm, this is just a religious extremism example..
I'm sure the true nuts, er, I mean true beleivers won't say his faith wasn't strong enough, rather, that he was "being called home" (or whatever pretend saying they use these days for being DEAD).
EXACTLY (on both comments!)!!! Oh, the irony!!!
well I am a "true believer" and I just think he was an idiot.
I am a believer, but I practice Luke 4:12... Do not tempt the Lord thy God.
The Force was not strong with this one.
I'm sorry, but I just can't stop laughin' so hard ROFLMAO Maybe Worley and the entire congregation at Westboro will follow this idiots example. We can only wish lol
If he has a son, I hope that he is at least smarter than his Dad and Grandfather. I don't get these folks who take parts of the bible so literally. It would be funny if it was not so sad.
Indigo - I almost fell out of my chair laughing !!!! Thanks
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...what a freaking tool!!
lolololololololololololol
LOL.... i was starting to feel bad for LAUGHING so hard at this..... but never Mind!!
And I thought the hangover from drinking snakebites was bad.
A Forest Gump quote comes to mind: "Stupid is as stupid does"
Was is bullets that jumped up and bit ya in the buttocks? Nope, it was a big ole snake Bubba. No all you can eat ice cream fer you......
Seven2Seven, I am laughing at your post because it makes no fricken sense. Are you from the area of snake handlers?
Weallhave, It is a play from Forest Gump but twisted like me, I have watch it too many times. Just rolling with Gregor..........
As much as I am against the current hate spewed by fundamentalist preachers, I am very sorry for his family and friends. They believe deeply in what they do. Sadly, they don't believe in what science tells them. To his family and friends, I am truly sorry for your loss. Please, please give up handling poisonous snakes. Only grief and injury comes from this activity.
There are a couple of preachers out in Kansas who need to take up this line of worship.
Reminds me of the story about an old woman who finds a rattlesnake in the wood that has been caught in a bear trap. Takes it home, warms it by the fireplace, feeds it and tends to its wounds after which the snake bites her. She asks how the snake could do that after her having saved its live and it says,"I'm really sorry, but I am a snake you know."
Sighhhh...this only proves, again, that God has a wicked sense of humor!
Oh, it was God's will--his stupidity was not a factor. Whatever happens it's always God's will! sarcasm intended!
Forrest Gump was a rocket scientist compared to this guy. He also had the perfect line for father and son...stupid is as stupid does...
This is in the Bible after all...if you believe the Bible is inerrant you should have no fear of serpents nor should belting out of a bottle of Drano hurt you either. You just gotta have enough faith, right?
The Adam and Eve "story" is also in the bible. It in fact "opens" with the creation where the world was created in six days (really?), and then moves on to God Created one man Adam, then one woman, Eve from his rib (really?) then Adam eats fruit and blames Eve (instead of taking responsibility for his own actions) wham bam, they have two sons. Then one killed the other, so now there is Adam, Eve and Cain. They kick him out of the wonderful garden. So now it is the two of them and their murderer son, the only people in the world. Sooooo How did those three "grow" into all of us (given that incest is a sin and there is no documentation of any other children)? Ummm..
I once had an argument about this with my Holy" sister, her response was that she was going to "Pray that I stop questioning God". lol
Ha! I've had a lot of people offer to pray for me... Been 40+ years and it still hasn't worked... lol
Allmill2 - I asked the same question in 7th grade and the nun beat the holy crap outta me !!!
She said - how dare I and something to the effect that it was ok at that time ( lie much? ) And that was all.
It was the start of my "seperation" from the bible.
KMC, I had a similar experience in 7th grade -- my teacher (a beast of a nun) called me a brazen woman for questioning god -- I had to ask my Mom what that meant and she was also quite pi$$ed off at that nun. Was quite happy when I left for public school the next school year.
I think my issues started when the nuns at my school in second grade took away my copy of Ovid's Metamorphoses (I found it in an old box of my Dad's college books) and called it blasphemy. (For those who don't know or haven't read it, it's about Greek and Roman mythology and how it contributed to the deification of Julius Caesar.)
I'll admit that, being only in second grade at the time, I read it more for the bit about people being turned into animals and flowers and trees by capricious gods than I did for the sociopolitical statements of the time period, but I still couldn't see why the nuns took it away from me when Dad had said I could read it. Same with Pliny the Elder's Naturalis Historia, though I didn't like this one as much, it was still important as Pliny the elder was the classical version of Charles Darwin--using scientific exploration to explain the natural world, and besides, Dad told me I could read it and he'd discuss it with me then next time he was home on leave.
My later decision to leave the Catholic church and Christianity had little to do with literature and everything to do with unchristian attitudes displayed by Christians around me, but the earliest roots of my dissatisfaction with the Christian faith started then.
Old Muslim saying; "Do not stand in a place of danger and pray for a miracle."
LOL Gregor was thinking the samer thing!
Not quite the way to promote his cause...time for this backwoods practice to be outlawed!
Either that or give it a reality show
Oh gods NO don't give Hollywood any ideas!
Wow. I was thinking that obviously his faith was not strong enough as well. I do feel sorry for his friends and family. But I guess he's just the latest Darwin Award winner.
IDIOT!!!!
I have a new verse I'd like to submit to be added to the bible. "Verily, verily I say unto thee. If thou shalt see a poisonous snake before thee, don't be a dumb-ass and pick it up. Leave it alone. For I say unto thee, if it bites you, you will probably die."
Alibaster. That was tooooo funny.lol
I believe it is said somewhere --- He who lives by the snake, dies by the snake.
Yeah, it was said in comment 1.5
[booming voice from above] "Dude, I was just messin' with ya."