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IdjitG U T
There are two ways to be fooled, one is to believe what isn't true, the other is to refuse to believe that which is true.
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There are lots of things in the bible not to be taken literal, like being a follower of the christos makes you good with snakes,....no sir I think not!Comment
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I'll give him credit for sincerity, in that he refused medical attention.- GingerComment
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The Great Pursuit - He wuz serpentized
It's like the plot from a Tom Sharpe book...
All the best
DaveComment
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Isn't the snake-handling based on an interpolated passage in Mark that isn't known until the Vulgate translation? and at any rate, it doesn't exactly say "Go ye and pick up snakes, and we'll show those unbelievers!" It's something more like "If you happen upon an unfortunate situation with a snake, have faith in the Lord's ability not to let you die." The first interpretation is in diect contradiction with the bit in (IIRC) Matthew about not asking for signs, back when the satan was tempting Jesus.
Besides, since Christians believe that the snake in the garden of Eden was the satan, isn't it possible to read the passage in Mark as meaning the Lord saying "If you ever have to tangle with the satan, don't worry: I've got your back"?
I would love to see bite stats of snake-handling Christians vs. trained herpetologists, who, whatever their faith, rely on their knowledge of snake behavior, and their own skill, to avoid being bitten. (When they do get bitten, they seek medical help, but that's not my point.)Comment
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Sincerity nothing; I'll give him a Darwin Award nomination.Originally posted by Ginger View PostComment
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It reminds me a little bit of that Australian fellow (wasn't he called "the Crockodile Hunter" or something like that who was killed by a stingray about six or seven years back.
Also, it reminds me of a long forgotten tragedy of the 1930s. The notorious "Parson of Stewkey" was trying to raise some money by lion taming, when he was mauled to death by a lion about 1936.
JeffComment
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I think that the vast majority of those who Darwinize themselves never for a second even remotely suspect that their plan isn't going to succeed brilliantly.Originally posted by RivkahChaya View Post- GingerComment
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No one told the snake.Comment
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I realize it's because a lot of you are British, but...
You do realize this happens all the time right? I think it boils down to every other month or so someone dies in snake related religious ritual? It's not usually the pastor, since you do actually build up a tolerance. But yeah. All the time. I was surprised that someone wrote an article on this. Not that it happened.
Of course I live in the tri-state snake handling mecca...
*To the point that snake handling actually died out for a 15 year period until children got old enough to start practicing it again at the urging of their mothers.Last edited by Errata; 03-02-2014, 10:34 PM.The early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.Comment
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Yeah. It's actually illegal in Kentucky, it just doesn't get enforced often, and in the rare event it does, it's something like a parking violation. If people force their underage children to handle snakes, they can get into trouble, but that's about it. And the police have to witness it, or the children have to be complaining witnesses. You can bet no one in the congregation will testify.
Congregations that practice this think someone who is bitten and dies didn't have "true faith," whatever the hell that means, and don't have a lot of sympathy for the person. It's shocking to me. How much truer could your faith have been if you held the snake?Comment
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What if the snake is an atheist?Comment
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Devout croc comes a cropper :
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I think snake handling is fairly ridiculous but please let's not bring Steve Irwin into this. I really liked that guy- in addition to being a devoted conservationist who worked with dangerous animals because he truly loved them, he was also just an all around good guy without a negative bone in his body. But he knew the risks, and I always thought "Something is gonna get that guy some day." Never dreamed it would happen the way it did. I assumed it would be something with big teeth.Originally posted by Mayerling View Post
Incidentally, it's my understanding that the location of his grave is unknown. I remember him talking about his animals like they were equal to people, including his favorite croc at his zoo even though he admitted that he knew the croc wanted nothing more than to eat him. You don't suppose he might have included the croc in his will and...?
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