The Church of God with Signs Following is the name applied to Pentecostal holiness churches that engage in the practice of snake handling and drinking poison in their religious worship services, based on Mark 16:17-18. The Pentecostal movement within Protestant Christianity places special emphasis on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. ... Holiness is the state of being holy, that is, set apart for the worship or service of God or gods. ... Snake handling is a religious ritual in a small number of Christian churches in the U.S., usually characterized as rural and Pentecostal. ... The Gospel of Mark is traditionally the second New Testament Gospel, ascribed to Mark the Evangelist. ...

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. - Mark 16:17-18, King James Bible.

The King James Version of the Bible, or Authorised Version, was first published in 1611, has had a profound impact on English literature. ...

History

The practice of snake-handling first appeared in American Christianity around 1910¹ associated with the ministry of George W. Hensley of Grasshopper Valley in southeastern Tennessee. Hensley was a minister of the Church of God of Richard Spurling-Ambrose J. Tomlinson origin. In the 1920s, the Church of God repudiated the practice of snake-handling, and Hensley and his followers formed a separate body. 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. Snake Handling eventually crossed the borders into Canada into the states of Alberta and British Columbia. In 2004, a handful of Canadians also got a "revelation from God" about snake-handling as a 'correct' doctrine. Official language(s) English Capital Nashville Largest city Memphis Area  Ranked 36th  - Total 42,169 sq mi (109,247 km²)  - Width 120 miles (195 km)  - Length 440 miles (710 km)  - % water 2. ... The Church of God (Cleveland) is a Protestant Christian denomination whose headquarters are in Cleveland, Tennessee. ... The 1920s was a decade sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties, usually applied to America. ... Official language(s) English Capital Montgomery Largest city Birmingham Area  Ranked 30th  - Total 52,419 sq mi (135,765 km²)  - Width 190 miles (306 km)  - Length 330 miles (531 km)  - % water 3. ... DeKalb County is a county of the State of Alabama. ...

Worship

The practice usually consists of a worship service with singing, praying, speaking in tongues and preaching. The front of the meetinghouse, behind the pulpit, is the designated area for handling snakes. Rattlesnakes, cottonmouths, and copperheads are the most common, but even cobras have been used. As the service crescendoes, those who feel "anointed" approach the front and begin to pick up the snakes, usually raising them into the air and sometimes allowing the snakes to crawl on their bodies. The snakes are considered incarnations of demons, and handling the snakes demonstrates one's power over them. Members are not required to handle the snakes. Some "believers" will also engage in drinking poison (most commonly strychnine) at this time. Glossolalia (from the Greek, γλώσσα (glossa), tongue and λαλώ (lalô), to speak) comprises the utterance of semantically meaningless syllables. ...

Over sixty cases of death as the result of snakebites in religious worship services have been documented in the United States. If a handler is bitten, it is generally interpreted as a lack of faith or failure to follow the leadership of the Spirit. But individual incidents may actually be understood in a variety of ways. Bitten believers usually do not seek medical help, but look to the Lord for their healing. Beginning in 1936, six southeastern states outlawed snake-handling. George Hensley died in Florida in 1955 from a poisonous snakebite. 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Independent researcher Deborah McCauley discovered that serpent-handling churches are not one uniform body, a fact that has previously lacked sufficient recognition. They fall into at least two distinct groups: oneness or Jesus-only (Nontrinitarian) churches and Trinitarian churches. The groups located in central Appalachia tend to be Oneness, while the churches located in southern Appalachia tend to be Trinitarian. Nontrinitarianism or (the Roman Catholic term) Antitrinitarianism, is the doctrine that rejects the Trinitarian doctrine that God subsists as three distinct persons in the single substance of the Holy Trinity. ... Trinitarianism is the Christian doctrine that God, although one being, exists in three distinct persons (hypostases) known collectively as the Holy Trinity. ...

In other areas of belief, the Church of God with Signs Following holds doctrines and practices similar to related Church of God and oneness bodies. They maintain a strict teaching of "holiness", practice speaking in "tongues", "divine healing", fire baptism, and footwashing. They also stress Romans 16:16 - "Salute another with an Holy Kiss." Baptism in early Christian art. ...

Number of adherents

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 goes as far as to cross the border into Western Canada in 2004 to Lethbridge and Edmonton, Alberta. Each church body is independent and autonomous, and the denominational name is not consistent in all areas, although it is almost always some variation of the name "Church o' God" (Trinitarian) or "Church o' Jesus" (Non-Trinitarian). Official language(s) English Capital Charleston Largest city Charleston Area  Ranked 41st  - Total 24,244 sq mi (62,809 km²)  - Width 130 miles (210 km)  - Length 240 miles (385 km)  - % water 0. ... Nickname: The Arch City The Discovery City Location in the state of Ohio Coordinates: Country United States State Ohio Counties Franklin, Delaware, and Fairfield Mayor Michael B. Coleman (D) Area    - City 550. ... Lethbridge is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. ... Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta, situated in the north central region of the province, an area with some of the most fertile farm land on the prairies. ...

The distinctive practice of these churches is variously known as serpent-handling, snake-handling, and taking up serpents. Many people consider snake-handling to be a part of uneducated folk religion. Folk religion consists of beliefs, superstitions and cultural practices transmitted from generation to generation. ...

Legality

The practice of handling snakes has been made illegal in a number of states. In Tennessee, it is illegal to display any venomous reptile in a manner that endangers anyone. Alabama has a similar statute. In Kentucky, it is illegal to display any reptile at a religious ceremony. Prosecutions, however, are rare. A U.S. state is any one of the 50 states which have membership of the federation known as the United States of America (USA or U.S.). The separate state governments and the U.S. federal government share sovereignty. ... Official language(s) English Capital Nashville Largest city Memphis Area  Ranked 36th  - Total 42,169 sq mi (109,247 km²)  - Width 120 miles (195 km)  - Length 440 miles (710 km)  - % water 2. ... Official language(s) English Capital Montgomery Largest city Birmingham Area  Ranked 30th  - Total 52,419 sq mi (135,765 km²)  - Width 190 miles (306 km)  - Length 330 miles (531 km)  - % water 3. ... Official language(s) English Capital Frankfort Largest city Louisville Area  Ranked 37th  - Total 40,444 sq mi (104,749 km²)  - Width 140 miles (225 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 1. ... Orders Procolophonia (extinct) Testudines Araeoscelidia (extinct) Avicephala (extinct) Younginiformes (extinct) Sauropterygia Ichthyosauria (extinct) Placodontia (extinct) Nothosauria (extinct) Plesiosauria (extinct) Sphenodontia Squamata Prolacertiformes (extinct) Archosauria Crurotarsi Order Aetosauria Order Phytosauria Order Rauisuchia Order Crocodilia Ornithodira Pterosauria (extinct) Marasuchus (extinct) Dinosauria (extinct) Order Saurischia Order Ornithischia Reptiles are tetrapods and amniotes, animals...

External links

• Adherents.com
• A page about Religious Snake Handling
• Serpent Handlers
• Snake Handlers - by Alex Hooker

See also

• The Ophites were several Gnostic sects who gave religious importance to the serpent of the Garden of Eden.

The Ophites is a blanket term for numerous gnostic sects in Syria and Egypt about 100 A.D. The common trait was that these sects would give great importance to the serpent of the biblical tale of Adam and Eve, connecting the Tree of Knowledge (of Good and Evil) to... The Fall of Man by Lucas Cranach, a 16th century German depiction of Eden The Garden of Eden (from Hebrew Gan Ēden, גַּן עֵדֶן) is described in the Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man - Adam - and woman - Eve - lived after they were created by God. ...

References

• Appalachian Mountain Religion: A History, by Deborah Vansau McCauley ISBN 0-252-02129-0
• Foxfire 7, Paul F. Gillespie, editor ISBN 0-385-15244-2
• Serpent-Handling Believers, by Thomas Burton ISBN 0-87049-788-X
• Snake Handlers: God Fearers or Fanatics?, by Robert W. Pelton & Karen W. Carden
• Salvation on Sand Mountain: Snake-Handling and Redemption in Southern Appalachia, by Dennis Covington ISBN 0-14-025458-7
• Taking Up Serpents: A History of Snake Handling, by David Kimbrough ISBN 0-86554-798-X

Footnotes

1. The Encyclopedia of American Religions gives the year as 1909; the Encyclopedia of Religion in the South gives it as 1913.
2. Encyclopedia of American Religions (1996), J. Gordon Melton, editor
3. American Originals: Homemade Varieties of Christianity (1997), by Paul K. Conkin
4. "The Serpent and the Spirit" by Thomas Burton, University of Tennessee Press. A fascinating study of an alleged attempted murder of his wife by a preacher in a serpent handling church in Alabama. Summing up, you never know if he did it, even though he was convicted and is serving time.

see also - Snake handling Snake handling is a religious ritual in a small number of Christian churches in the U.S., usually characterized as rural and Pentecostal. ...