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Snake Churches

I think it's usually the pastor and maybe only a few other members who handle the snakes the most. They do get bitten, sometimes repeatedly, and there have been some reported deaths (again, usually the pastor). I've often wondered if the animals are chilled before handling, as they seem sluggish.
 
Yeah, they seemed very sluggish, like with drooping heads. I don't care what religious beliefs people have, but I do hope they're not mistreating the snakes.
 
I'm an adamant believer in allowing everyone the right to believe what they want to believe so long as it does not hurt another person who is not an adherent or affect another persons right to believe differently. Animal rights and whether an animal has the right not to be mistreated or hurt without cause is a tricky issue given that those that believe in animal sacrifice as a valid means of religious expression do exist. My personal ethics do not allow me to hurt another animal or a person simply for the sake of my beliefs.
http://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/12/u...iting-religious-freedom-voids-ban-animal.html

Chilling a snake to make it more handleable... I don't think that is in the bible.
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

Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Luke 10:19

More information can of course be found.
http://home.wlu.edu/~lubint/touchstone/SnakeHandling-Brooks.htm

In the end, I think for me personally, that I can not condone the mistreatment of any animal or the sacrifice of an animal for a supernatural being or purpose thereof, but then we have scientists which perform experiments on animals. How do we draw the line without infringing on peoples beliefs? It is definitely food for thought and something to consider before we begin judging another persons faith. I'm not saying not to judge, but rather to be careful when judging.
 
I have talked to people to have studied this subject. By all accounts, the snakes are kept in unheated wooden crates, and never fed or watered. When the snakes die, they get more. They *do* bite sometimes, and people do die sometimes. Rarely do these nuts get medical treatment. The crazier thing to me is the drinking of strychnine. That should kill them every time, yet it seldom does. As they say, "Don't drink strychnine if you ain't livin' right."
 
I'm likewise all for freedom of religious belief and practice, that's neither here nor there for me. I'm genuinely curious as to how these people manage to handle normally ill-tempered rattlesnakes and copperheads and not be bitten much more often than they are. One person who belongs to such a church even claimed cobras have been handled in some instances. If the snakes aren't properly cared for, that explains it I guess.
 
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