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religious snake handlers
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by fizzbob7 on January 12, 2003
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concerning religious snake handling.....WHY?...does anyone know exactly why they do it....because i have a 3.5ft timber that will crawl around my neck and head if i let him...never tried to bite and only rattles when i really startle him...but i dont test the limits....when you reach them, and get bit, what next...and i have seen a few of the church snake handlers and they have no fear, or so it seems, but they get bit frequently....i know a lot of bites are dry and harmless, but why take your chances...from what i understand, their god protects them from being bitten, but what does it mean when they are...do they use that as a gauge to their holiness...if they get bitten, then that means they needed to be punished for something...if anyone know then please tell me...i think it's more of an occult...i have had my snakes all over me but i dont do it all the time...i know they can and will bite, but i also know they are laid back, but there are times where they seem a little more pissy than others and i steer clear of them....just wondering
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RE: religious snake handlers
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by bitisatrox on January 12, 2003
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you got it! we got plenty of the snake handling sect here in kentucky these people take Mark 17 ("and these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18, 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;") and make it there defense.
I've talked to a few of these folks and they are mostly very nice (but greatly misguided) people.
they believe that if they are "living right with their god they will not be bitten but if they are the whole chuch blows up in chanting and laying their hands on the person bitten they are not allowed to seek medical help they must rely on god to pull though!
I guess they never heard "thall shall not temp the lord thy god!"
now what what I have written is in context to the few holiness folks that were good enough to talk to me about this it is by all means no all inclusive as the separate churches do it ther own way!
*** the view expressed in this post is intended to offend no one... so Pleasssse no hate mail ***
later,
ty
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RE: religious snake handlers
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by fizzbob7 on January 12, 2003
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yeah....i thought that was their excuse for being bitten...i know i am far from holy or even good, and i dont care, i'm not religious, but when i handle snakes(yet to be bitten)it's not because of a god that i'm not bitten, it's because the snake doesn't feel the need to do it....if it wants to, and i'm holding it, then thats what is gonna happen...thats all there is to it
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RE: religious snake handlers
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by Jackie on January 12, 2003
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I think it is somewhat odd that you are belittling these people for handling snakes in the name of their beliefs when you yourself admit to the same ignorant behavior of free handling potentially lethal animals.
Personally although I don't agree with the snake handling aspect of religion and feel it is a misinterpretation of scripture I am amazed at the faith that these people have. You on the other hand appear to partake in unsafe practices for no purpose whatsoever.
As for the scripture itself please note that it DOES NOT say that they will not get bit(just a little food for thought). However most of these sects also consume dangerous substances(Several of these have been independently tested and found to be deadly) and to my knowledge have never had a fatality. Now the odd part of this is that scripture DOES say that they will not be harmed by drinking deadly substances!
By the way God is spelled with a capital G.
My 2 cents and a little bit more.
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RE: religious snake handlers
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by bitisatrox on January 12, 2003
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I do not condone the free handling of any venomous animal as this is huge risk as you never know how ones body will react, hell a lot of people die from bee stings!
but I have met a number of these folks and yes they intrigue me but treat the snakes badly (often killed after a service)and you must remember these people hold snakes to prove the devotion and show there power over satan in the form of the snakes so they don’t like snakes they believe they are the devil incarnate!
Many people die doing this including drinking poison....
Again, now what what I have written is in context to the few holiness folks that were good enough to talk to me about this it is by all means not all inclusive as the separate churches do it there own way!
*** The view expressed in this post is intended to offend no one... so Pleasssse no hate mail ***
stay safe,
ty
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RE: religious snake handlers
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Anonymous post on January 12, 2003
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to everybody,
dont freehandle your snakes for no reason if you get bit we all look bad!
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RE: religious snake handlers
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by Jackie on January 13, 2003
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Ty,
For clarification purposes my original post was aimed at the initial person who started this thread. He seemed to make a point of talking about freehandling as if he had it all figured out(familiar with his snakes, knows their moods etc.) and then continues on about how snake handling sects are crazy by doing the same thing he does.
Now on to your post. I will admit that you are one up on me, I have never met anyone who performs these rituals. My experience is only with what I have read in books and periodical and what I have seen on documentaries. For the most part (at least what the author has shown or written about) these animals are taken care of in a somewhat responsible manner and are even returned to where they were captured after they have provided their services LOL.
As far as drinking toxic substances, once again I can only speak about what I have read/seen. In all of the literature I have seen there wasn't a single piece about the practitioners dying from ingestion of strycnine, arsenic or any other substance.
My point in all of this isn't to justify what they do but to point out that the initial author of this thread appears to be suffering from the "pot calling the kettle black" syndrome.
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RE: religious snake handlers
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by Naja_oxiana on January 13, 2003
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Well now....I cannot speak on the snake-handling sects of Christiandom because I have free-handled a few hots in my day and they have their own religious meaning to me.
But as Jackie states, most translations state that they will be protected from bites--which I have always read to be the effects of the snakebite rather than the actual act of biting. Of course, not being well-versed in Hebrew, I cannot say for sure what this actually says. Lenny FLank, who lives near Tampa iirc, might be a good person to ask on the matter.
CHeers
Roger
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RE: religious snake handlers
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by fizzbob7 on January 13, 2003
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jackie..i dont believe in god...no capital g...and a big problem i have with religion is the fact that so many who do believe can't stand it when someone views it differently...and i dont handle them to prove a point-they do...i haven't been bitten, i have personally seen a "handler" bitten....driving a car is a risk, driving fast is a big risk, i do both of those...i drag race, another risk....i didnt say the risk was dumb, nor did i belittle the fact they handled them, but handling them for the sole reason of proving your faith?..thats dumb...and about poisonous substances, everyone is different, metabolic rate matters, what you have been exposed to matters, allergies matter...i have no problem with anyone that believes this, i grew up on sand mountain and thats relatively common...i just think it's dumb....i could easily be bitten anytime, but good sense allows you to learn certain postures of the snake, it's attitude, whatever, and make an educated guess as to whether freehandling it is safe enough or not...no one else is in danger but me, and i have instructions for my wife in case i am bitten.....i don't do it to prove anything, but its easier to just grab the snake and put him from point a to b as opposed to scooping him up on the hook, trying to make sure he doesnt fall off and hurt himself,etc....
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Freehandling religious or otherwise
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by Buzztail1 on January 13, 2003
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"concerning religious snake handling.....WHY?...does anyone know exactly why they do it...."
Because they believe that "GOD" will protect them from the serpent based on their interpretation of lessons in the Old Testament of the King James version of the bible.
"because i have a 3.5ft timber that will crawl around my neck and head if i let him...never tried to bite and only rattles when i really startle him...but i dont test the limits...."
Which is every bit as reasonable and compelling as believing that you fully understand your snakes' moods and limits due to your long term relationship with individual animals.
"when you reach them, and get bit, what next..."
Either you or the religious handler, the result is the same although the treatment may differ. Many of the members of the various snake handling sects will not accept medical treatment claiming that their faith in GOD will see them through.
"and i have seen a few of the church snake handlers and they have no fear, or so it seems, but they get bit frequently....i know a lot of bites are dry and harmless, but why take your chances...from what i understand, their god protects them from being bitten, but what does it mean when they are...do they use that as a gauge to their holiness...if they get bitten, then that means they needed to be punished for something...if anyone know then please tell me...i think it's more of an occult..."
Although the beliefs as to why bites occur among the faithful vary, by definition, since their faith is grounded in the traditional bible, it is not occult. It is definitely extremism, and open to interpretation as are all branches of Christianity, but not occult.
"i have had my snakes all over me but i dont do it all the time...i know they can and will bite, but i also know they are laid back, but there are times where they seem a little more pissy than others and i steer clear of them....just wondering"
Freehandling is the short path to envenomation regardless of what personal belief anyone ascribes to in their justification. Whether that be faith in God or faith in one's own ability to "read" their snakes. It is usually unneccessary and easily avoidable in almost every case when dealing with captive snakes. I would imagine that, if it were a requirement of my faith to handle venomous snakes without protection of some form, I would freehandle. But to do it because it is "cool" or just to show that I can "read" my snakes? The risk of the pain, suffering, possible loss of life, limb and/or all points in between as well as the extensive outlay of cash required for modern treatment make freehandling just as foolish (to me) as attempting to dodge a bullet from a 45 that I fire at my own head.
Karl H. Betz
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