The practice of snake handling in churches is not a new tradition, and its emergence was underpinned by the spread of interpretations of the Bible. They were quite literal as the words “They shall cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents” were considered as a command to do so (“Snake Handling Christians Obey the Bible”). In this case, this approach was a myth, which allowed the followers to justify their actions and the extreme traditions, which are not safe for the Christians attending these meetings. Participating in them is a risk for people, which is confirmed by about a hundred deaths throughout the history of this practice (“Snake Handling Christians Obey the Bible”). Hence, the deadly obsession, which turned the religion into a cult, is a dubious way to view God’s teachings.
This myth spread by the church activists and pastors allowed others to believe that their actions correspond to fulfilling the will of God in the name of whom they are acting. The serpents take a central place in the Christian narrative while being associated with evil phenomena (“Snake Handling Christians Obey the Bible”). Nevertheless, the obedience deriving from the above myths is a subjective notion as it is solely underpinned by individual judgment based on sacred writings. From this point of view, snake handling for religious purposes supported by the generations of families believing in the feasibility of this practice is dangerous and unreasonable.
Work Cited
“Snake Handling Christians Obey the Bible.” YouTube, uploaded by Discern4Media, 2013.