Rattlesnake Christians

It has just come to my attention that a certain Christian sect uses rattlesnakes in their Sunday worship services. Apparently it you get bit and you live that means you have the proper degree of faith. If you die well what the hell.

In keeping with some other threads I propose that we let the rattlesnake preachers have free access to all public grade schools along with their snakes. It would be a good way of weeding out the unworthy children before they grow up.

That sounds like a cool band name.

Also bluegrass sucks.

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I hereby serve you notice that you owe Surreal Farber one keyboard replacement which was damaged when I projectile sprayed tea through my nose.

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Naw, them preachers owe you for the new keyboard. All I was doing was reporting the facts.

On a side note have you seen Invasion of the Space Preachers? It was filmed in West Virginia. I rarely give a film 5 stars but this one sure got it!

No, no, no... if the snake bit you at all, God wasn't happy with you. The whole living and dying thing is just a gauge of how pissed God was.

Now, when you pass around the strychnine tea and everyone takes a swig, that's where you'd weed out the winnahs and losahs.

F A I T H !

I know some Pentacostals who do this.

Does this mean Steve Erwin is the second coming?

Another thought .... does this mean strippers who perform with snakes are some kind of nun??????

Baptism ?

Save me baby!!

I hear they also eat crackers and drink wine in some bizarre cannibalistic re-enactment ritual.

I have heard of this somewhere, can't remember where. I do think it is true that a very very small number of people calling themselves Christians do this but sounds pretty nutty to me.

Remember, just because a religion claims to be Christian does not mean that it in fact is. No Christian religion I have ever heard of does this. Certainly, no mainstream Christian religion practices this either. Also remember that there are a small number of idiots in every group, religious or not, so do not judge the whole on the actions of a few.

Is there some sort of official list of Christian "religions"? It seems that frequently on these boards that Christian religions are denounced as not being true Christian religions.

So, playing with snakes is out.

What about talking in tongues?

Faith healing?

Miracles?

God talking to you?



So at the end of the day, what disqualifies you?

I also found this passage from a very popular book.

"And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover"
(Mark 16:17-1

Do not put words in my mouth Neehai. I did not say that they were or weren't "true Christians". I said that they may not be, which is true.

Belief in Christ is all that is atually required to be a "true Christian" and they very well may believe. For arguments sake, even if they do believe does not mean that all of their practices are ok.

Ok, fine. I accept that my terminology could be misinterpreted. Although I never attributed the comment to you.

I will accept that these people may not be true Christians but they also very well may believe in Christ which is good enough for a general practicing of the faith.

You say however, that it does not mean their practices are ok. Is there some way to tell whether or not practices are ok or not? I gave some examples in my previous post and would be interested to hear your thoughts.

Speaking in tongues, laying on of hands, exorcism, miracles, etc.

Speeking in tongues is a spiritual gift. Yes, one that is difficult to understand but yes, it is acceptable. My understanding is that it is a spontanious thing that happens usually durring prayer, not some calculated occurance that is "performed" at a specific time in a service. Also for it to be true and from God there has to be someone who interprets the meaning, someone given the gift to hear what is being said.

The purpose if speaking in tongues is for a message to be conveyed, not illegible gibberish. I do believe that there are people who fake this to get a response like perhaps TV evangelists. I for one do not believe that they are speaking in tongues at all but are putting on a show. Speaking in tongues is also not something that someone does against their will. You have to want to and be ok with it for it to happen.

I have never spoken in tongues but someone I know and respect, who is a mentor to me and who is an upstanding person of impeccable character shared with me that he did speak in tongues while praying with his wife and I believe him.

Laying on of hands is accepted too. The purpose of this is to focus the power of prayer of a group on one person and for the power of God to help whatever situation the person is dealing with. Again, I do not believe in the TV healings where the person is hit on the head, falls over and is healed. That is most likely again for show and not the real thing.

Exorcism I have no experience with but obviously it is accepted. I assume no commentary is needed.

Miracles are accepted too and are pretty much self-explanatory.

As for practices being ok, I would say that they have to be supported biblically as well as applicable to modern times.

I hope this helps in your understanding Neehai. I am obviously not an expert on these subjects but tried to answer your question.

And what of this?

"And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover"
(Mark 16:17-1

I assume this passage in the Bible would be the source of handling of snakes and drinking of poison. Is there another interpretation of this passage from the bible? As someone not familiar with the faith, I would think they were right on track. Or at least I understand where the practice originated.

The serpent is an allagory for the devil... as in the serpent in the garden. The poison is sin.

Okay, that makes sense. So this could boil down to a literal misinterpretation of scripture.

Luckily most christians are smart enough not to take everything written in the bible literally. Although the rattlesnake thing is interesting; I may have to hand them to to creationists.

I don't think people raised within the Christian religion realize how cryptic it can be for those who weren't.

nods... how nice that we can agree Neehai. I know we but heads from time to time and will apologize for the times I get carried away. I appreciate your willingness to listen to my thoughts and come to a mutual understanding.

I completely agree. Those who take every word so literally are hurting Christianity and making it hard for the rest of us.