Lauren Peters

Snake Handling in Southern Appalachia

Keywords: Pentecostal, Holiness Church, serpent, Appalachia, snake handling, mountain religion, southern, charismatic, glossolalia (speaking in tongues), signs following

I. Abstract

Derived from the American Holiness movement, snake handling is a religious practice observed by a small group within the Pentecostal church that evolved around the turn of twentieth century (Schwartz 27). This practice dominates in southern Appalachia (mostly, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, and West Virginia). These Christians call themselves “Signs Followers,” basing their beliefs and practices on literal interpretations of the King James Bible, especially Mark 16:17-18. The ability to handle serpents is referred to as receiving the Holy Spirit or being “anointed.” The worship services are informal and upbeat filled with music and testimonies from various members. Their faith relies solely on the belief that the Holy Ghost will enter the body during this time of worship, allowing them to perform the signs mandated by Mark.

II. Scope and Purpose of System

The followers of this Christian sect seek to be “anointed” by the Holy Ghost, giving them the ability to perform the signs in Mark 16 in the King James Version of the Holy Bible. This literal interpretation of the Bible leads the followers to be a vessel for the Holy Spirit to enter. A member’s testimony reveals the serpent handler’s belief of God: “This God we worship, he’s a living God…God ain’t no white-bearded old man up in the sky somewhere. He’s a spirit…He’s a spirit. He ain’t got no body. The only body he’s got is us...And when we’re borned again, we’re borned into the body of God!” (qtd. in Covington 16). When a person “receives” or becomes “anointed by” the Holy Ghost, he is basically given divine powers, such as the ability to “heal the sick; perform exorcisms; speak in new tongues; drink poisons like strychnine, battery acid or lye; and handle deadly serpents” (Kimbough 14). This reception of the Holy Ghost leads to an intimately personal experience of spiritual salvation and ecstasy. When the Spirit leads a person to take up snakes, the fear of being bitten does not enter the mind because one is in a “prayerful state” where the “Spirit tells you what to do” (Covington 3). If or when someone is bitten, God is never blamed. Either someone “misjudged the Spirit” (3) or God is using the bitten person to prove that poisonous venom will not affect those who believe. These believers are often poor but very self-sufficient people, interacting with few people outside of the family or congregation. They reside in the Appalachian Mountains, a region plagued by poverty, and are often too proud to admit their destitute state or accept government assistance. The men are blue collar workers: coal miners, farmers, and the like. The women often work at home all day, rearing the children and maintaining the household.

III. Authority Structure

A. Sources and Criteria of valid Knowledge

“For these ‘signs followers,’ the Bible clearly provides the direction to eternal salvation” (Schwartz 28). The handling of snakes and the various other “signs” are merely tests to prove their faith. The Biblical text the handlers found their practices on is Mark 16:17-18, which states: “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.” This passage is Mark’s recording of the last words of Jesus Christ before His ascension into Heaven. Jesus’ last words to humanity have obvious religious importance, and the snake handlers use this passage to define their central feature of worship. By experiencing these signs, a member personally attains the knowledge put forth by God. When the Holy Ghost enters a person, he experiences spiritual ecstasy, the most intimately divine moment a follower can share with God.

In addition to Mark 16, the snake handlers cite several other Bible verses that give examples of other holy figures being “anointed” with the ability to follow the signs. Acts 28:3 describes how the disciple Paul did not suffer any effects of a poisonous viper bite. Several other passages in the King James Version also support their practices and beliefs, including Luke 10:19: “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and of the power of the enemy: and nothing by any means shall hurt you.” These handlers also refer to Exodus 4:2-4 in which God changes Moses’ rod into a serpent that he easily picks up by its tail. The text in John 20:30 is cited to give proof of Jesus being a sign follower: “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.” Snake handlers use these passages as proof of their faith, arguing that Jesus or God “wouldn’t tell you to do something He didn’t do Himself” (all qtd. in Kimbrough 15).

The Bible serves not only as an instruction booklet on faith but also on every day life. The people in the Pentecostal church model their conduct on any Biblical passage that pertains to clothing, appearance, and habits. Listed below are some basic instructions for members of these churches:

“Women are not allowed to wear short sleeves, jewelry, or makeup ( I C 3:, I Tim: 2:9); No gossiping (James 1:26); No talebearing (Prov 18:80; No lying (Col 3:9, Rev 21:8); No backbiting (Rom 1:30); No bad language (Col 3:8); No tobacco users (II Cor 7:1, I Cor 3:17). Men not allowed to have long hair, mustache or beard (I Cor 11:14); Men not allowed to wear short sleeves; Women not allowed to cut hair (I Cor 11:15); and wear dresses above the knees (Tim 2:9)” (qtd. in Brown 348).

As a follower, Charles Church states: “We try to live every day according to the Bible…When you meet these people in church, and then you go to their homes, they are the same...This religion is an everyday thing” (Brown 320). This set of instructions is basically uniform throughout all the serpent handling churches. The women wear plain, ankle length dresses with their uncut hair usually in a bun and wear little or no jewelry and no makeup. The men remain clean shaven, usually wearing a collared, button-down shirt and pants or overalls to church. The simple dress and lifestyle lead the followers to focus more on their spiritual life than on the material world.

B. Methods of Inquiry

Receiving the Holy Ghost is crucial in acquiring the valid knowledge that is mandated in the Bible. If the person is “anointed” by the Holy Spirit, he or she may demonstrate their state by handling serpents, drinking strychnine, speaking in tongues or even burning themselves with a blow torch. “Miracles are preformed every day in the church” but you need the “gift of anointing to handle it (Brown 321).” The poisonous snakes native to the Appalachian region- various species of rattlesnakes, copperheads, and moccasins- are most often used during their services. However, exotic snakes from different states and countries such as Spitting cobras, Gaboon vipers, and black mambas are also handled (Brown 291). Almost every snake handler is bitten at least once and because medical attention is never sought after, atrophied fingers and paralyzed limbs are the battle scars of this faith. The handlers believe that seeking medical attention will make them “lose their faith” because treatment would tamper with God’s will. A snake bite may be punishing “them for sins in their daily life; to prove to unbelievers that the snakes have not been tampered with; to try the faith of the victim and his or her fellow worshipers; or to show His healing power” (Kimbrough 36). The taking up of serpents is not only a test of the handlers’ faith but also a confirmation to the validity of the Scripture. Handling deadly snakes is neither out of the ordinary nor fearful for these people; it is a gift bestowed to them by God. One believer explains the feeling of handling, also referred to as spiritual ecstasy: “[w]hen the spirit of the Lord is on you, you are not afraid of them serpents. There’s no fear. There’s no end. There’s nothing…There is peace joy, happiness, and love” (Brown 322).

In a typical service, everyone prays aloud once instructed to do so by the “preacher” running the meeting. During this prayer, some go into spasms and convulsions, others speak in tongues, and some lay in a death-like trance on the floor, while others lift deadly serpents out of their wooden cages. No one calls the prayers to end; the voices eventually taper off. At any time during a service, someone could bring an ailment or prayer to the congregations’ attention. The congregation then may do a laying on of hands if they feel the Spirit so leads them. When the music starts, the members usually have a similar behavior to that of their prayer session: people jerk; speak enigmatic languages; remain deathly still; and the serpents come out of the boxes to be handled again, sometimes even thrown to other members at the meeting (Adair film). Interspersed between the laying on of hands, singing, dancing, and following the signs, members of the church will give short sermons or testimonies. “In Holiness churches, a testimony is a personal story that reveals God’s power and grace. It’s not meant to exhort or instruct the congregation – that would be preaching – but simply to praise the Lord. In practice, through, the line between testifying and preaching is not so clear-cut” (Covington 72). The member’s testimonies, differing in length and content, serve the same purpose as a priest or reverend’s sermon in an organized Christian mass or service.

C. Institutions and Professional Structure

The informality and spontaneity of each religious meeting is actively embraced by the serpent handlers, as the Bible stated “only in losing ourselves do we find ourselves” (Covington 99). A snake handling church service is filled with singing, loud music, hand clapping, foot stomping, and charismatic examples of people following the signs. The attitude is free, informal, and upbeat. Children are allowed to run up and down the aisles, sleep, or visit various people even though someone maybe testifying, all of which would be deemed as disrespectful in a typical Christian Church (Adair film). A visitor even notes a mother “feeding Gerber’s chicken noodle dinner to her son at the back of the church, as if they were on a spring picnic” (Schwartz 12). The churches are humble, simply adorned buildings. Within these small meeting places, the service is left to the whim of the members. Churches do appoint preachers, but these people are more of a convener than a minister in an organized worship service. This person, usually a man, simply gives some basic organization and structure to worship by leading songs, collecting offerings, starting off prayers, and encouraging other members to testify; however, he is not required to preach any more or less than any of the other members at the meeting. The reason for having no seminary preachers, in the opinion of the snake handlers, is because they “don’t understand…the Spirit of the Lord. They’re taught by man. They know the forms of godliness, but they deny the power” (Covington 64).

Sermons are often short but numerous, relying on the testimonies by any member of the congregation. They use no notes, no prepared speeches or prayers, just the raw passion of “receiving” the Holy Ghost. These meetings can last anywhere from one to four hours, each congregation’s practices vary from week to week, church to church. The traditional Christian calendar and church ritual are basically ignored by the serpent handlers. For example, a person visited a church on Easter Sunday “where the word Easter was not even mentioned” (Covington 115). Even communion is a rare ritual for Signs Following churches.

IV. History

The snake handlers’ belief can easily be traced back to religious revivals in seventeenth century in Europe, but the practice can be traced back as far as Egyptian times (Burton 5). However, snake handling in the Biblical context derives from the Scotch-Irish that migrated to the Appalachians. These immigrants not only brought few material possessions and passionate temperaments but a certain “fear of outsiders and hostility toward clerics and established religions” (Covington 86). Upon arriving to the new frontier, the Scotch-Irish had their own brand of Anglicanism or Presbyterianism, calling themselves the People of the New Light. In a desperate attempt to shed the rigidity of Calvinism, they worshiped in new less formal way called “free grace” where services would be often be held outside (Covington 87). Outdoor revivals became commonplace in the rural South; the first large scale revival was held in Cane Ridge, Kentucky in 1801. Thousands of Presbyterians gathered for a week-long camp meeting to rebel against the ultra-conservative Calvinistic ideology, soon to be joined by various other sects of Christian Protestants from Methodists to Baptists. Over twenty five thousand people attended the event and for the first time the Holy Ghost seemed to descend upon the crowd and they “began to shriek, bark, and jerk” (Covington 68). Similar revivals yielded similar results “and the great American spiritual phenomenon of the twentieth century, Pentecostalism, began in a fury of tongue speaking and prophesying and healing” (Covington 68).

George W. Hensley is the charismatic leader considered to be the founder of the snake-handling movement; his constant evangelism resulted in the movement’s spreading throughout Appalachia and the South (Kimbrough 9). When Hensley entered the Holiness church at the turn of the twentieth century, the elements necessary for this movement had already been set into motion, especially in southern Appalachia. “’A fervent fundamentalist religious community’ with ‘its traditional approach to biblical interpretation and traditional values’ provided the essential foundation for and reinforcement of the serpent-handling practices” (qtd. Schwartz 28). The beginning of serpent handling supposedly begins with Hensley pondering over the meaning of Mark 16:17-18 on a mountain in 1908. During his prayer, he felt the power of God and handled a passing rattlesnake without being bitten. He then attended a service, testifying his spiritual experience while handling the snake. People immediately began to believe in the following of “signs” and his practice drew large crowds and new believers. By 1930s the growth of this practice had caused ripples in the political arena, where laws were passed prohibiting the handling of snakes. Bartow, Florida in 1936 was the first to pass an ordinance preventing the handling of any poisonous reptile. Many states soon followed Florida’s example including Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Alabama (Schwartz 29-33).

To review the history of the serpent handlers: Out of Scotch-Irish Protestantism came Holiness. “Out of Holiness came Pentecostalism. Out of the Holiness-Pentecostal belief in spiritual signs and gifts came those who took up serpents” (Covington 127). Through the cyclical passing of ritual from parent to child and the strength of a church community, the practice of snake handling will continue to exist despite laws prohibiting it. The body of followers may not become much larger than it is now, but the faith of these people will not die with a snake bite. This practice will continue because the movement relies heavily on the bonds of family and community: “The ritual is passed from one generation to another through a continuous cycle in which children watch and imitate their parents’ activities during the church services, eventually participating alongside them” (Schwartz 32).

V. Representative Examples of Argumentation

The misunderstanding modern world constantly seeks to comprehend the purposes and practices of the snake handling community. Sister Bobbie Sue Thompson relates the criticism, “They call us ‘Old Jesus Onlys,’ ‘freaks,’ and ‘Holy Rollers,’…it’s part of the price that believers paid for being what the Bible calls ‘a separated people’ who were ‘in the world, but not of the world’” (Covington 25). Despite constant criticism and the common misconceptions of their faith, these people are usually very open to talking about their practices as they consider themselves evangelists for the Word of the Lord. Several arguments have arisen against the validity of this movement, basically calling their faith a hoax. From claims of the poison they drink “isn’t strong” to the snakes are trained, the handlers face constant skepticism from the outside world. Regarding the serpent handlers’ faith, outsiders are most concerned with the deaths that occur as a result of following the signs. However, snake handlers constantly explain any death as God’s will. A follower, one who eventually died from drinking strychnine, defends his faith: “Mark said ‘they shall take up serpents,‘ not ‘they shall not bite’… If one dies following God’s Word, one would be doing just what the apostles did” (Burton 27). Serpent handlers believe themselves to be first and foremost believers in God and His “word as it is presented in the Bible and through direct revelation. They are sign followers secondarily because of that belief” (Burton 31). To explain the purpose of their actions, the serpent handlers often emphasize Mark 16:19-20 as “these verses provide the context in which the signs were initially given as well as their relationship to preaching the gospel…The argument by contemporary serpent handlers is that they are believers and that the signs follow them exactly as Jesus promised. Their purpose parallels that of the disciples…to confirm the word preached to unbelievers. Their experience in the signs, however, goes beyond confirming the gospel to unbelievers; it confirms their own believe that the power of God is available to them” (Burton 17-18).

VI. Suggested Position in Comparative Scales

A. tradition (1) --- experience (10): 9

The snake handlers’ religion is based upon personally experiencing the Holy Ghost. Through the Spirit the followers attain salvation, and the proof of this power is exemplified by their ability to perform the signs. Even though this Christian sect does rely heavily on the literal reading of the King James Version of the Bible, their religious services lack organization and traditional Christian ceremonies. With the Bible being one of the only links to traditional Christian Protestantism, the snake handlers embrace spontaneity and rely on personal experience to achieve salvation.

B. centralized authority (1) --- decentralized authority (10): 9

Because this religion relies so heavily upon the individual experience, a central authority is viewed as spiritually stifling. The only true organization is that the serpent handlers’ meetings are held in a specific location and a designated “preacher” loosely runs the worship session. Each member is equally welcome to testify and equally susceptible to receiving the Holy Spirit.

C. emphasis on the invisible realm (1) --- material realities (10): 4

The serpent handlers definitely emphasize the invisible realm by leading very simple lives with few material distractions. The women wear long dresses, long hair, and no jewelry or makeup; wedding rings have even been considered sinful and unnecessary. The men are clean shaven and wear simple shirts and slacks. Material objects are purposely looked down upon and are considered sinful indulgences. The earthly realities are forfeited in order to obtain a higher state of spiritual understanding and purity. However, the serpent handlers do use the material objects of poison, snakes, and blow torches to prove their faith. Confirmation of Holy Spirit’s presence is manifested in these physical realities and bodily proofs.

D. spiritual/moral goal (1) --- pragmatic objectives (10): 3

The objective of most serpent handlers is spiritual and moral in nature. Naturally, the handlers attempt to attain pragmatic objectives as exemplified by their belief in healing by the laying on of hands. However, their first priority is to follow the Word of God and to be anointed by the Holy Ghost, attaining spiritual ecstasy.

E. primarily divine power (1) --- individual power (10): 3

Though the power to follow signs is present in the human being, this ability is derived from God. The individual’s power is dependent upon the will of the divine. The serpent handlers’ great faith is exemplified by Heb 11:1: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Their faith in large part is based not on ‘things hoped for” and “not seen,” but on personal experience (Burton 13). The serpent handlers seek to be anointed by the divine power Holy Ghost so as to have the individual power to handle the serpents as proof of their faith. One cannot handle a snake or follow the other signs without receiving the Holy Spirit, and one does not have the Holy Spirit if you are unable to take up serpents, talk in tongues, or any of the other signs mandated by Mark. Individual power is completely dependent on God, making divine power the stronger force.

F. interaction/relationship between divine and individual:

weak (1)---strong (10): 8

Snake handlers believe that God is always talking to people, but the people must take the time and energy to listen. Signs followers believe that the Holy Spirit can actually enter their bodies, giving them the ability to speak in new tongues and handle poisonous snakes. The Holy Ghost is always ready to interact with a believer, but the person must become first become spiritually ready to receive the divine spirit. The only reason that a relationship can be weak between God and an individual is due to an individual’s lack of spiritual maturity. Joe Robert Elkins explains the relationship between God and a believer: “God talks, I hear Him. He speaks to you through the heart. It is a small, still voice…real quiet. It speaks within you. You hear it. It is a spirit of God [that] talks to you” (Brown 264).

Bibliography

Primary Sources:

Brown, Fred and McDonald, Jeanne. The Serpent Handlers: Three Families and

Their Faith. Winston-Salem: John F. Blair, Publisher, 2000.

This text gives the lives of three serpent handling families. I used this as a primary text because it gives the actual views of practicing serpent handlers and their interpretations of the Bible.

Covington, Dennis.Salvation on Sand Mountain: Snake Handling and Redemption

in Southern Appalachia. New York: Penguin Group, 1994.

Easy to read and very insightful text. Gives a personal encounter with the serpent handlers that I found helpful.

Schwartz, Scott W. Faith, Serpents, and Fire: Images of Kentucky Holiness

Believers. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1999.

Concise book with interesting pictures. Gives personal encounter with the serpent handlers and insight on other topics surrounding this religion.

Secondary Sources:

Adair, Peter. Holy Ghost People. Thistle Films. Carlsbad: CRM Films, 1999.

This film was helpful in allowing me to actually see a real serpent handling service. The ability to tie visual images to similar incidents written in the texts gave me a more dynamic view of this religion.

Burton, Thomas. Serpent-Handling Believers: and These Signs Shall Follow.

Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 1993.

This book was extremely helpful in that it presented the history and spelled out the beliefs of these people, giving insight to “what a serpent handler is like” (88). It contains short chapters for easy reference.

Kimbrough, David L. Taking Up Serpents: Snake Handlers of Eastern Kentucky.

Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1995.

Concentrates on the histories snake handling families. Gives good background material. Thorough and helpful

** many of the secondary sources contained Primary source information within them, giving the author’s experience with the snake handlers in addition to the history and families involved with this religion.