Snakes in Religion

Seeing as it is Easter Sunday when I am writing this blog post, I thought it was only fitting to talk about snakes in religion. In the Bible, snakes are seen as evil creatures and are directly associated with Satan. Snakes are mentioned in the first book of the Bible in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were told by God to not eat the fruit in the garden but, according to scripture, a snake convinced them otherwise. The serpent tempted Eve into eating the forbidden fruit, thus bringing sin into the world. The same negative connotation towards snakes follows them into the New Testament. In the book of Matthew, the Pharisees and Saducees were referred to as the “brood of vipers” to illustrate the poison, through their words and actions, that they were feeding the townspeople. My pastor today at the Easter service mentioned both of these instances in scripture to reinforce the belief that Jesus took our sins when he died on the cross.

As I searched for scripture to further solidify the claim that snakes are evil in the Bible, I came across a practice that I had never heard of before. This practice is called snake handling. There are churches found in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, and South Carolina that practice snake handling and use venomous snakes in the church services. It is believed, by those who practice it, that snake handling is a way to prove to non-Christians that God protects them from harm. They often speak in tongues during the services and some even try to use the venom as a medicinal cure for ailments.

(Pentacostal Church of God, Kentucky courtesy of wikipedia.com)

It plays a small part in their service but snake handling is typically used during prayer, singing, and dancing. Services are held multiple times a week and can last between 90 minutes and 5 hours. The longer services occur when the Holy Spirit “intervenes”. All of the Appalachian States in which snake handling is practiced, with the exception of West Virginia, have outlawed snake handling. Because of this, most of the snake handling services are held at someone’s residence instead of the church. There have been 71 reported deaths through snake handling, but due to its illegality, the actual number is probably much higher.  A lot of the churches that practice snake handling are in remote areas and are not in close enough proximity to hospitals to help them if they do get bitten. Sadly for the snakes, they are not well tended to by their owners and are often in a state of degradation.

I was raised Methodist and was taught that snakes were evil through scripture, which is probably why I had been skeptical of snakes until I took this course. Luckily, I am only wary of venomous snakes anymore. I was completely thrown off when I had heard about snake handling through my friend that is a religious studies major. It is so strange to me in so many ways. While I am religious, I am not hard core, let-me-stand-on-the-corner-and-pass-out-religious-fliers religious. I am religious for myself and that is it and I think that is why their eccentric practices are so strange to me. At no point in my life have I felt compelled to hold a venomous snake in the name of Christ to prove my devotion to him. I should say, I am not bashing their practices or beliefs, but simply saying that I could not see myself doing the same thing they do. What saddens me the most about this practice is the way they treat the snakes. Often the church has dozens of snakes and it is impossible to take care of all of them the way they should be; they are often dehydrated and hungry. While this is good for those handling them, as the venom is less potent in a deteriorated snake, it is unfair to the snakes. 

Happy Easter everyone!

Audrey