Religious Serpent Handling: A Thematic Summary

Catholicism: A Very Short Introduction written by Gerald O’Collins is a short read that gives an insight to the Catholic church without getting confusing to the reader. It touches on the basics of Catholicism such as the history, practices, and core beliefs. Through each chapter Gerald O’Collins a research professor in the field of Theology at St. Mary’s University College and Twickenham, as well as formally Dean in Gregorian University for the faculty of Theology, shares his knowledge on the Catholic religion one question at a time.

Power is an important part of this process as possessing power creates a divide between the snakes and the handlers: one that increases the trust between the human and the unpredictable animal. Throughout the book and the film, it was noted that if the snakes happened to bite, then that what was the Holy Spirit wanted, and everything is just as it should be (HGP). Through Covington’s account of the Summerford trial, it became clear that power was something that was sought over, and that people were willing to risk their entire lives to achieve that. In the case of Darlene Summerford, the wife of the accused Glenn Summerford, she stated that one of the reasons why she participates in the snake handling rituals is due to the possession of power (DC: 41) According to Summerford, possessing the knowledge that you have control over the snakes is something that keeps the snake handlers of the Pentecostal church to keep coming back for more (DC: 41). Power in this context was also demonstrated in the film, The Holy Ghost People. For instance, the people who were experiencing the most feeling and sensation of the Holy Spirit throughout the service were the ones who were looked up to and thought of as more powerful, because of the presence that was within them coming from the Holy Spirit itself (HGP). Overall, this notion of power and how

Being a religious person, as I read, I compared and contrasted my experiences in church with those of the snake-handlers. Though there are distinct differences to contrast, when thought about more deeply, there is also a similarity between the two denominations. The glaring differences include the snake-handling versus no snakes; the loud, chaotic music versus quiet, serene music; and the shouting and proclaiming God’s name versus quiet prayer to God. However, the one sentence that Covington wrote

The assigned readings present multiple occult beliefs, and describe potential causes and reinforcers. Alcock (1995) held the view that the brain and nervous system worked together to create beliefs targeting survival, while Singer and Benassi (1981) believed social, environmental, and cognitive factors acted in separate ways to reinforce occult beliefs. Parallels exist between contributing factors desccrive by Singer and Benassi (1981) and the seven units listed by Alcock (1995); however, Alcock (1995) described them as causes of the belief engine, while Singer and Benassi (1981) described them as factors contributing to the support and growth of occult beliefs.

For the followers of the Holiness Church in the Appalachian Mountain region, serpent handling is a central activity at their religious meetings. Following a passage in the Gospel of Mark, followers are instructed to “take up serpents” and trust in God enough to put their lives at risk. This rather unique religious ritual can be analyzed and understood by looking towards the MacMillan definition of religion. The MacMillan Encyclopedia of Religion states “[…] almost every known culture [has] a depth dimension in cultural experiences […] toward some sort of ultimacy and transcendence that will provide norms and power for the rest of life. When more or less distinct patterns of behavior are built around this depth dimension in a culture, this

For the Life of the World authored by Fr. Alexander Schmemann an Orthodox priest was originally intended as a “study guide” in the 1970’s for students preparing themselves for Missionary work, giving them a “world view”, helping to speak about Christian view points along with an approach to how they coalesce through the eyes of the Orthodox Church. A key theme Fr. Schmemann discussed is Secularism, which he believes developed from our progressive alienation of the Christian culture. Additionally, he presents his interpretation of the transforming biblical themes of creation, fall, and redemption through a sacramental understanding. Fr. Schmemann’s experiences within the Orthodox Church liturgy reveal unity in the meanings of these three themes. It is through these understandings he believes can effectively offset the disastrous effects of secularism while revitalizing the sacramental understanding of the world.

Molloy, M. (2012). Experiencing the World’s Religions. Tradition, Challenge, and Change (6th ed.)Chapter 5. Retrieved from https://newclassroom3.phoenix.edu/Classroom

The short story “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor reveals that evil comes in many disguises and that it will try to harm believers and even nonbelievers. Manley Pointer’s character serves as evil and is similar to the serpent in the bible. Manley Pointer has crafty evil ways, he is malicious, and deceitful just as the serpent was to Adam and Eve in the Bible.

Craig Martin, author of A Critical Introduction to the Study of Religion, defines “functionalism” as an approach where scholars “look for a particular function religion might play in society” (8). Religion plays a large function around the world and for all people, regardless if one is religious or not. In the case of Dennis Covington, the religious ritual of snake handling has impacted his life greatly, most plausibly serving the function of simply creating excitement in his life. Although no one can truly tell if someone’s faith is genuine or not, there is evidence that makes it appear as though Covington is more-so involved with the religious ritual of snake-handling for the exhilaration over a deep faith and belief in it. This may not ring true for all of the other snake-handling religion practitioners, although it’d be reasonable to assume that it does for the majority.

In the King James’ Version’s Gospel of Mark, chapter 16, verse 18, it is stated that, “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 reading has been looked at under many different shades of light. This speculation has led to many different ideas about the seriousness of the translation of the word of the Lord. For over a century, people of Appalachia have taken this line of the bible and turned it into the focus of the Christian worship services. How strictly should these Pentecostals take the word the bible? What makes these snake-handlers so different from other Christians? What can the serpent-handlers do to make their worship

In the New Testament, the church can be referred to as the “local” church or the “universal” church. The local church is a place where assemblies of believers come together at a particular location and time. The universal church refers to the body of Christ. Many churches believe that they are healthy because they have a certain number of people on their

have many weak symptoms. The church community’s level of differentiation is an average of all

The separation between the Catholic and Protestant faiths is one based upon ignorance. It breaks apart two very similar groups of people due to lack of knowledge or understanding towards another. To help break this strife, In this assignment, it was my responsibility to visit a Protestant Church, to experience their celebration of faith, and to gain a deeper understanding of our brothers in Christianity.

Wheeler and Whaley give regular confusions of evangelism and worship, giving a brief reaction for each. They then give a scriptural model of an evangelism-venerate

Gilbert Bilezikian gives four areas that need to be addressed when administering the church here on earth, 1. A shared faith, 2. A share purpose, 3. A shared lifestyle and 4. A shared authority (Bilezikian, 1993, p. 195-197). A shared faith is noted in Ephesians 4:5 where God’s people are told to have “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (NIV). Gilbert tells his readers, “every church needs to formuloate clearly its understanding of the Christian faith” ( (Bilezikian, 1993, p. 195). With this written statement everyone within the church will have a common ground from which to govern, with all people knowing what the belief of that church is.