Salvation On Sand Mountain Summary

Dennis Covington was not biased when it came to writing Salvation on Sand Mountain: Snake Handling and Redemption in Southern Appalachia. Covington did not have a preconceived notion or bias towards snake handling. Prior to Covington's involvement with the snake handlers, he was in a spiritual place in his life were he was not for or against snake handling. When Covington was assigned to cover the Reverend's trial, he did not come with the intention of becoming a member of the snake handling community. The book represents his experience as a snake handler and his spiritual journey on Sand Mountain. There is undeniably a sheer strangeness with the snake handling practices. Before reading the book, I was unaware that snake handling was used

Salvation describes the deliverance by God for those who believe in him. It is the saving of the soul from sin (and its consequences) through Gods will and grace. Though it takes different forms in every religion, the principle is still the same, often emphasising the necessity of both good works, repentance, and asceticism, as well as divine intervention (in this case the action being the grace of God). If assuming that Christ is the full truth, then the only way to gain access to God after death is through the salvation given by the Christian God. Jesus himself has indicated that a person must hear the word, believe it, repent of past sins, and be willing to confess faith before others, be baptized into Christ for the remission of sins, and then continue to live a faithful life throughout this physical life if we are to go to heaven.

Dennis Covington writes about a unique method of worship—snake handling, in his memoir, Salvation on Sand Mountain. He begins as a journalist, looking in on this foreign way of life; however, as time progresses he increasing starts to feel a part of this lifestyle. As a result loses his journalistic approach, resulting in his memoir, detailing his own spiritual journey. Upon the conclusion of his stay in this world, Covington realizes the significance of this journey, and argues in his memoir that we cannot entirely know ourselves until we step outside of our comfort zone and separate ourselves from our norm.

Although not the first scholar to examine the idea of religion, Jones utilizes the concept from the study of Self Psychology in order to determine if “transformative religious experience is mature or unhealthy” (Jones 2002). In chapter 5 of his text, Jones

Prothero changes his slightly humorous tone from the first chapter and changes it to a more serious tone. This change isn’t surprising as this is a serious topic. He also continues to use a theme of recent and historical events to help audiences understand his argument of how religion has impacted America’s history. However, Prothero begins a pattern that might lead him into trouble later in his piece. Though the chapter does provide strong pieces of evidence, there are a couple of sections where the transition from section to section either feels forced or is a shock in that a thought came from

Curlin, F. A., Lawrence, R. E., Chin, M. H., & Lantos, J. D. (2007). Religion, Conscience, and

Craig Martin is the Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at St. Thomas Aquinas College. He serves upon the North American Association for the Study of Religion, and is the author of five books that primarily deal with the complex relationship between society and religion and the “religious experience”.

Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity allowed me to comprehend fully the past occurrences of psychology and theology. The book displayed the faith and confidence that both psychology and Christianity must be combined in order for it to have a better understanding and allowing the client a better chance of healing. In order to do this there must be a complete understanding of each component in and of itself. Entwistle’s (2010) book presented all the facts from history as it has shaped society today (pp. 18-34). As he discussed these historic events, it shows just how the wisdom that is held today is a reflection or reaction of what happened then. Christianity has always had a huge impact on world history

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

Dennis Covington’s Salvation on Sand Mountain begins by focusing on the trail of Glenn Summerford. This creates a great stir in the small town of Scottsboro, Alabama, and what begins as a typical journalist seeking a hot story on an uncommon subject turns into something more. In some ways, Covington goes on a personal quest to further understand faith, though this is something that is not directly or explicitly stated in the novel. A large part of the book focuses on the snaking handling experience; and chronicles the untypical, mysterious, even strange, rural people who live in a small town in the Southern Appalachia and who devoutly believe in this religion. Once the pastor, Glenn Summerford, is convicted of trying to kill his wife with snakes from the church, the Church of Jesus with Signs Following becomes the spotlight of controversy and intense public scrutiny. However, as the novel progresses, the reader sees that the Salvation on Sand Mountain is really a story about Covington exploring the human condition, this strange religion, and his own soul.

Marilynne Robinson is a Pulitzer-winning novelist who has graced us with her essays found in The Death of Adam. Robinson gives the read the feeling of being much more educated than he or she really is. These essays provide readers with different ways of discussing history, religion and society. They, although difficult to comprehend at times, are flawlessly argued and, throughout, are grounded in universal human experience. When reading them, it is hard not to be persuaded, especially if reading them with an open mind.

Within philosophy, there has long been a question about the relationship between science and religion. These two systems of human experience have undoubtedly had a lot of influence in the course of mankind’s development. The philosopher Ian Barbour created a taxonomy regarding science and religion that has become widely influential. His taxonomy postulates that there are four ways in which science and religion are thought to interact. The four categories are: conflict, independence, dialogue, and integration. By using articles from a select few philosophers, theologians, and scientists, it is clear to see the ways in which these two systems of human experience are categorized in the four categories presented by Ian barbour. However, it will be apparent that the category of conflict may be seen as the most dominant in regard to the interaction between science and religion.

On occasion, authors approach cultural subjects as historians. However, Huston Smith limits the historical facts to stay focus on the values of the religions (Smith 10,12). Having an history filled book can cause readers to lose interests in his discussion. To keep the numbers down, Smith picks the religions that most people acknowledge and would share the most common themes in their life (11). He is passionate about his studies, and he wants the audience to find their own appreciation for religion. To accomplish this, Smith simply states that,”This is a book about values”(12). Some books describe a certain faith’s good and bad qualities and can sometimes put more emphasis on the bad if the

The Christian psychology view is represented by Robert Roberts and P. J. Watson. This view points out that psychology—that is, critical reflection on “human psychic well-being and dysfunction” (150)—is ancient, not modern, in origin. Roberts and Watson maintain that there is not one universal psychology, but rather many rival psychologies. In this context, Christian psychologists wish to stake a claim for an approach to psychology that is explicitly based upon the Christian tradition. This recovery of a distinctly Christian psychology takes place in two stages: retrieving the “rich resources that lie within our own tradition” (155) and engaging in empirical research from within this framework. This latter step includes utilizing “well-established” social-scientific methods as well engaging in critical dialogue with psychologies that are based upon other worldviews. In short, Christian psychologists wish to produce a Coe and Hall defend the transformational psychology view. “worldview-explicit” psychology (175).y view. The transformational response to the view of level of explanation approach maintains that “psychology is ultimately an act of love” (199). It focuses on the spiritual and emotional transformation of the psychologist. One of the key premises of the