August 9, 2013|2:37 pm
With TV shows like "Pastors' Wives," "Preachers' Daughters" and "Preachers of L.A.," paving the way,
viewers might not be too surprised to hear that next on the
platter of religion-themed reality-based offerings is a
program titled "Snake Salvation" about — you guessed it —
Christians who worship using venomous snakes. But this
program is unlikely to feature any glamour or glitz, as its
stars are far from the comforts of suburbia and the fast
pace of city life.
The new program, scheduled to air in September on the
National Geographic Channel, takes a look at the lives and
deadly worship practices of Pentecostal Pastors Andrew
Hamblin of Tabernacle Church of God in LaFollette, Tenn.,
and Jamie Coots of Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name
church of Middlesboro, Ky. Coots is reportedly a mentor to
Hamblin, 22.
As described by the National Geographic Channel:
"Jamie Coots and Andrew Hamblin struggle to keep an
over-100-year-old tradition alive: the practice of
handling deadly snakes in church. Jamie and Andrew
believe in a Bible passage that suggests a poisonous
snakebite will not harm them as long as they are
anointed by God's power. If they don't practice the
ritual of snake handling, they believe they are destined
for hell. Hunting the surrounding mountains for deadly
serpents and maintaining their church's snake collection
is a way of life for both men. The pastors must
frequently battle the law, a disapproving society, and
even at times their own families to keep their way of
life alive."
The Bible passage that Coots, Hamblin and other Christians
of the Signs Following Holiness communities take their cue
from is found in the King James Version of Mark 16:17-18.
Snake handlers believe the New Testament passage includes a
command or prophecy from Jesus that his followers "shall
take up serpents" without fear of harm. Those who practice
this form of worship insist believers must be under God's
anointing, or led by the Holy Spirit, if they choose to
handle snakes during services.
"My job as pastor is to kindly keep myself and my flock in
line, and to do what we feel is right according to the word
of God," Coots explained in a press release. "To me it's as
much a commandment from God when He said 'they shall take up
serpents,' as it was when he said 'thou shall not commit
adultery.'"
Coots and his snake-handling church was the focus of a Nat
Geo Wild program in 2012:
As for Hamblin, who is struggling to financially support
his wife and their five children, he hopes to attract
younger Christians to his church who are curious about the
more than 100-year-old tradition.
"I've got something in my soul greater than anything," the
22-year-old shared. "If I lost my wife to it, if I lost my
children, God in heaven forbid I ever do, when my children
get old enough to handle them … it would take all I had in
me, because I love my wife. I love my kids. But it'd still
be the word of God and I'd still have to do it."
Hamblin was featured on CNN last year after the death of a
snake-handling pastor:
Although critics have insisted that nowhere in the Bible
are Christians commanded or encouraged to handle poisonous
snakes and that Mark 16:17-18 is to be interpreted
spiritually, the dangerous practice has grown since its
start in the late 1900s. It is more common in Appalachian
states like Alabama, West Virginia and South Carolina, but
is also practiced illegally elsewhere.
Ralph Hood, considered the foremost expert on
snake-handling Christians, told The Christian Post Thursday
that "Snake Salvation" was unique but not widely supported
by members of the signs community.
"The issue is complex, in that many churches refuse to
allow cameras, video, etc.," said Hood. "However, with the
emergence of reality shows there is temptation to allow
cameras in service(s). As for handlers, the money is good."
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Psychology of
Religion professor, who has studied snake handlers for over
25 years, added that some Christians view the involvement of
money as "selling the gospel."
"However, those that do such as Jamie Coots and Andrew
Hamblin can also see this as a means of spreading the gospel
to more persons and of correcting misconceptions about
handlers," said Hood.
Matthew Testa, executive producer for "Snake Salvation,"
pointed to the legal aspect of the practice of handling
poisonous snakes.
"Jamie and Andrew take huge risks in practicing their
faith, not just in terms of the danger posed by the venomous
serpents they handle, but also from law enforcement," said
Testa. "But they firmly believe they are commanded by the
Bible to take up serpents as a sign to non-believers, and
feel strongly they are exercising their religious freedom as
guaranteed by the Constitution. They often say, 'God's law
trumps the law of man.' "
The Christian Post, prompted by the death of a snake-handling minister
from West Virginia, took an in-depth look last year at the
worship tradition, which sometimes includes participants
ingesting poison. The report, titled "Snake-Handling Christians: Faith,
Prophecy and Obedience," cited experts who suggested
that there were as many as 1,000 serpent-handling Christians
from about 125 churches scattered throughout Appalachia.
Hood, the Tennessee professor who has studied the signs
community extensively, said at the time that the tradition's
growth is not always consistent.
"But it's clear that the serpent-handling tradition is now
coming back again – it tends to wax and wane," he said. "But
we have a lot of younger handlers now beginning to attract a
following. My guess is that the tradition is on a pattern of
growth once again."
"Snake Salvation" premieres Tuesday September 10, at 9 p.m.
ET on the National Geographic Channel. Other
religion-based reality shows developed by the network
include "Polygamy USA," "Amish: Out of Order" and "American
Colony: Meet the Hutterites."
------------------------------------------------------
Mark 16
Mark 16 is the final chapter of the Gospel
of Mark in the New
Testament of the Christian
Bible. It
begins with the discovery of the empty tomb
by Mary
Magdalene, Mary
the mother of James, and Salome.
There they encounter a man dressed in white who announces
the Resurrection
of Jesus.
Verse 8 ends with the women fleeing from the empty tomb,
and saying "nothing to anyone, because they were afraid."
Many scholars take 16:8 as the original ending and believe
the longer ending (16:9-20) was written later by someone
else as a summary of Jesus' resurrection
appearances and several miracles performed by
Christians. In this 12-verse passage, the author refers to
Jesus' appearances to Mary Magdalene, two disciples, and
then the Eleven (the Twelve
Apostles minus Judas). The text concludes with the Great
Commission, declaring that believers that have been baptized
will be saved
while nonbelievers will be condemned, and pictures Jesus taken
to Heaven and sitting
at the Right
Hand of God.[1]
Most scholars, following the approach of the textual critic
Bruce
Metzger, hold the view that verses 9-20 were not part
of the original text.[1]
Textual critics have identified two distinct endings—the
"Longer Ending" (vv. 9-20) and the "Shorter Ending," which
appear together in six Greek manuscripts, and in dozens of Ethiopic
copies. The "Shorter Ending," with slight variations, runs
as follows: "But they reported briefly to Peter and those
with him all that they had been told. And after this, Jesus
himself sent out by means of them, from east to west, the
sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation."
In one Latin manuscript from c. 430, the "Shorter Ending"
appears without the "Longer Ending." In this Latin copy
(Codex Bobbiensis, "k"), the text of Mark 16 is anomalous:
it contains an interpolation between 16:3 and 16:4 which
appears to present Christ's ascension occurring at that
point; it omits the last part of 16:8, and it contains some
strange errors in its presentation of the "Shorter Ending."
Other irregularities in Codex Bobbiensis lead to the
conclusion that it was produced by a copyist (probably in
Egypt) who was unfamiliar with the material he was copying.
Because of patristic
evidence from the late 2nd century for the existence of
copies of Mark with the "Longer Ending," it is contended by
a majority of scholars that the "Longer Ending" must have
been written and attached no later than the early 2nd
century.[2]
Scholars are divided on the question of whether the "Longer
Ending" was created deliberately to finish the Gospel of
Mark (as contended by James Kelhoffer) or if it began its
existence as a freestanding text which was used to "patch"
the otherwise abruptly ending text of Mark. Its failure to
smoothly pick up the narrative from the scene at the end of
16:8 is a point in favor of the latter option. There is
disagreement among scholars as to whether Mark originally
stopped writing at 16:8—and if he did so, if it was
deliberate or not—or if he continued writing an ending which
is now lost. Allusions to a future meeting in Galilee
between Jesus and the disciples (in Mark 14:28 and 16:7)
seem to suggest that Mark intended to write beyond 16:8.[2]
The Council
of Trent, reacting to Protestant
criticism, defined the Canon
of Trent which is the Roman Catholic biblical canon.
"Decretum de Canonicis Scripturis," issued in 1546 at the
fourth session of the Council, affirms that Jesus commanded
that the gospel was to be preached by His apostles to every
creature—a statement clearly based on Mark 16:15. The decree
proceeded to affirm, after listing the books of the Bible
according to the Roman Catholic canon, that "If anyone
receive not, as sacred and canonical, the said books entire
with all their parts, as they have been used to be read in
the Catholic Church, and as they are contained in the old
Latin Vulgate edition, and knowingly and deliberately
condemn the traditions aforesaid; let him be anathema."
Since Mark 16:9-20 is part of the Gospel of Mark in the
Vulgate, and the passage has been routinely read in the
churches since ancient times (as demonstrated by its use by
Ambrose, Augustine, Peter Chrysologus, Severus of Antioch,
Leo, etc.), the Council's decree affirms the canonical
status of the passage. This passage was also used by
Protestants during the Protestant Reformation; Martin Luther
used Mark 16:16 as the basis for a doctrine in his Shorter
Catechism. Mark 16:9-20 was included in the Rheims New
Testament, and in the King
James Bible and other influential translations. In
most modern-day translations based primarily on the
Alexandrian Text, it is included but is accompanied by
brackets or by special notes, or both.............
Few doctrines of the mainline Christian
denominations stand or fall on the support of the
longer ending of Mark.[citation needed]
The longer ending does identify Mary
Magdalene as the woman out of whom Jesus had exorcised
seven demons (but
so does Luke 8:2), but Mary Magdalene's
significance, and the practice of exorcism, are both
supported by New Testament texts outside the debated
passage.
The longer ending of Mark 16 is of considerable
significance in Pentecostalism
and other denominations:
- Mark 16:16 is cited as evidence for the requirement of believer's
baptism among churches of the Restoration
Movement.
- Mark 16:17 is specifically cited as Biblical support for
some of these denominations' teachings concerning exorcism
and spiritual
warfare, and also in support of speaking
in tongues.
- The practice of snake
handling and of drinking strychnine
and other poisons,
found in a few offshoots of Pentecostalism,
find their Biblical support in Mark 16:18. These churches
typically justify these practices as "confirming the word
with signs
following" (KJV), which references Mark 16:20. Other
denominations believe that these texts indicate the power
of the Holy
Spirit given to the apostles, but do not believe
that they are recommendations for worship.
The longer ending was declared canonical scripture by the Council
of Trent. Today, however, Roman
Catholics are not required to believe that Mark wrote
this ending.[12]
The Catholic NAB
translation includes the footnote: "[9–20] This passage has
traditionally been accepted as a canonical part of the
gospel and was defined as such by the Council of Trent.
Early citations of it by the Fathers indicate that it was
composed by the second century, although vocabulary and
style indicate that it was written by someone other than
Mark. It is a general resume of the material concerning the
appearances of the risen Jesus, reflecting, in particular,
traditions found in Luke 24 and John 20."
