Re: Rattlesnakes and Christian worship rituals

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Posted by Francis on July 11, 2002 at 04:28:11:

In Reply to: Re: Rattlesnakes and Christian worship rituals posted by Munchie160@aol.com on July 10, 2002 at 23:38:18:

: : I'm sure some of you have seen or heard about certain Christian sects who use rattlesnakes during their prayer sessions.

: : Having recently seen a National Geographic documentary which featured them, I'm frankly amazed that the snakes are tossed about without a single ratlle or open-mouthed threat display.

: : Could it be that these snakes have been surgically tampered or drugged in any way? Thanks.

: : Francis

: To me the snakes just look cold and sluggish. I'm sure it's possible that some handlers are pulling fangs out or sewing mouths shut but bites do occur quite often with these snake handlers. I don't think they are altering these snakes in any way because these people don't apear to be doing this for showmanship. They genuinely believe that they are protected by their faith. I think altering the snake would be admitting that god can't protect them and that would negate the whole reason for participating in the church in the first place. There's no law that says a snake has to bite you if you pick it up, and it could be that the people in charge of the snakes purposely select animals that are more mild tempered.

: Chad S.

Hi Chad,

Could it be that these snakes have had their mouths sewn shut? Even if those snakes selected were "mild-tempered" as you speculated, they can still flare up once in a while and lash out.

No disrespect to you but someone who has first hand knowledge of these practices would be mighty interesting to the likes of you and me.

Thanks for the response.

Francis

Follow Ups:

One interesting case... Roger Hallman 07/11/02 (0)
I don't handle snakes for religious purposes... Roger Hallman 07/11/02 (1)
- Re: I don't handle snakes for religious purposes... Lelle Pettersson 07/11/02 (0)

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: : : I'm sure some of you have seen or heard about certain Christian sects who use rattlesnakes during their prayer sessions. : : : Having recently seen a National Geographic documentary which featured them, I'm frankly amazed that the snakes are tossed about without a single ratlle or open-mouthed threat display. : : : Could it be that these snakes have been surgically tampered or drugged in any way? Thanks. : : : Francis : : To me the snakes just look cold and sluggish. I'm sure it's possible that some handlers are pulling fangs out or sewing mouths shut but bites do occur quite often with these snake handlers. I don't think they are altering these snakes in any way because these people don't apear to be doing this for showmanship. They genuinely believe that they are protected by their faith. I think altering the snake would be admitting that god can't protect them and that would negate the whole reason for participating in the church in the first place. There's no law that says a snake has to bite you if you pick it up, and it could be that the people in charge of the snakes purposely select animals that are more mild tempered. : : Chad S. : Hi Chad, : Could it be that these snakes have had their mouths sewn shut? Even if those snakes selected were "mild-tempered" as you speculated, they can still flare up once in a while and lash out. : No disrespect to you but someone who has first hand knowledge of these practices would be mighty interesting to the likes of you and me. : Thanks for the response. : Francis

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Re: Rattlesnakes and Christian worship rituals

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