Topic: Snake handling pastor - dead of snakebite

[Desert Fox]

Poor snake. . . .

[riptor]

I'm from northern WV.  It's nice to know there are other skeptics in WV. 

Alas, I am an expatriate, an economic refugee.  I'm in eastern Pennsylvania.  I do think about returning to the mountains, but at this point I don't know when to go, where to go, or what to do.  Where are you?

ETA:  However, you can count my mother, just outside of Athens, as a skeptical in-state compatriot! 

There is also a documentary made in the 1970's about the snake handlers in Jolo, called "The Jolo Serpent Handlers".

I shall look it up and add it to my ever-growing West Virginia History and Culture library!

I'm in the Morgantown area.  If you are ever in the area we have an atheist/skeptic group that meets a few times a month. 

[Stargrave]

hasnt this sort of thing been happening for the last hundred years or so?

[Desert Fox]

Doesn't mean we cannot point and laugh 

[AQB24712]

Back to this dormant topic, we had a question in Fact or Crap? earlier this week about shenanigans in the 1904 Olympic marathon, which included strychnine being administered to the eventual winner to help him through the last ten miles.  I remembered that in this thread (and other discussions of snake-handlin' preachers), the drinking of strychnine was mentioned as part of the ritual.

So off I went to the 'pedia.

In low dosages, strychnine can act as a stimulant and has been used by athletes to enhance their performance. Strychnine made headlines back in 1904 during the St. Louis Olympics. At that time there were no rules yet about the use of performance enhancing drugs. The American Fred Lorz won the marathon competition but was disqualified just after crossing the finish line because officials learned he had taken a car ride for part of the race. The next man to finish was the British athlete Thomas Hicks. He won the gold medal but not without a little help. About 10 miles from the finish line Hicks begged his trainers to let him stop running and give-up the race. His trainers refused and gave him a dose of strychnine as a stimulant to keep him going. They also gave him raw egg-white and brandy. As a result Hicks had to be carried across the finish line and it took four doctors to revive him so that he could leave the stadium. More recently at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, strychnine was used to optimize the athletic performance of a female volleyball player from China. This was Wu Dan and she was actually the first person to test positive for drugs at the Olympics. She tested positive for strychnine despite claiming not having ingested any. The strychnine was contained in capsules that Dan was taking without the knowledge of the team doctor. She took the capsule as a tonic because she was feeling a bit tired. The Olympic committee banned her from any more competition but stated that Dan didn’t intentionally cheat but the mistake was due to poor education.

So maybe the preachers are swigging down a near-homeopathic dosage of strychnine, not enough to do them in on the spot, but enough to impress the peanut gallery and help with the buzz they get from the adrenaline.

[seamas]

It'd be funny to see what happens if one were to load the church's snake box with king cobras and black mambas.

[Citizen Skeptic]

I'd just put one of those springloaded jobbies in there. Now that would be a hoot!

[seaotter]

It is interesting that god only protects from moderatly dangerous snakes, and this not absolutely. I feel a Randi challenge!

[Desert Fox]

It is interesting that god only protects from moderatly dangerous snakes, and this not absolutely. I feel a Randi challenge!

They don't drink the most deadly poisons either. . .How about drinking a nice tall glass of mercury

[Halleyscomet/Wakefield]

It is interesting that god only protects from moderatly dangerous snakes, and this not absolutely. I feel a Randi challenge!

They don't drink the most deadly poisons either. . .How about drinking a nice tall glass of mercury

Because their faith is not as strong as they claim, and they know, in their heart of hearts, that their claims are bullshit.

[Desert Fox]

It is interesting that god only protects from moderatly dangerous snakes, and this not absolutely. I feel a Randi challenge!

They don't drink the most deadly poisons either. . .How about drinking a nice tall glass of mercury

Because their faith is not as strong as they claim, and they know, in their heart of hearts, that their claims are bullshit.

Have to think it is a religious tempting of fate like some dangerous sports are.
They want to go right to the limit.

[seamas]

According to an Evangelical christian and herpetology enthusiast I know online, the "Holiness" Pentacostals engage in a LOT of theatrics-
They apparently milk the poison from the snakes before their meetings, and will do other things (like manipulate temperature) to keep the snakes relatively slow and docile.
Seems to make sense to me, as any of the footage I have seen, the snakes don't look terribly agitated, even though they are being tossed around.

[Halleyscomet/Wakefield]

According to an Evangelical christian and herpetology enthusiast I know online, the "Holiness" Pentacostals engage in a LOT of theatrics-
They apparently milk the poison from the snakes before their meetings, and will do other things (like manipulate temperature) to keep the snakes relatively slow and docile.
Seems to make sense to me, as any of the footage I have seen, the snakes don't look terribly agitated, even though they are being tossed around.

So God will protect them from poisonous serpents, but only if they drain the venom first.

Not much of a God they worship, eh? Might as well deify OSHA.

[seamas]

According to an Evangelical christian and herpetology enthusiast I know online, the "Holiness" Pentacostals engage in a LOT of theatrics-
They apparently milk the poison from the snakes before their meetings, and will do other things (like manipulate temperature) to keep the snakes relatively slow and docile.
Seems to make sense to me, as any of the footage I have seen, the snakes don't look terribly agitated, even though they are being tossed around.

So God will protect them from poisonous serpents, but only if they drain the venom first.

Not much of a God they worship, eh? Might as well deify OSHA.

Well more to the point, it is an indictment upon the strength of their faith---which is pretty much central to their church. Christians and evangelicals in particular put faith on this gigantic pedestal. It's considered weak to even question one's faith.

[Halleyscomet/Wakefield]

According to an Evangelical christian and herpetology enthusiast I know online, the "Holiness" Pentacostals engage in a LOT of theatrics-
They apparently milk the poison from the snakes before their meetings, and will do other things (like manipulate temperature) to keep the snakes relatively slow and docile.
Seems to make sense to me, as any of the footage I have seen, the snakes don't look terribly agitated, even though they are being tossed around.

So God will protect them from poisonous serpents, but only if they drain the venom first.

Not much of a God they worship, eh? Might as well deify OSHA.

Well more to the point, it is an indictment upon the strength of their faith---which is pretty much central to their church. Christians and evangelicals in particular put faith on this gigantic pedestal. It's considered weak to even question one's faith.

And yet, by milking the snakes and keeping them cold, they not only question their own faith, but flat out admit they have no real belief in the miracles they claim to be exploiting.