A "serpent-handling" West Virginia pastor died after his rattlesnake bit him during a church ritual, just as the man had apparently watched a snake kill his father years before.
Pentecostal pastor Mark Wolford, 44, hosted an outdoor service at the Panther Wildlife Management Area in West Virginia Sunday, which he touted on his Facebook page prior to the event.
"I am looking for a great time this Sunday," Wolford wrote May 22, according to the Washington Post. "It is going to be a homecoming like the old days. Good 'ole raised in the holler or mountain ridge running, Holy Ghost-filled speaking-in-tongues sign believers."
Robin Vanover, Wolford's sister, told the Washington Post that 30 minutes into the outdoor service, Wolford passed around a poisonous timber rattlesnake, which eventually bit him.
"He laid it on the ground," Vanover said in the interview, "and he sat down next to the snake, and it bit him on the thigh."
Vanover said Wolford was then transported to a family member's home in Bluefield about 80 miles away to recover. But as the situation worsened, he was taken to a hospital where he later died.
Not mocking this guy, its obviously a sad story. But for a guy to watch his dad die the same way and not maybe take another approach is further proof of natural selection.
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I was unaware the proper medical action to take following a poisonous snake bite is to drive 80 miles to somebody's house. I would have gone to a hospital like some sort of pansy.
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I think snake handling in some pentocostal circles originates from scripture on the apostle Paul where he was bitten by a venomous snake on the island of Malta but survived.
My guess is the pastor was a staunch believer in miracle healing that refused to ever seek medical help.
I was unaware the proper medical action to take following a poisonous snake bite is to drive 80 miles to somebody's house. I would have gone to a hospital like some sort of pansy.
I think snake handling in some pentocostal circles originates from scripture on the apostle Paul where he was bitten by a venomous snake on the island of Malta but survived.
This scripture too:
17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they 2 will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." - Mark 16:17-18
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flabbibulin
My guess is the pastor was a staunch believer in miracle healing that refused to ever seek medical help.
Could be part of it, a pastor of a church I used to go to and were pretty good family friends with when I was a kid died of cancer for this reason.
__________________ Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position.
But certainty is an absurd one.
I had a guy cut himself one time pretty bad at my company. Pouring out blood, this absolute moron knelt down and prayed. I couldn't fataing believe it. I basically slapped him on the back of the head and told him we're going to the hospital. It was unreal.
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I was unaware the proper medical action to take following a poisonous snake bite is to drive 80 miles to somebody's house. I would have gone to a hospital like some sort of pansy.
I had a guy cut himself one time pretty bad at my company. Pouring out blood, this absolute moron knelt down and prayed. I couldn't fataing believe it. I basically slapped him on the back of the head and told him we're going to the hospital. It was unreal.
1. What Christian church ritual requires a snake? For a conservative group that loves to point the 'pagan' or 'heretic' finger at lots of other people, that seems weird to me.
2. How were they not prepared for a rattlesnake bite? From what I know the antidote isn't hard to find and has a decent window of time to be administered.
1. What Christian church ritual requires a snake? For a conservative group that loves to point the 'pagan' or 'heretic' finger at lots of other people, that seems weird to me.
2. How were they not prepared for a rattlesnake bite? From what I know the antidote isn't hard to find and has a decent window of time to be administered.
And why didn't one of the members of the congregation suck one out for Jesus?
__________________
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
1. What Christian church ritual requires a snake? For a conservative group that loves to point the 'pagan' or 'heretic' finger at lots of other people, that seems weird to me.
2. How were they not prepared for a rattlesnake bite? From what I know the antidote isn't hard to find and has a decent window of time to be administered.
There was a pretty good X-Files episode on the subject back in the day - one of their "battle with the Devil" episodes...
17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they 2 will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." - Mark 16:17-18
Could be part of it, a pastor of a church I used to go to and were pretty good family friends with when I was a kid died of cancer for this reason.
Yup, I grew up in a pentocostalish type church and it was amazing how many people were staunch believers in miracle healings, yet never actually experienced or saw one. I remember a time when a woman our church had been diagnosed with a serious form of cancer, prompting weeks and weeks of prayer. The cancer coincidentally went into remission and everyone was claiming God had healed her... Unfortunately, yet predictably, the cancer returned and took her life a couple years later. I don't recall, but Im sure the explanation by the devout was they didn't have enough faith.
I also remember hearing story after story of "signs and wonders" taking place daily in Africa and other 3rd world regions. The church explanation for this was the believers in Africa simply had more faith than NA christians, while it is now painfully obvious to me as an adult that this was all BS. Easy to make claims of miracle healings in a third world region of the globe where there are much much fewer methods of verifying the claims (or verifying that the person was even sick to begin with).
Last edited by Flabbibulin; 05-31-2012 at 11:17 AM.
I don't recall, but Im sure the explanation by the devout was they didn't have enough faith.
Yeah, that's the evil part.. some denominations wave their hands chalk it up to God's will, which may or may not be sufficient explanation but is at least benign enough.. But to tell someone suffering from cancer (or that can't conceive a baby, or crippled by depression, etc) that they're not being healed because they don't have enough faith, or they lost their healing because of sin, is just evil. It really is.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flabbibulin
Easy to make claims of miracle healings in a third world region of the globe where there are much much fewer methods of verifying the claims (or verifying that the person was even sick to begin with).
I actually went to a Benny Hinn meeting at the Saddledome years ago, didn't even get into the dome, was in the overflow seating with the TV.
The people that were there... the "this is my last hope" expressions, hope mixed with despondency, totally heart wrenching, and the meeting, totally evil.
__________________ Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position.
But certainty is an absurd one.
I wondering if old Darwin is standing up at heaven's gate with St Peter and when someone approaches and tells old Pete that he was killed when he tested a bullet proof vest by shooting himself in the face if Darwin does a fist pump and yells "Buulya, eat that god"
__________________
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
As always, Darwin wins.
