Comments (39)

1. No experience with this stuff personally, but I did read an article about a year ago that said when people speak in tongues, the language center of the brain is not activated. I can’t remember which center it said was activated… but it seemed to indicate that they definitely weren’t just faking it. Interesting stuff!

   posted by Molly on 9-28-2007 at 8:41 am

2. The closest I’ve ever been was a Charasmatic mass where people lined up to get holy oil applied to their foreheards. I went on line to get some but all the people before me kept fainting as soon as the oil was applied. There were “catchers” there to catch the people and lay them down.
   When it was my turn I didn’t know what to do so under peer pressure I faked fainting. There I was lying on the floor with one eye open looking around to see how long I should stay down.

   The wife of a friend of mine can speak in tongues and does so when she is “filled with the spirit”. They say that what she is speaking is Aramaic. She has never studied it but claims its a gift from God. I myself think this is a load of hogwash because why would God give her such a useless gift? Wouldn’t God want whatever message she is speaking to be understood by those around her?

   posted by Sweet Pea on 9-28-2007 at 8:50 am

3. Ransom,

   I also grew up Methodist. When I was younger, if I had seen anything like this in person, I believe it would have scared the devil out of me (pardon the pun). One of the best documentaries made, in my opinion. Thanks for posting. Now I can go back to that old conversation I have with a friend of mine about true divine inspiration, mass hysteria or Tourettes (my friend has Tourettes) as some of the jerky motions are SO similar. I know Tourettes does not tend to happen spontaneously, but, it’s a curious point to me. Thanks again.

   posted by Lisa on 9-28-2007 at 8:55 am

4. Ransom, I have no personal experience with this but agree with Lisa; this reminds me of Tourettes as well. I do know that some people are able to ‘contain’ tics to a degree only to have them come out all at once when it is deemed a ’safe’ time. Fascinating stuff. Thanks

   posted by JaneM on 9-28-2007 at 9:21 am

5. I’m on staff at an Assembly of God church, and I can tell you that it isn’t Tourettes, and it isn’t useless,

   since this really isn’t an appropriate forum to start preachin’, I’ll just steer you towards the position papers at ag. org so you can research if at your own leasure

   posted by melanie tarrant on 9-28-2007 at 9:35 am

6. If anyone is interested, there is a very interesting book titled “Salvation on Sand Mountain” by Dennis Covington. He covered the trial of a preacher who killed his wife with a snake. Other snakehandlers invited him (Covington) to come to one of their services and Covington became fascinated with these people and their ways.

   posted by harold on 9-28-2007 at 9:42 am

7. Melaine: thanks for the link! And hey, feel free to start preachin’ if the spirit moves you. It’s that kind of blog post.

   Harold: ’salvation on sand mountain’ is what originally got me interested in this stuff. Great book, thanks for bringing it up. It’s a much more recent portrait of Pentecostalism, and it doesn’t seem all that distant from what’s portrayed in the clip above.

   posted by Ransom on 9-28-2007 at 9:44 am

8. The History Channel recently had a documentary about the history of hillbillies, and they discussed these snake-handling churches. Apparently West Virginia is the only state where this is still legal. Pretty interesting.

   My personal opinion is that some people do have God-given gifts of speaking in tongues and healing, and the Bible explicitly mentions these as spiritual gifts. However, I don’t believe that everyone exhibiting these behaviors in charismatic churches necessarily has these gifts. In many cases, I think people get caught up in the emotion and fervor of the moment. It’s also important to remember that while God gives some people the gift of speaking in tongues, He also gives other people the ability to interpret what they say (1 Cor. 12:10).

   On a related note, for any Christian readers familiar with Pentecostal or charismatic churches, I would highly recommend the novel “The Visitation” by Frank Peretti.

   posted by JasonS on 9-28-2007 at 9:55 am

9. Though snake handling is not permitted by law here in Kentucky, there are still a number of churches that practice the craft. As a matter of fact, one is within 25 minutes drive from my home. They are very secretive (as one would imagine seeing as their faith has an illegal element and all) and will not allow outsiders in…period. It’s a you’ve got to know some body who knows some body situation.

   Alternatively, there are more holy rollin’ pentecostal churches in this state than you can shake a Bible at. My grandfather in law pastors one in the eastern part of the state. Ladies are encouraged to wear hair buns, long skirts, modest shoes, little to no makeup…etc., etc. My wife doesn’t fit in at all and I tend to get tired of all of the gloom and doom “you’re going to burn in hell” services. Whatever happened to preaching about Jesus’ love and the fact that he called us all to love?

   JasonS — Good point on the interpretation. That is often overlooked.

   posted by Ben on 9-28-2007 at 10:07 am

10. Never been to any of these snake handling things, but… I partook in a buddhist tea ceremony where we drank tea as thick as mud after 3 days of meditation, and it was a truly amazing, life changing experience. Its hard to describe, and I’ve always assumed other cultures that practice this kind of shamanic practice also experience the same feelings, so I’ve never knocked ‘em for it.

    On the other hand… no matter how nasty and strong that tea was, nobody was going to die from it, snakes make no such promises.

    posted by Scott on 9-28-2007 at 11:00 am

11. I’ve never been to this type of thing but my family is primarily from southeastern kentucky, which is part of the Bible Belt. All my life, going down to my grandparent’s, I remember seeing signs that said “Jesus is coming R U ready?” and “Halloween=Satan Worship” and other various billboards of the sort, right on the highway even.
    There is a story my Grampa told me. He once went to (a baptist) church and when they asked if anyone wasn’t baptized, he made the mistake of raising his hand. Some big men tried to force him up there to get baptized and he ran out. He didn’t attend church for MANY years after that.

    posted by Lea on 9-28-2007 at 11:25 am

12. I have been to one service where they spoke in tounges, now growing up Catholic this was not a comfortable situation for me, i have yet to ever go back to that church, but to each his own

    posted by Lindsey on 9-28-2007 at 11:30 am

13. Like Ben, I’m from Kentucky – part of the small geographic confines where this practice still goes on. I grew up in the eastern end of the state (which to borrow from an earlier post would, I suppose, make me a “hillbilly”), but have never witnessed anything like this in person. From my lay understanding, I believe this practice is limited to a specific branch of the Pentecostal church. So to be fair, we shouldn’t lump all of those religious traditions into a broad “snake handler” characterization. There are primitive Baptist, Old Regular Baptist, and many other denominations sprinkled throughout Appalachia and the rest of the country where such practices would never be permitted.

    A good book for anyone seeking a broad overview of the topic of these and other faiths is Deborah McCauley’s (I believe I spelled that right) Appalachian Mountain Religion, and the bibliography inside there will point you in other directions.

    Also, something I haven’t seen mentioned yet – there was a documentary on Sundance a month or so ago called Heaven Come Down about this exact topic. While I wouldn’t call it a necessarily ‘fair’ treatment (it did, after all, play to some very base Appalachian stereotypes), it still taught me a lot. Check it out at

    http://www.sundancechannel.com/films/500013544

    posted by Roger on 9-28-2007 at 11:40 am

14. This was fascinating. While in college I attended a lecture by one of the FBI’s top cult de-programmers and he said that Appalachia’s ecstatic snake handlers were some of the toughest people to work with, harder than virtually and group besides a handful of militant end of the world/ David Coresh type groups.

    posted by Thomas on 9-28-2007 at 2:13 pm

15. i went to bethesda missionary temple in detroit, mi as a teen back in the ’70’s. coming from a comparatively conservative methodist church to bmt was a shock; even at 15 i knew enough to be horrified by the theatrics and hypocrisy. i’m sure the few years spent with people very much like the ones depicted in the above clips is partly responsible for my awakening to atheism.

    posted by kdl on 9-28-2007 at 6:26 pm

16. I’m in eastern Kentucky. I attended a snake-handlin’ once, but I can’t tell you if the movie is “dated”, because that experience was a long time ago. As far as the rolling and speaking in tongues, that’s not uncommon in many churches around here.

    posted by Miss Cellania on 9-28-2007 at 7:09 pm

17. I’ve never been to anything like that, and coming from a conservative Catholic background (which I’m still recovering from)I don’t think I ever will, but I have a good movie to watch, if you’re interested in the Pentecostal/Episcopalian religions. It’s called Jesus Camp, and while it doesn’t cover snake handling, it does include speaking in tongues, and the holy ghost.

    posted by Jess on 9-29-2007 at 3:02 am

18. I too am from Kentucky and was born in 1964 so this film was made in my childhood. Watching this clip horrified me but also gave me a rush of nostalgia. The people in it look and sound just like my family and the members of the church we went to. The snakes always scared me but the speaking in tongues was cool and even though I was not allowed to laugh I always was amused watching people holy rolling. Given that I grew up in such a church it is no surprise that I became a SubGenius.

    posted by Cynthiana on 9-29-2007 at 3:05 am

19. There is a wide spectrum of ecstatic experience in Christian churches, ranging from ‘falling to the ground rolling’ to awareness of the manifest presence of God. The practice of ’speaking in tongues’ is documented in the New Testament, and is one of the basic gifts of the Holy Spirit.

    While there are many accounts of people speaking in known languages, especially in cases where a non-believer is nearby to hear and understand what is being said, the gift of tongues is usually expressed in language that is unknown to anyone. In 1 Corinthians, 13:1 [NIV], Paul writes “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” That is, sometimes one is inspired to speak in known languages, and sometimes in an unknown language. In addition, tongues are not a goal in themselves, but take a back seat to the weightier matter of love.

    Prayer in an unknown language is for personal edification, among other things, but can be complemented by an expression of the ‘gift of interpretation’. In an assembly of people, one may be inspired to speak in an unknown language, followed by an interpretation of the message in English. Often, the interpretation is given by another person in the congregation. This interpretor is also speaking under inspiration by the Holy Spirit, and is not consciously ‘understanding’ the original announcement. The words of interpretation are then considered to be for the edification of the assembly as a whole, although they may sometimes be directed to some individual for their particular needs.

    Again, Paul writes:

    1 Corinthians 14:18-19 [NIV] “18I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.”

    1 Corinthians, 14:23 [NIV] “So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?”

    We are cautioned not to use the Gift of Tongues simply to show off, taking it as evidence of particular holiness. It is better to speak in prophesy, for everyone’s edification.

    The inclusion of poisonous snakes, fire and poison in church services is widely seen as useless showmanship. It is directly opposed to the Christian message. Notably, in Matthew 4:5-7 [NIV], Jesus is offered temptation by Satan in the wilderness:

    (5)Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. (6)”If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
    ” ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

    (7)Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

    Snake handling is an aberration, and not a widespread or standard part of the Pentecostal or Charismatic Christian experience. It is in opposition to Biblical writing, and should not be taken as a measure of “strong faith”. On the other hand, the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, which include speaking in tongues, are one of many common experiences in Charismatic and Pentecostal churches. The Gifts are supported by Biblical writing, and their practice should not be suppressed. They are not to be pursued for their own sake, nor should they be seen as a measure of “strength of faith” or evidence of particular holiness. Like salvation itself, the Gifts are given out by God without warrant, “so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:9 [NIV]).

    Other ecstatic experiences may be less common, such as being ’slain in the spirit’ (falling), unaccountable laughter, dancing or rolling. These are, again, not to be pursued for their own sake or taken as evidence of holiness. These outward expressions of an inward and spiritual reality are alarming to see, and should be judged by their “fruit”. That is, a church that demonstrates tongues, laughter, rolling and so on; but does not eventually show repentance, integrity, mercy and love is not giving evidence of the presence and work of the Holy Spirit. It is a church putting on an empty show. Many churches and many people have gone in pursuit of revival through repentance and prayer. They experienced these and other outward manifestations, to the alarm of some of their members and outside observers. In the end, they emerged; revitalized and committed to their faith more than ever. Such transformations have resulted in churches that engage in great acts of mercy and charity, while fearlessly confronting their own inward shortcomings.

    posted by Daniel Kim on 9-29-2007 at 9:14 am

20. Daniel — many thanks for your patient and cogent explanation!

    posted by Ransom on 9-29-2007 at 10:00 am

21. I was raised in the A/G church, with lots of deep southern relatives (Mississippi) and have seen the “tongues”/holy roller most of my life. Once I began my de-conversion process I was able to look at the goings-on around me in an entirely new light. It’s fascinating to sit there in a “spirit-filled” service and simply observe. You can learn quite a lot about the dynamics of human behavior and the power of suggestion.

    I’ve seen “messages in tongues” with subsequent “translations” from one congregation member to another. It’s almost like the act is a form of social ladder climbing within the church. Who is holy enough to have the blessing of the lord this Sunday? I’ve seen those out of favor stand uncomfortably when nobody will translate for them after giving “god’s word”.

    I’ve had preachers try to put me on the ground (generally by pushing at the top of the forehead to try and set you off-balance, which makes you stumble back so you can be “caught” and lowered to the ground under the influence of the “spirit”) because they expected everyone they touched to succumb to the power of suggestion and fall under the “spirit”. They tend to get rather upset when you won’t fall down. There’s a strange look that they get on their faces before they become indignant and tell you that you should go spend time with god in order to be more humble and subservient.

    This is in no way my saying that the entire thing is a sham. There are the rare few who do not use religion as a scapegoat. Those for whom faith and belief and unlimited forgiveness are not used as excuses for human imperfection and who I admire greatly because they are examples of what faith should be. I tend to believe, however, that these people would be decent humans regardless of any religious inclination.

    The structure of the modern church, however, serves as an amazing haven for modern day snake-oil peddlers and charlatans. For every decent person who truly believes in what they’re doing and who puts in to practice all the things a life of faith should be, there are more who see nothing but opportunity. After all, how else are they going to get 10% of your income with absolutely no tangible benefit to you? The congregations pay for their homes, their cars, their livelihood… and that generosity is often abused as many times those who lead live far more comfortable lives than those in their churches.

    posted by Ket on 9-29-2007 at 10:53 am

22. So far everyone who has posted here is from the South, but I grew up in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions, and attended this type of church in both areas. Both had people speaking in tongues, falling under the spriit, faith healing, etc. The only thing missing in the snake handling. There does seem to be an unofficial denomination of non-demominational Pentecostal churches with ties to the Southern churches as most of the preachers looked up to by these churches are in the south. Even the preachers (and sometimes members of the congregation) from the midwest took on a southern accent while talking about their faith, and especially in the “Glory to God” and “Praise Jesus” tics.
    I think the common tie is Rhema Bible college and where most of them are trained. It’s definitely worth Googling. Has anyone else come across preachers who went there?

    posted by Rachel on 9-29-2007 at 3:28 pm

23. Personal anecdote time!

    that video is not so outdated. Except for the snake handling, all of those behaviors can be observed today.

    I grew up in Michigan and was raised inside a charismatic community of mostly Catholics.

    “Charismatic” is a term that can be used across denominational lines (unlike “Pentecostal” for instance). Being Charismatic (from my personal experience) involves a focus on the Holy Spirit as a personified entity with whom we can interact, an emphasis on what are termed “gifts of the Spirit” as described in the Pauline epistles of the Bible, and having an expectation to see certain acts and behaviors by people in a worship setting (eg. raising hands, singing/speaking in tongues, dancing, praying over others, prophesying publicly, etc.)

    When I was growing up I had many ecstatic worship experiences like those pictured in the video (but none of the charismatic congregations I’ve attended approved of *any* kind of dangerous “tests” like snake handling). I’ve been “slain in the Spirit” (pictured in the video as women lying still on the floor); I’ve spoken in other “tongues”; I’ve even had some experiences where I thought I could sense angels in the room. I’ve seen prophecies given, prayers for instantaneous healing, and much, much more. That was my spiritual culture.

    Now, as I’ve matured, studied the cultural contexts of the passages of the Bible, taken my own experiences and observations into account, and studied more of Hebrew language and idiom… I’ve come to the point where I do not believe there is a mysterious angelic language in which people speak. I do not believe that most of the ecstatic experiences in charismatic services are much more than a euphoric groupthink that triggers certain parts of our brains.

    Sometimes those doctrines can be dangerous to the individual. It caused me a lot of shame when I was told that in order to be a true Christian I had to speak in tongues or else it wasn’t “saved”, and I wasn’t filled with the Spirit. So I spoke in a language I thought was “tongues” because I wanted to fit in and be a good Christian. I’ll admit now that I was speaking a lot of rhythmic gibberish. My heart was in prayer, but my mind was still on “ooh look, I’m doing it! I’m fitting in!”

    It’s a lot of pressure, a lot of learned behavior by observation… Just my opinion.

    OK I’m babbling now ;). This is an enormous subject and obviously I’m still processing my entire young years and its influence on me.

    posted by Julia on 9-29-2007 at 10:38 pm

24. I grew up in a small town outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I was brought up Catholic; When I was younger, my mother used to drag me along to all types of religious things at our church. One time, we went to a “healing mass”. Instead of an actual mass, it was more of a opportunity to pray, go to confession, etc. When people started to line up for what I thought was communion [I was about 7 or 8, now], I stood up to get in line too. I wasn’t really looking around until I got up closer to the front, and a woman a couple places in front of me just collapsed.. There were people laying all over the floor in the front of the church, some of them were singing and moaning, talking in wierd languages.. I remember starting to cry, because it scared me, and my mother had to take me out, and we left. Good memories.

    posted by Mary on 10-1-2007 at 6:07 am

25. Those people remind me more of the Voodoo practioners I have seen video of in documentaries than they do any Christian sect.

    Their problem is they take one or two verses from the Bible and make those the sum of their own religion. They have made snakes the “God” of their God, not god.

    posted by SkyeBlue on 10-1-2007 at 10:23 am

26. I grew up in Northern California, just outside of San Francisco. In the late 60’s my parents became “born again” and shortly there-after, they became “charismatic”. I attended many services and prayer groups where there was speaking in tongues and prophesying. Frankly, it scared the heck out of me as a child of 8-12 years old.

    posted by Elaine on 10-1-2007 at 6:12 pm

27. “i’m sure the few years spent with people very much like the ones depicted in the above clips is partly responsible for my awakening to atheism.” Thank God! It never ceases to blow my mind how many otherwise intelligent, logical and compassionate people can be 100% normal in almost every aspect and then drown their lives and any hope for common understanding and peace in the baptismal pool of religion.

    posted by Eric on 10-1-2007 at 7:53 pm

28. Yeah, im not trying to be judgemental or anything, but unless you have actually spoken in tongues you shouldn’t scrutinize something you don’t understand. Most people make fun of something because they are scared that this is the real deal. Blaspheming of the Holy ghost is the one thing God can never forgive you for just food for thought.

    posted by Justin on 1-9-2008 at 12:29 am

29. I WAS RAISED IN THAT HOLLY ROLLER,SNAKE HANDLING,SPEAKING IN TONGUES SCRABBLE CREEK CHURCH AND I TURNED OUT PRETTY GOOD. AS I LOOKED AT THE CLIP, I SAW SO MANY OF MY FAMILEY MEMBERS INCLUDING MY OLDEST SISTER. I GOT MARRIED AND MOVED TO LAS VEGAS IN 1966 AND SERCHED FOR A CHURCH LIKE THIS, BUT AT THAT TIME COULD NOT FIND ANY. (BY THE WAY LAS VEGAS HAS MORE CHURCHES PER CAPITA THAN ANY OTHER CITY) I SURE DID MISS THE WONDERFULL TEACHINGS OF THIS CHURCH WHICH GAVE ME SO MANY VALUES THAY I HAVE TODAY. WE ALL HAVE A RIGHT TO BELIEVE IN WHAT WE BELIEVE OR DON’T BELIEVE AND I AGGREE WITH THE PERSON WHO SAID SOMETIMES ITS THE UNKNOWN THAT WE ARE SCARED OF. NOT EVERYONE SPEAKS IN TONGUES, THIS IS A GIFT, AND YOU JUST CAN’T SPEAK IT WHEN YOU WANT TO, ITS THE POWER OF GOD THATS PUT UPON YOU AND ITS HIS TIMING NOT YOURS. NO MATTER WHAT RELIGION YOU ARE, JUST BE A GOOD PERSON AND LET WHATEVER YOU BELIEVE IN TAKE IT FROM THERE. THIS FILM MADE MY DAY…….

    posted by linda brown on 1-16-2008 at 3:41 pm

30. I just wanted to say that I have also watched this film. These are some of my family members, though I am not sure who is who. I recently saw an aunt in there. I am curious about this place, I may visit there. I am scared to death of snakes, but I want to observe.
    The Pastor Elza O. Preast would have been my great uncle I believe. His Sister also married my great grandpa.
    So Linda, If you could email me I’d be pleased to meet you.
    Auquachick@aol.com

    posted by Lisa on 1-20-2008 at 1:51 pm

31. Many of my family friends belong to a local church that does not deal with reptiles, but where they speak in tongues and fall to the ground. It is very interesting but at times frightening. I have been there before (sitting at the back for safety :P) and watched a 5 year old girl laughing and speaking in tongues….it is a very youth oriented church… I have also witnessed a “pile” of teens and youth on the ground, laughing crying, screaming and speaking in tongues… with about 20 adults (many of their parents holding hands in a circle around them) at one point one girl yelled something like “lord let the wall come down” and all at once all of the adults hit the ground.. you could tell that it was not fake, they all fainted simultaneously.. but people are supposed to speak in toungues to preach “Gods word” to other ppl, not to show what good christians they are..

    posted by Hannah on 1-30-2008 at 2:25 pm

32. I’m not a religious person really, but once went with a friend to several Charismatic Catholic services. At one we were in the front as the priest applied holy water to the parishoners, and they were falling down one after another. It came my turn and though I wasn’t cynical about it I was wondering what would happen. All I can say is that it took all my might to remain standing, for a brief moment I was (almost) completely taken over by whatever force was present in that service.

    posted by Gerry on 2-23-2008 at 2:21 pm

33. Yes, I visited a snake handling church a few years ago. I am a pentecostal pastor from California. Was in Louisville attending a conference. A few of us pastors decided to ditch some of the meetings and see some country. Rented a car, and started out through the ‘bluegrass’. Went to a civil war site where they were having some re-enactment, that was interesting, especially all the little food booths that were there.

    Then someone mentioned the ‘snake handling churches’, why don’t we try to find one? So we started asking around, and were told there were none in the area, but we would have to go to Eastern Kentucky. So away we went. After a few more inquiries, we found ourselves in a little town near Hazard. Someone told us where a church was that did it. We found it, and according to the sign, they were having church that night!!! We were in luck!

    So we killed some time, went to a coffee shop and waited. We drove to the church and saw there were a dozen cars or so scattered around the building. We parked and the 4 of us walked in. We were greeted by a member, but no one really spoke to us, we just sort of looked out of place, because we really were. The service began with someone going to town on a guitar, with piano. Someone got up to lead the service. I recall several people sitting on the platform, and few people in the pews. We really were out of place. We tried to sing and clap, as everyone else was doing. About midway through the service, I noticed a man walk in with a little cage. I nudged one of the guys with me and said, ‘they just brought em in’. When I nudged him, I startled him. The service continued on and on, until the end. No serpents.

    After the service, a few of the men came to talk with us. My friend Steve was very diplomatic and frank. He just explained that we were pastors from California and that we had heard of the churches that handled serpents, and we were curious, and that we meant no harm. At that, they let down their guard, as snake handling is not legal. As they began to ‘testify’ to us, they brought the cage. We stepped back a bit… one of the men began to stammer with his lips, as he reached in and allowed a rattlesnake to crawl around on his arm and shoulder. Everyone else began to pray and go ggggggg ggggggg gggggg ggggggg gggggggg gggggggg in a very weird way. We just watched, someone else reached in and out popped a cottonmouth. We watched as the same thing happened. I took an additional step backwards. The serpents were handed from one person to another, and eventually they were put back in the cage and the ‘ggggggg gggggggg ggggggg stopped. Then they begin to explain why they did it… it was a statement of their faith. Also, they told us the pastor just died of a bite, and they were without a pastor, that elders from other churches were taking over until they got another one !! We learned that if someone gets bit and they die, that means there’s ‘sin in their life’… (sheeze)

    They invited us to another meeting they were having the next night in Virginia where they said they’ll have many, many serpents that have never been handled by humans before. Aaaaa… no thanks. Had seen enough !

    “The night that me’n Doris
    Went runnin’ through the forest
    Way up in the Hills of Tennessee

    We started makin’ tracks
    When they brought out the diamondback
    It scared the devil out of old Doris and me ”

    btw, in my opinion, there are many things out there, including this ‘documentary’ that shows the negative side of the pentecostal experience.

    ‘it is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honour of kings is to seek out a matter’ [proverbs 25:2]

    posted by John on 4-4-2008 at 2:30 am

34. @ John –

    Wow, thanks for that vivid, detailed description! Really appreciate you sharing your experience. Absolutely fascinating.

    posted by Ransom on 4-4-2008 at 9:57 am

35. HI everyone,
    My name is Ronn; I have built a website for a young man of God for whom I have much respect ablazeministries.org . I am doing it because his dad has renounced him for not preaching legalism. This young minister is the real deal, I know his heart, and he loves Jesus and his people very much.
    I need your help, I’m “Not” asking for money, I just want you to sign his guest book and lift up his spirits, I would also like for some spiritual men of God to consider being spiritual fathers for this young minister, his pain is to much for him to share so I wanted to do it for him…
    The website will be a blessing for many and we could put a link to your website on it.
    Thank you in Christ, Ronn

    posted by Ronn on 4-25-2008 at 11:01 am

36. I don’t know who this other Ronn is but I appreciate the link…

    I don’t think they have the storey right but the link is so thanks…
    Smiles

    posted by Ronn on 4-30-2008 at 5:45 pm

37. Thanks for posting the film extracts, Ransom. They’re very fascinating.
    As a visual artist I’ve been working on the theme of ecstasy on different levels for a while. I’ve done research on fan culture, voodoo and on séances held in the 1920ies which led to materialisation through ectoplasm.
    Probably you know the film “Rock my Religion” by Dan Graham. The documentary draws a link between the origins of rock music and the beginning of the shaker movement in Manchester. Excellent film.
    I’m very much fascinated about the spacial aspect of ecstasy, about the fact that your body becomes a container for something new while your mind goes elsewhere. Currently I’m working on ecstatic snakes: serpents go crazy because they feel an upcoming earthquake. So the perspective is really that of the animal and not of the people like in the holy ghost film.
    I’d be very much interested in sharing and exchanging information on that topic with you. Please feel free to get in touch with me about it. Thanks, Susanne

    posted by Susanne on 9-30-2008 at 11:28 pm

38. I attend a Pentecostal church–have all of my life. We do speak in tongues, but never have we handled snakes or drunk poison or anything along those lines.

    When it comes to speaking in tongues, at least in my church and churches I have visited, people are not coached, everyone is not doing the same thing–it is an individual experience.

    posted by Susan on 3-10-2009 at 8:57 am

39. I have been to services like this (obviously there are cultural differences). I have both experienced and witnessed shaking, falling to the floor, speaking in tongues, etc.

    Jesus told us to test things by their “fruit” or results. If the result is greater love for God and for other people, greater desire to do good, freedom from bondage to addiction, etc, then we can say it’s good and it’s God.

    I have seen people who in my opinion simply get caught up in the “manifestations” and don’t exhibit holiness or love in their lives. I’ve also seen things that I think were simply wacky and off-track (like the snake-handling in this video).

    Ultimately, you must use your own discretion and judgment by the Holy Spirit and based on the Bible, which is the word of God and doesn’t change. Daniel Kim gave a good summary in his comment above.

    posted by Susanna on 3-10-2009 at 3:45 pm

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