I’m not saying it isn’t silly, but it comes from a specific passage in Mark 16-
16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
So Big J, who’s also Big G, says that if you believe, you’ll be able to walk around with snakes and drink poison and survive.
They’re not so big on the poison drinking, admittedly.
Those insane snake handling churches that routinely have people bitten?
Yeah the group is a riot. Lots of them have died of snakebite and yet they persist.
There’s a great book about it called Salvation on Sand Mountain that I highly recommend.
I’d say that’s to their credit.
Don’t get me wrong, they’re completely nuts, but at least they’re consistent. Anyone who gets bitten doesn’t have enough faith. Period.
I have this great photo of some chubby kid with a tie that says JESUS holding a box of snakes someplace.
Wait so if I never bother to test myself because I’m not a pond-drinking moron, does that mean I have enough faith?
I’m not saying it isn’t silly, but it comes from a specific passage in Mark 16-
So Big J, who’s also Big G, says that if you believe, you’ll be able to walk around with snakes and drink poison and survive.
They’re not so big on the poison drinking, admittedly.