Life Rattlesnakes In Church - Page 3

BoneKrusher · 06-01-2012, 07:19 AM

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/201...WS02/706019874

Rattlesnake bite kills snake-handling pastor

Pastor Mack Wolford handles a rattlesnake during a service at the Church of the Lord Jesus in Jolo, W.Va., in 2011.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- A West Virginia preacher who followed his father into the rare practice of handling snakes to prove faith in God died after being bitten during an outdoor service involving the reptiles.

Mark Randall "Mack" Wolford, 44 -- whose own father died in 1983 after suffering a fatal bite -- had been bitten before and survived. But he died earlier this week after witnesses say a timber rattler bit him on the thigh. Wolford's sister and a freelance photographer said it happened during a Sunday service at Panther State Forest.

Lauren Pond, a freelance photojournalist from Washington, D.C., told the Bluefield Daily Telegraph she was among 25 people at the service. She saw Wolford bitten but said congregants were unfazed.

"I don't think anyone necessarily expected it," she said, "but they've dealt with it before so it's not such a huge shock, maybe."

Bluefield Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Becky Ritter said Thursday that Wolford was a patient and died Monday, but privacy laws prevented her from releasing additional information.

Born in Pike County, Ky., Wolford had lived in the Bramwell area for the past five years and was a pastor at Apostolic House of the Lord Jesus in Matoaka. Unlike many Pentecostal preachers, he embraced publicity, welcoming journalists and photographers.

Ralph Hood, a religion professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, saw Wolford bitten by a copperhead about six years ago.

Wolford and others prefer to be called "serpent handlers" as a reflection of Scripture, and Hood said his friend would want people to remember him as "a Christian who was living his beliefs and being obedient."

"Serpent-handling was only a small part of that," he said. "He was trying to revitalize a strong tradition that doesn't make a distinction between beliefs and practices."

"A common misunderstanding is that handlers believe they can't get bit or it won't kill them," Hood said. "What they'll tell you is, 'No one will get out of this alive.' They'll also tell you it's not a question of how you live; it's a question of how you die. ... This is how he would have wanted to die."

Wolford and his followers have a literal belief in Mark 16:17-18. "And these signs will follow those who believe," the verses say. "In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover."

"I know it's real; it is the power of God," Wolford said last year. If he hadn't started handling snakes after returning to his church, he said, "it'd be the same as denying the power and saying it was not real."

Although most Appalachian states have outlawed snake handling, it remains legal but rare in West Virginia. Wolford acknowledged that last year, saying his mother was the only relative who still followed the tradition. Her husband died of a rattlesnake bite at age 39 in 1983.

Cody Ford, interim executive director of the West Virginia Council of Churches, represents 15 mainstream denominations and has little interaction with independent churches. But he said serpent-handling is "absolutely not" common in West Virginia, and churches that do it are hard to find.

"To the ordinary person sitting in the pews in any one of our churches, the snake-handling concept would be as strange and foreign as it would be to the most erudite reader of the New York Times," Ford said.

But Hood said the serpent-handling tradition remains scattered throughout the region, from Alabama to Ohio to New York. Its popularity waxes and wanes with the passing of generations, and it is currently seeing a resurgence of sorts.

"It tends to be transmitted through families, and as these young kids mature, the tradition grows and becomes strong again," he said. "And that's what's happening again now."

**Kyle DeLexus** · 06-01-2012, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoneKrusher

thing is, the guy would have lived if he had gotten to the Hospital right after the bite but these people refuse to go till its too late.

Obviously it was God's will. The fact that he didn't go to the hospital right away had nothing to do with it.

**Saul Good** · 06-01-2012, 01:03 PM

Will somebody please get these mother****ing snakes out this mother****ing church.

Aries Walker · 06-01-2012, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WV

Cracks me up how some people think crazy stuff like this inclusive to certain states.

Have you ever been to West Virginia? It's definitely not the only state like this, but let's just say the concentration there is pretty heavy.

BoneKrusher · 06-01-2012, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aries Walker

Have you ever been to West Virginia? It's definitely not the only state like this, but let's just say the concentration there is pretty heavy.

i live in Bluefield Va
half the town is on Virginia side and Half is on the West Va side.

and Bluefield Virginia is hometown to Ahmad Bradshaw.

**Saul Good** · 06-01-2012, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aries Walker

Have you ever been to West Virginia? It's definitely not the only state like this, but let's just say the concentration there is pretty heavy.

Did you happen to catch his screen name?

**Kyle DeLexus** · 06-01-2012, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saul Good

Did you happen to catch his screen name?

Like that means anything. I don't think Rain Man is really a Rain Man.

Okie_Apparition · 06-01-2012, 02:55 PM

Which comes first
Handling snakes or Don't test God

**chasedude** · 06-01-2012, 02:57 PM

Rattlesnakes to help clean out the cesspool, thanks Mr Rattlesnake.

**Rain Man** · 06-01-2012, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyle DeLexus

Like that means anything. I don't think Rain Man is really a Rain Man.

Dammit. I just accidentally knocked 62 paper clips off my desk.

**Kyle DeLexus** · 06-01-2012, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Dammit. I just accidentally knocked 62 paper clips off my desk.

But where do you get your boxer shorts?

BoneKrusher · 06-01-2012, 04:12 PM

cant imagine someone with the Balls to pick this thing up and hold it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMopVml_zwQ

wow.

06-01-2012, 07:19 AM
BoneKrusher That's Right Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Bluefield, Virginia Casino cash: $9976645	Rattlesnakes In Church http://www.heraldnet.com/article/201...WS02/706019874 Rattlesnake bite kills snake-handling pastor Pastor Mack Wolford handles a rattlesnake during a service at the Church of the Lord Jesus in Jolo, W.Va., in 2011. MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- A West Virginia preacher who followed his father into the rare practice of handling snakes to prove faith in God died after being bitten during an outdoor service involving the reptiles. Mark Randall "Mack" Wolford, 44 -- whose own father died in 1983 after suffering a fatal bite -- had been bitten before and survived. But he died earlier this week after witnesses say a timber rattler bit him on the thigh. Wolford's sister and a freelance photographer said it happened during a Sunday service at Panther State Forest. Lauren Pond, a freelance photojournalist from Washington, D.C., told the Bluefield Daily Telegraph she was among 25 people at the service. She saw Wolford bitten but said congregants were unfazed. "I don't think anyone necessarily expected it," she said, "but they've dealt with it before so it's not such a huge shock, maybe." Bluefield Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Becky Ritter said Thursday that Wolford was a patient and died Monday, but privacy laws prevented her from releasing additional information. Born in Pike County, Ky., Wolford had lived in the Bramwell area for the past five years and was a pastor at Apostolic House of the Lord Jesus in Matoaka. Unlike many Pentecostal preachers, he embraced publicity, welcoming journalists and photographers. Ralph Hood, a religion professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, saw Wolford bitten by a copperhead about six years ago. Wolford and others prefer to be called "serpent handlers" as a reflection of Scripture, and Hood said his friend would want people to remember him as "a Christian who was living his beliefs and being obedient." "Serpent-handling was only a small part of that," he said. "He was trying to revitalize a strong tradition that doesn't make a distinction between beliefs and practices." "A common misunderstanding is that handlers believe they can't get bit or it won't kill them," Hood said. "What they'll tell you is, 'No one will get out of this alive.' They'll also tell you it's not a question of how you live; it's a question of how you die. ... This is how he would have wanted to die." Wolford and his followers have a literal belief in Mark 16:17-18. "And these signs will follow those who believe," the verses say. "In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover." "I know it's real; it is the power of God," Wolford said last year. If he hadn't started handling snakes after returning to his church, he said, "it'd be the same as denying the power and saying it was not real." Although most Appalachian states have outlawed snake handling, it remains legal but rare in West Virginia. Wolford acknowledged that last year, saying his mother was the only relative who still followed the tradition. Her husband died of a rattlesnake bite at age 39 in 1983. Cody Ford, interim executive director of the West Virginia Council of Churches, represents 15 mainstream denominations and has little interaction with independent churches. But he said serpent-handling is "absolutely not" common in West Virginia, and churches that do it are hard to find. "To the ordinary person sitting in the pews in any one of our churches, the snake-handling concept would be as strange and foreign as it would be to the most erudite reader of the New York Times," Ford said. But Hood said the serpent-handling tradition remains scattered throughout the region, from Alabama to Ohio to New York. Its popularity waxes and wanes with the passing of generations, and it is currently seeing a resurgence of sorts. "It tends to be transmitted through families, and as these young kids mature, the tradition grows and becomes strong again," he said. "And that's what's happening again now."
Posts: 7,333

06-01-2012, 01:03 PM	#32
Saul Good Quit your bullshit Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Bored of winning Casino cash: $10052799	Will somebody please get these mother**ing snakes out this mother**ing church. __________________ Today is not a good day to be a pussy.
Posts: 41,870

06-01-2012, 02:55 PM	#37
Okie_Apparition Banned Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: floatin cobwebs n the sky Casino cash: $10004900	Which comes first Handling snakes or Don't test God
Posts: 7,012

06-01-2012, 02:57 PM	#38
chasedude Supporter Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: St. Joe Casino cash: $9994900	Rattlesnakes to help clean out the cesspool, thanks Mr Rattlesnake.
Posts: 36,287

06-01-2012, 04:12 PM	#41
BoneKrusher That's Right Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Bluefield, Virginia Casino cash: $9976645	cant imagine someone with the Balls to pick this thing up and hold it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMopVml_zwQ wow. __________________ "MaHomes/MaAuto"
Posts: 7,333

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