Death of snake handling preacher shines light on lethal Appalachian tradition

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First,I need to make one thing clear…I am not an atheist. That would mean that I was certain that there is no “God”, whatever that may be. I do not believe that there is a god, but I am smart enough to know that I have no idea what else is out there. That being said, let’s get to the topic.This is from CNN.

Mack Wolford, one of the most famous Pentecostal serpent handlers in Appalachia, was laid to rest Saturday at a low-key service at his West Virginia church a week after succumbing to a snake bite that made headlines across the nation.

Several dozen family, friends and members of Wolford’s House of the Lord Jesus church in tiny Matoaka filled the simple hall for the service, which lasted slightly more than an hour. At the request of pastor’s widow, Fran Wolford, media were forbidden inside the building.
Wolford’s own dad was a serpent handler who died from a snake bite in 1983.

Mack Wolford, who was 44,  was bitten by his yellow timber rattlesnake at an evangelistic event in a state park about 80 miles west of Bluefield, in West Virginia’s isolated southern tip.

You can read the entire story at the link above. What kind of moron does this? Well, a dead one I guess, but seriously. There sure are a lot of gods, and they do some very strange, and sometimes stupid things. That has to be very far up the list of stupid things. Not as bad as blowing yourself up and expecting virgins as a reward, but definitely up there.

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