Snake-Handling Churches

[Hilander]

Snake handling churches have long been a fascination for the public, the majority of whom consider the practice rash and dangerous. The media has also been shedding light on this form of worship by some Christian churches for many years as well.

Life-Threatening and in Some Cases Illegal: Why Do Snake-Handling Churches Still Do It?

I don't understand why someone would associate handling snakes with religion. I would like to know what meaning it has to them to make them take a chance with their life over it. Does anyone know anything about this practice and its meaning?

 

[Submit]

Did (p) Jesus (Peace be with him) used to do/ practice all that?
God didn't Command such practice upon mankind.
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In Islam, the handling of snake is very different to Christain's practice. Snakes could sometimes be jinns (Demons). We cannot see Jinns (demons) but they are around us. Like humans, some jinns are good, some are bad and some are neutral. Jinns could appear in different forms as Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said:

"Some snakes are jinn;
so when anyone sees one of them in his house, he
should give it a warning three times. If
it return (after that), he should kill it, for it is a devil (satan)."

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[Hilander]

Thanks Submit for you input. I never realized how much influence snakes have in religion. I knew in the past they were used by some cultures in religions but I thought that would of ended as humanity matured or became more enlightened.

 

[Crouton]

I once watched a segment about this in a documentary called Around the World in 80 Faiths. The people in that documentary seemed to believe that handling the usually highly venomous snakes brought them closer to God, and if the snake didn't bite them it was God's will.

If you are interested in watching it check out this video.

Around the World in 80 Faiths - Episode Five - USA - HQ - YouTube

The snake part starts at about 2:50