> Snake Handling - http://www.cincinnatiskeptics.org/blurbs/snake- handling.html Skeptics' analysis of the practice of snake handling, including the scriptural basis and an explanation of why participants are seldom bitten. Religious Movements: Snake Handlers - http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/Snakes.html Discussion of the beliefs and history of serpent handling religion in North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia, as well as legal and other issues associated with the practice. Snake Handling in the Pentecostal Church: The Precedent Set by George Hensley - http://www.english.vt.edu/~appalach/essaysS/snakes.htm Student paper on the origins of snake handling religious traditions. Snake Handlers and the Law - http://members.tripod.com/Yeltsin/law/law.htm Information about laws applicable to religious snake handling in several Appalachian jurisdictions. They Shall Take Up Serpents - http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/58h/58h025.html Brief history of the snake handling movement and the role of Tennessee preacher George W. Hensley in its establishment and spread.
Snake Handlers - http://www.les.appstate.edu/courses/appalachia/religion/snake.htm Discussion of the religious beliefs and worship practices of groups that practice serpent handling, including the history of these traditions. Augusta Chronicle: Taking Up Serpents - http://www.augustachronicle.com/headlines/062996/062996serpent.html Article about an incident in which a pastor was bitten and hospitalized also includes an overview of the Holiness snake-handling movement. Snake Handlers: More Than Meets the Eye - http://www.utc.edu/~echo/archives/1996/03.07/03-07-96story5.html Article about the practice of snake handling in Holiness churches, its historical and cultural context, and the current situation. From University of Tennessee-Chattanooga student newspaper. If God Was a Rattlesnake, Would You Pick it Up? - http://www.ralphmag.org/snake.html Review of the book 'Salvation on Sand Mountain: Snake Handling and Redemption in Southern Appalachia' and general discussion of the practice.
-- Michael Pugliese
"Without knowing that we knew nothing, we went on talking without listening to
each other. Sometimes we flattered and praised each other, understanding that
we would be flattered and praised in return. Other times we abused and shouted
at each other, as if we were in a madhouse." -Tolstoy