http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/16/us/snake-salvation-pastor-bite/
A pastor died recently from a poisonous snake bite. He believed that if you are “anointed by God” you can handle deadly serpents without getting hurt. Adherents to this faith draw their inspiration from a passage in the Bible. Mark 16: 17-18 “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing , it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover”.
After the pastor was bitten he refused medical treatment. He’d been bitten before and survived, so he probably figured God would step in and intervene once again. (I wonder why God allowed him to get bitten in the first place)?
Whenever I hear stories like this it reaffirms my conviction that religious people are, well, bat shit crazy. I support religious tolerance, and I believe everyone should be allowed to believe whatever they want to believe, but if you believe the Bible passage above is literally true, I can’t feel much sympathy for you.
“Casting out devils.” “Speaking in tongues”. (Which consists of spouting nonsensical gibberish). “If they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them”. “They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover”. I wouldn’t recommend that anyone try doing any of this, no matter how great your faith might be. If you believe that you can play with deadly serpents or drink poison and not suffer potentially lethal results because you’ve been “anointed by God”, guess again. A desire for something to be real or true does not actually make it true. Wishing for things to go your way (aka prayer) does not guarantee the results you hope for.
It’s crazy to me that people like this still exist. It’s sad that I have to share the planet with them. It’s not just snake handlers, either. It’s anyone who clings to far out, fantastical imaginary beliefs which are rooted in emotion and dismissive of common sense, logic, and rational thought. This guy wasn’t any crazier than millions of other people who share the same mindset; the only difference is the other believers don’t play with venomous snakes.
Would the world be a better place if all religious snake handlers died from snake bites? What if all the jihadists blew themselves up on suicide missions? What if every religious fundamentalist “went home to be with the Lord”? The world would be a less interesting place, that’s for sure.
24 comments
religious people be hella cray cray
What, you don’t wanna dance around with a black mamba?
That video was funny. The guy is hopping around and howling while he cradle’s a rattlesnake…. and I thought the Mormons were odd.
It’s all just different flavors of crazy.
Do you think Jesus did any of this voo doo dancing? I can’t say I wouldn’t join the cult of a person who could do a mad voo doo dance.
Hell, I joined a cult recently of this person who utterly impressed me with a display of talented twerking skills, it’s like the 4th cult I’ve joined this week alone.
Reality will win that battle because boredom always prevails. Wat r u doing with your life, these days? I’m waiting patiently for a miracle so it goes full circle and faith comes out on top. Faith, faith in horses because Cheltenham is the place where dreams are made and champions crowned.
Hey Duke; You’ll never guess what happened so I’ll just go ahead and tell you.
I went to go look at motorcycles today, and a local shop was selling a 2013 Yamaha FZ1 for $7970. The MSRP for a brand new one is $10,700. Apparently the shop got a deal on 2013 models which hadn’t sold. They were still in crates, brand new.
It took 15 minutes for them to run a credit check, next I signed some papers, right now there’s a brand new FZ1 sitting next to me. (I brought it inside because I don’t want it sitting outdoors in the cold). I also ordered a Yoshimura slip on exhaust, and a rear tail light/turn signal assembly that’s integrated into one piece. The license plate will mount underneath the rear wheel well. It’ll clean up the ass end of the bike immensely. The current/stock set up overkill – too much unnecessary junk hanging off the back end.
I rode it home in 43 degree weather – it was cold. Man, this bike is RESPONSIVE. I almost pulled a wheelie leaving the dealer’s parking lot. The front end got very light as the RPM’s and my rate of acceleration rose – very quickly. I’m going to have to go light on the throttle until I get this bike dialed in.
If Skippy doesn’t mind, I think I’ll post a link.
http://pictures.topspeed.com/IMG/crop/201211/2013-yamaha-fz1-1_600x0w.jpg
The 2013’s are dark blue. This is it.
Wow. That’s a sexy bike.
Great. That’s a worthy acquisition.
Someone might Happen to stumble upon this post and express their views about religion and owning motorcycles. Even if they don’t, it hardly matters. They think it, that’s what they do.
There’s a book titled “Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”. I read it as a youngster, somehow that seemed relevant.
Anyone can express whatever they views they want, I couldn’t care less. There’s an FZ1 sitting 2 feet away from C4 right now, (whoever the hell that is), so I believe there is some order within the universe. Occasionally life is good, Duke. Sometimes the sun shines on a dogs ass.
I disagree with the last line; the world would be much more interesting, if we were allowed to progress unimpeded, without “religion” arbitrarily stifling things.
@c4: gratz
I didn’t want to go all “final solution” n shit. You know, “round up the Xians and send ’em camping”.
It’s amazing. C4 can now go on lot of mysterious adventures.
My boyfriend now owns a brand new motorcycle?!? OMG. Congratulations sweetheart, that is fantabulous. 🙂 I can’t wait to join you for a ride on that. I’m liking the looks, very nice choice.
Hi everyone, I’m back. Hope Skippy doesn’t mind us corrupting his post.
@Clevername; Gracias.
@Duke; Dude, you gotta get a bike. Second best thing you can put between your legs is what they say.
@Pina Colada; Hello. I would send you a picture of “the other woman” but I’m having problems with Yahoo. She’s sitting next to me right now. She doesn’t talk much and she smells a little gassy, but she’s the finest piece of furniture in the domicile.
If you’d like to mount her, just say when and I’ll facilitate the rendezvous.
I don’t mind a bit. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves.
Yeah… that solution tends to garner a bit of resistance (i know, i’ve personally proposed it a few times myself).
Ultimately, “they” simply outnumber the rest of us, and there’s not much we can do but try to avoid or bypass or mitigate its impacts.
The realization that we really can’t “change the world” (to our liking), is rather harsh, and for some of us, doesn’t leave much worthy of pursuit.
I can’t blame “religion” for “everything,” though. At some point you have to dig deeper and look at who’s behind the scenes, pulling the strings… and why… and try to figure out how to find something worthwhile in all this madness.
One of my major problems is that i can’t figure out how to pursue anything worthwhile, without inadvertently benefiting the very systems i despise (which is exactly how they wanted it to work).
You’ve heard of the golden rule before, right? “Whoever has the gold makes the rules”.
If you invent the next Facebook or Microsoft you’d be able to call your own tune, although the odds are stacked against you there. I suppose the challenge is to try to find a way to live on your own terms enough to where you don’t get driven insane by the people who seemingly oppose your every move. There’s going to be some compromise, but you don’t have to sell out completely. You just have to find a way to play the game where your concessions are acceptable.
@C4 Hehe, I look forward to seeing photos whenever you can get your email working – and will do.
I would need a lot more experience and a licence before getting one. You and Piña Colada will have to send me a postcard.
I’m glad Skippy’s ok with the random chattery.
For some people, suicidal ideation can be eradicated by motorcycle ownership. Maybe not for everyone, but studies have shown that suicidal thoughts decrease by 67% after purchasing a motorbike. Statisticians have also established that 43% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
Wow great post and comments guys, made me grin. “Sun on a dogs ass”