Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1469447 in Books
• Published on: 1993-01-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Synopsis
Provides a look at serpent worship, examining its origins, beliefs, and rituals.

Customer Reviews

Faith such as this ...
In this awesome book, Burton presents a balanced view of serpent handling believers, their history and religious culture. Combining academic research and oral sources, the author charts the history of the practice while examining the legal and ethical issues associated with the movement.

Although it is a scholarly study, the personal interviews and numerous black and white photographs make it a riveting read. The author takes a sympathetic approach while presenting both sides of the story, from the critics to the words of the believers themselves.

Chapters 2 and 3 deal with the life of pioneer George Went Hensley and the early history of the movement from around 1908. The history is further explored in chapter 4, illumined with quotes from the church publication The Evangel.

Chapter 5 is devoted to the legal history of serpent handling in Tennessee courts with reference to particular cases of arrest and prosecution. The practice has always presented a dilemma between religious freedom and protecting the lives of citizens. It seems that the authorities have always been divided but in general have attempted not to interfere with the freedom of faith.

The next chapter: Portraits, looks at three personalities in an attempt to provide a significant perspectve on the serpent handling individual. The three individuals are Liston Pack, Charles Prince and Anna Prince and there are lengthy quotes in their own words.

Media criticism of these believers is examined in the Conclusion, together with psychological studies, from the negative Freudian perspective of Weston La Barre to the sympathetic conclusions of Nathan and Louise Gerrard using the Multiphasic Personality Inventory Test, and the work of Susan Gilmore and Troy Abel. The views of various theologians and contemporary fundamentalist religious leaders like Jerry Falwell are also provided.

Appendix A: The Annointment, examines the phenomenon of acting under the influence of the Holy Spirit. This section includes a report of an electroencephalograph test taken of Liston Pack by Dr Michael Woodruff, detailing the EEG patterns which occur in the mystical state.

Appendix B: The Music, describes the worship music of the serpent handling churches. It is improvisatory in nature, derived from a blend of bluegrass and country-western styles utilizing 12- and 16-bar blues progressions. Secular melodies are often employed with scriptural lyrics. The instruments include piano, organ, guitar, bass, cymbals and tambourines.

Appendix C is a chronology of the life of George Hensley from 1880 to his death in 1955, and Appendix D: Questions and Answers, attempts to answer a wide range of questions about the snakes, the poison, the fire, key scriptures, the customs of the Pentecostal Holiness churches and the number of believers which sadly seems to be in decline.

The book concludes with a reference section of sources in the archives of Appalachia at East Tennessee State University plus printed sources, legal references and a section on films, videos and records. There are 84 black and white photographs of prominent personalities, church services and the buildings of the Church Of The Lord Jesus at Jolo, The Holiness Church of God In Jesus Name at Carson Springs and the former Dolley Pond Church Of God With Signs Following in Birchwood.

Although there are certain individuals in these churches who have an unhealthy obsession with snakes outside of the religious service and although some of the preachers have led less than exemplary lives, it seems to me that most of the church members are sincere in their beliefs and are godly people who try to live holy lives. I also recommend the book The Serpent Handlers: Three Families And Their Faith, by Fred Brown and Jeanne McDonald.