Them that believe : the power and meaning of the Christian serpent-handling tradition / Ralph W. Hood, Jr., W. Paul Williamson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hood, Ralph W., Jr., 1942-

Contributor:

Williamson, W. Paul (William Paul)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Snake-handling churches (Holiness).

Snake cults (Holiness churches).

Serpents--Religious aspects--Christianity.

Serpents.

Physical Description:

xvi, 301 pages, 6 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, [2008]

Summary:

Although outlawed in many states, serpent handling remains an active religious practice-and one that is far more stereotyped than understood. Ralph W. Hood Jr. and W. Paul Williamson have spent fifteen years attending serpent-handling churches in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia, conducting scores of interviews with serpent handlers, and witnessing hundreds of serpent-handling services. In this illuminating book they present the most in-depth, comprehensive study of serpent handling to date. Them That Believe not only explores facets of this religious practice-including handling snakes, preaching, and the near-death experiences of individuals who were bitten but survived-but also provides a rich analysis of this phenomenon from historical, social, religious, and psychological perspectives.

Contents:

"They shall take up serpents"

The history of Pentecostalism absent the serpent

The media and the man : George Went Hensley

Serpent handling endorsed by the Church of God

The serpent : sign and symbol

Trance states : tongues speaking and the anointing

Extemporaneous sermons in the serpent-handling tradition

The experience of handling serpents

The experience of the anointing

Near-death experience from serpent bites in religious settings

Music among serpent-handling churches

Serpent handling and the law : history and empirical studies.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 267-284) and index.

ISBN:

9780520231474

0520231473

9780520255876

0520255879

OCLC:

213495172