- Jan 25, 2009
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On the fascinating point you brought up concerning how Hagin came from poor areas growing up, something that came to my mind was how it seems interesting that people in the Charismatic movement/its many branches all have differing responses to economic situations. For there are many others who came from the same backgrounds as Hagin did....and yet their emotional/spiritual responses were radically different than others.
For more information, did you hear recently of the minister who was killed in a snake handling church? For more, one can go to 'Serpent-Handling' West Virginia Pastor Dies From Snake Bite
Seeing it, it made me think that there are times you see people do certain things and wonder "No surprise as to why alot of folks think Christians are tripping"....for after I heard this story from my sister, I don't know who I feel more sorry for: The victim or the snake who'll be demonized/take the fall when folks should have known the snake was probably warning folks he was not cool before he snapped.
But when processing the situation, I wanted to see first hand why people did as they did...and it was interesting to see how for them it was always a matter of wanting to demonstrate faith in the Lord.
For more on sharing why others handle snakes the way they do:
Obvious is the case that the Lord would not support what they did ...for while Jesus was in the wilderness (Matthew 4), he was tempted by Satan to display his power as the Son of God in various ways so that the people might believe. But Jesus rejected the method of tempting God by doing outrageous things to attract attention, like falling off the highest point of the Temple and having angels catch him...and the same would go for snake handling, as the verse in Mark 16:16-17 that snake handlers often cite was prophecy that was fulfilled in Acts 28:3 when the Apostle Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake and was miraculously spared (as he wasn't trying to be like the Crocodile Hunter and get bitten intentionally 
).
Moreover, as there wasn't as much access to medical technology as is present today, having to rely more so on the Power of the Lord when only that was available gives more reason as to why picking up snakes/not being harmed had more relevance for believers then. If on the Mission field where similar circumstances occur, of course, that's another matter....
And for others to assume that ALL Cases of handling snakes without fear is akin to the extremes found in churches doing so frequently would be error.....(in the same way people assume the extremes done in the name of Biblical prosperity are reflective of all in WOF and therefore conclude all in WOF teaching prosperity need to be condemned).
). Moreover, as there wasn't as much access to medical technology as is present today, having to rely more so on the Power of the Lord when only that was available gives more reason as to why picking up snakes/not being harmed had more relevance for believers then. If on the Mission field where similar circumstances occur, of course, that's another matter....
And for others to assume that ALL Cases of handling snakes without fear is akin to the extremes found in churches doing so frequently would be error.....(in the same way people assume the extremes done in the name of Biblical prosperity are reflective of all in WOF and therefore conclude all in WOF teaching prosperity need to be condemned).
But even for churches supporting snake handling despite what the scriptures said, I thought back on something I studied from one of my classes on Anthropology....for it was mentioned that one of the key reasons behind snake handling, crazy as it is, is the economics.
Christian serpent handling, also known as the holiness movement, found a genesis in the founder of it, George Went Hensley...a man who began to practice the handling of snakes while still in the Church of God in Cleveland, Tennessee around 1909. The Church became aware of his practices and they repudiated him, taking steps to make sure that snake handling was prohibited in their church. Hensley then started his own holiness movement church in the 1920s. Other related serpent handling churches followed. What's interesting to consider is how many in anthropology have noted that those often into snake handling are located in areas where there is IMMENSE poverty. The people who joined the holiness churches early on were mostly rural coal miners, mill workers, factory workers and farmers of Scottish, Irish and English descent.
Due to the poverty levels and extremes others live in---alongside having a lack of access to Biblical education---people may turn to snake handling and drinking poison as a means of making themselves feel confident in handling harsh situations. Their faith has been unshaken even when bitten, in fact they consider this an opportunity to prove that God is with them if they survive the bite. Many who used to do so actually walked away from it all in time as they were able to find jobs and grow in their economic status.......being able to go outside of where they were once limited to. For displacement from rural values and economic devestation may lead to differing behavioral patterns.
Of course, it's not always the case that people for snake handling come from poor backgrounds. As said best in Snake Handlers Hang On in Appalachian Churches:
Serpent handling is always controversial and in many areas illegal, yet it shows no signs of disappearing from its traditional home in Appalachia, the mountainous regions of the Southeastern United States stretching from Georgia to Pennsylvani Junior G. McCormick is a serpent-handling pastor from Georgia. He explains that, for him, handling snakes is simply following the gospel to the letter. "Other folks don't do this because their churches don't believe, or it's just something they're scared of," he said. "They come to that scripture but want to jump over that part because it's a deadly thing."
(Practitioners, or self-described sign-followers, prefer the term serpent-handling to snake-handling noting that they incorporate poisonous reptiles not common snakes into religious worship.)
The practice began in the early 1900s. Its popularity has waxed and waned through the years. According to Ralph Hood, a professor of social psychology and the psychology of religion at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, serpent handling is currently at a fairly low ebb of popularity. Such fluctuations are characteristic of a faith that persists throughout Appalachia.
The perception that communities that practice serpent-handling church services are poor, isolated rural areas is simply no longer accurate, according to Hood.
"Historically that's where it emerged, but that's no longer the case," said Hood. "Some of these churches are near cities like Atlanta, Georgia, or Middlesboro, Kentuckyand the middle Appalachian region itself is less rural than it used to be. Serpent handling is no longer restricted to miners."
While a number of churches with small congregations around a dozen members survive throughout the heart of Appalachia, the faith is also practiced in adjacent states of Ohio and Alabama.
(Practitioners, or self-described sign-followers, prefer the term serpent-handling to snake-handling noting that they incorporate poisonous reptiles not common snakes into religious worship.)
The practice began in the early 1900s. Its popularity has waxed and waned through the years. According to Ralph Hood, a professor of social psychology and the psychology of religion at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, serpent handling is currently at a fairly low ebb of popularity. Such fluctuations are characteristic of a faith that persists throughout Appalachia.
The perception that communities that practice serpent-handling church services are poor, isolated rural areas is simply no longer accurate, according to Hood.
"Historically that's where it emerged, but that's no longer the case," said Hood. "Some of these churches are near cities like Atlanta, Georgia, or Middlesboro, Kentuckyand the middle Appalachian region itself is less rural than it used to be. Serpent handling is no longer restricted to miners."
While a number of churches with small congregations around a dozen members survive throughout the heart of Appalachia, the faith is also practiced in adjacent states of Ohio and Alabama.
For places to go for understanding as to why people do as they do, one can go here to the following:
That said, the way that Hagin sought to handle himself...as well as handling those who took what the Lord gave him and went to extremes with it....it's interesting that his background in impoverishment didn't cause him to try expressing faith in ways that were damaging like others did. He was about seeking to be prosperous, yet he understood ways to go about it in a reasonable manner....and even with others who took what he did the wrong way, part of being compassionate is recognizing why it may be that others can respond wrongly as they may when doing many things that are not necessary.
Hope that made sense as to what I was trying to convey.
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