Snake-Handling Pentecostals Get Reality Tv Show

[John81]

Snake-Handling Pentecostals Get Reality TV Show

 

A pair of snake-handling Pentecostal preachers are getting their own reality television show.

Snake Salvation is set to debut Sept. 10 on the National Geographic Channel.

The series will feature Andrew Hamblin of Tabernacle Church of God in LaFollette, Tenn., and Jamie Coots of Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name church of Middlesboro, Ky.

They are among a handful of believers in Appalachia who practice the so-called signs of the gospel found in Mark 16: “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they 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.”

Coots said the series will feature scenes from church services where worshippers handle snakes as well as their day-to-day struggle to live out their faith. “The main thing is for people to see that there is more to us than wanting to handle snakes,” said Coots.

Coots said he welcomes the attention that the show will bring. It also gives him a chance to share his faith with a wider audience than his small congregation.

“We say we are in this to save souls,” he said. “But people don’t see us if they don’t come into the four walls of the church.”

A crew from National Geographic Television followed the two preachers in the fall of 2012 and the spring and summer of 2013. Sixteen episodes are planned so far, said executive producer Matthew Testa.

Testa said that because their faith is dangerous and illegal to practice in most states, serpent-handling congregations have been wary of the media in the past. By getting to know Coots and Hamblin, he said, viewers will get a view into a unique religious culture.

“We live at a time when, because of the Internet and television, we are all becoming more and more alike,” he said. “To find a really distinct American subculture is incredibly rare.”

Testa said the serpent-handling believers blend into the rest of society. They dress modestly—dresses for women, pants and long sleeves for men—but also shop at Wal-Mart. And both churches in the show are located in residential neighborhoods.

“This is the church next door,” said Testa. “You could be driving right by them and have no idea that people inside are handling snakes.”

The series will also feature the mix of rockabilly and gospel music typically found in serpent-handling congregations, which are part of the Pentecostal holiness tradition. Some of the songs that appear in the series were written by Coots’ grandfather.

Titles of 10 episodes of the reality series are listed at the National Geographic Channel’s website, including “Casting Out Demons,” “Bitten in Church” and “Venom in the Vein.”

One episode will cover Coots’ court battle earlier this year. Officers from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency confiscated five rattlesnakes from Coots during a January traffic stop on Interstate 40 in East Tennessee, as state law bans private citizens from owning venomous snakes.

In February, he was sentenced to a year of probation.

There’s also plenty of drama—as the pastors and their followers deal with marriage problems, past struggles with drugs and day-to-day efforts to put food on the table.

In at least one episode, a church member is bitten by a snake, causing worshippers to pray for a healing rather than seeking medical care.

Coots said there’s plenty in the show to get people’s attention. He’s glad it will finally be on the air soon and will show the power that faith can have in people’s lives.

“If one person sees it and it converts them or causes them to go to a church, then it will be worth it,” he said.

 

http://www.charismanews.com/culture/40636-snake-handling-pentecostals-get-reality-tv-show

[Invicta]

I saw a TV show about this a few years ago.

[beameup]

Unfortunately these gifts are for Israelites. As tongues were in Acts 2, they will be present with the 144,000 Jewish evangelists
during the first half of the Tribulation, giving instant knowledge of all languages in order the finally fulfill the "Great Commission".

[Ukulelemike]

Unfortunately these gifts are for Israelites. As tongues were in Acts 2, they will be present with the 144,000 Jewish evangelists
during the first half of the Tribulation, giving instant knowledge of all languages in order the finally fulfill the "Great Commission".

No, they aren't 'gifts' at all-they were signs of true servants of God in the beginning. Signs that have been fulfilled-one of them that springs to mind is Paul, who was bitten by a viper on Melitas, shook it off and felt no effects from it. they were not meant for just Jews or Gentiles, but for Christians to show they were true. And like all signs given, they had a time and they are over.

 

To base an entire religious system on such a tiny comment in the Bible of something that had a time and a reason, both of which have passed, is no different than the tongues churches.

[beameup]

The 144,000 will have the gift of tongues in order to reach the thousands of tribes which have no written language and have never been reached by missionaries. The Church, the Bride of Christ, will be in heaven and Israel will fulfill the hundreds of unfulfilled prophecies including the "Great Commission". The Gospels are intended for the genetic Israelites who become believers following the Rapture of the Church.
The Tribulation is the "main harvest" of souls.

[JerryNumbers]

Sad, they mock God.

[Guest]

This is all the satellite and full cable folks need to help convince them faith is not a choice for them. I hope NatGeo has to shut it down early.

[John81]

This is all the satellite and full cable folks need to help convince them faith is not a choice for them. I hope NatGeo has to shut it down early.

There seem to be a lot of shows focusing on Christians which are meant to make them look bad. I don't know the names of them all, but there is one about preachers in L.A., some show about preachers daughters, at least two different shows about the Amish, and probably some I've not heard of.

 

On top of this are all the programs run on History Channel and their affiliates which undermine God, the Bible and Christianity. Their programs tell us God was and extraterrestrial alien in a space ship. The Bible is full of myths based upon other cultures writings and encounters with "ancient aliens". They have several programs which do little more than try to explain away various miracles in the Bible. I'm familiar enough with Scripture to notice that they pick and choose certain miracles to try and explain away (usually very poorly) while totally ignoring other miracles that occurred around the same time. Unfortunately, most of the population has little or no familiarity with Scripture so they eat this stuff up.

 

For someone who watches a lot of TV and knows little or nothing of the Bible, it would be very easy to view Christians as being nutty and just as bad as non-Christians, except of course they would view the Christians as being deluded for believing the miracles of Scripture.

 

The world and the devil use TV as a powerful tool against the cause of Christ.

[ASongOfDegrees]

Fake. Most of your "reality" shows are scripted. I just read that the pathetic show Amish Mafia is all phony. None of it is real. Not even the characters involved are Amish. The show is supposedly based on events that are rumored to have happened. So this Pentecostal show will probably be the same thing.

[John81]

Fake. Most of your "reality" shows are scripted. I just read that the pathetic show Amish Mafia is all phony. None of it is real. Not even the characters involved are Amish. The show is supposedly based on events that are rumored to have happened. So this Pentecostal show will probably be the same thing.

I know another Amish show is fake as well. It's one where Amish parents send their youth out into the world to try it out and see if they want that or the Amish way. They said the show is totally fake and the Amish don't do that. I know they don't do it around here.

 

Even most of the shows that aren't totally fake, they are either somewhat scripted or they heavily edit everything to sensationalize it to make the show more entertaining, and thus less real.

 

So far, every show dealing with anything Christian "just happens" to make Christians look bad while making the world look better.

[swathdiver]

Fake. Most of your "reality" shows are scripted. I just read that the pathetic show Amish Mafia is all phony. None of it is real. Not even the characters involved are Amish. The show is supposedly based on events that are rumored to have happened. So this Pentecostal show will probably be the same thing.

 

I suspected as much, most Amish don't conduct themselves that way and would not tolerate such behavior.

[JerryNumbers]

I do not know if the TV show will be fake or not, but I do know there's some churches out there in the world that do handle snakes in their services.

 

Snake Handlers Hang On in Appalachian Churches

April 7, 2003

 

"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 Pennsylvania.

 

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." For Full Story

 

 

It would not surprise me for them to let their services be filmed to be shown on TV if there's money to be made along with a venue to spread their beliefs.

[ASongOfDegrees]

I do not know if the TV show will be fake or not, but I do know there's some churches out there in the world that do handle snakes in their services.

 

Snake Handlers Hang On in Appalachian Churches

April 7, 2003

 

"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 Pennsylvania.

 

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." For Full Story

 

 

It would not surprise me for them to let their services be filmed to be shown on TV if there's money to be made along with a venue to spread their beliefs.

Jerry, last I've read there are only about 300 members of snake handling churches in the entire world. And not all of them may actually handle the snakes during the services. It's all media driven to make fundamentalist Christians (which they always call snake handlers) look like nutjobs. 

[MountainChristian]

They will milk the snakes so if they are bitten they get a smaller dose of venom. They give our area a bad name. They live near each other in the foothills. Its very rare. Most Pentecostals around here have nothing to do with snakes or drinking turpentine.

 

I hate these fake religious shows. They will make a big to-do about someone who has been bitten for ratings.

[Miss Daisy]

 Please don't let one of the churches have the word Baptist in their church title.