Reply #146: Here's a pretty good read from the Augusta CHRONICLE on snake-handlers:

[saltpoint]

http://chronicle.augusta.com/headlines/062996/062996serpent.html

Excerpt:

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Within the Holiness faith is a minority of churches whose members handle snakes and ``serpents.'' Mr. Evans is one of an estimated 100 snake-handlers at some 35 churches and numerous converted gas stations and dwellings scattered throughout Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, West Virginia, Kentucky and Indiana. The majority of these handlers firmly believe scripture instructs them not only to handle snakes but to drink strychnine and handle fire.

Two hours after Mr. Evans was bitten by the rattler, Franklin County EMS technician Mike Smith got the call. When he and his partner arrived, they found Mr. Evans in the bathroom of a friend's trailer adjacent to the 16-by-33-foot tent where he had been preaching to a crowd of 25.

Nauseated and slumped over the toilet, Mr. Evans told the EMTs that he wanted to stay and let the Holy Spirt take over.
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