Rickard Ljunggren
PREACHER AIN'TDONE
Preacher ain'tdone'tilthe snakes arebackinthe box
Coverphoto:
Front, Photos publishedwithapproval from News andObserver Collection, Verlin Shortand GregoryCoots.
Back,PhilDunning
This book sprung from my genuineinterestinsnakesand my curiosity abouthistory andreligion. My idea with this book is to tell an interestingstory,share some factsabout thevenomoussnakesusedin thePentecostal church,and letthe believershavetheir say. Ihave also included afew critical voices,and my ownopinion canbefound here andthere.
Iamnot theright person to writeanythingclose to an academic thesis,you should seethisbook as educationalentertainment.Ifyou arelooking forstatistics, tables andgraphs, this is thewrong book for you.
Many thanks to everyone whohelpedmeget thebookfromanideato afinishedproduct!
Thankyou allfor letting me useyourphotos! Also,thankstothose of youwho uploaded images,freetouse,online! Allphotographers are mentionedunder theirphotos.
Thanks to ScottEipperand TieEipperfor yetanother excellent proofreadingand thanks to Phil Dunningfor proofreading thechapters aboutthe threespecies whichismostcommoninAppalachia's snakehandling Pentecostalchurches. Englishisnot my firstlanguage, writing non-fictionbooksinlanguages otherthanSwedish is noteasyfor me. Your help wassovaluable! I'msureI'vemissedsomecorrections,you as areaderwilljusthavetoput up with theflaws in my English. And so that no shadow fallsonthe proofreaders,I should also addthatI addedsometextafter theproofreading.
Withoutanunderstanding family,thisbookwould certainlynot have come about, thankyou Jenny, Ludwig andJacob!I spendfar too much time on herpetology, butyou letme.
Finally, abig thanks to thoseofyou whochoosetoreadmybook! Ihopeyou find thetopic as interestingasI do!For me,the topicwas so captivatingthatitwas difficult to stop writingabout it.
Best regards
Rickard, February 10th,2025.
RickardLjunggren
P
REACHERAIN
'TDONE 'TILTHE
SNAKES AREBACKINTHE BOX
Thehistory,the venomous snakes andthe pastors' ownstories
“AlotoftimespeoplegetbitbecausetheyareaheadofGod.They havemovedonGodwhenitwasnottime.”
“Drivingtochurchisprettydangerous.Butnobody’sgoingtoban cars.”
“Peoplesaywemurderourselves,butwemartyrourselves.”
“Thefeelingtotakeupserpentsisunexplainable,it’s... it’sa…peace that’ssurpassesallunderstanding,toknowthatyou’reset,thatyou’re standingthere,rightthere,with…withdeathinyourhand.Andthe anointmentofGodisprotectedyou,toletyoudothat.”
“Ourmessageisnot'handlesnakes,handlesnakes,handlesnakes'. Butourmessageis,'BesavedbythebloodofChrist.'We'renotacult. We'renotfreaks.We'reChristians."
“Thatrattlesnakegavehimahardlick.Inthirtyseconds,hewas down.”
“SometimestheLordletsthesnakebitetoprovetotheunbelieverthat thedanger'sreal.”
Imprint
©2025RickardLjunggren
Photo: Photographersmentioned undereachpicture in thebook.
Proofreading: ScottEipperand TieEipper(wholebook),PhilDunning (chapter 8-10)
Publisher: BoD ∙ BooksonDemand, Östermalmstorg 1, 114 42 Stockholm, bod@bod.se
Print: LibriPlureos GmbH,Friedensallee 273, 22763 Hamburg, Tyskland
ISBN:978-91-8080-889-7
“ItwasthemostpainIguessI’veeverfeltinmylife.Duringthetime thatitwasrotting,andIknewsomethingwasgoingon,Ijustdidn’t knowwhatforthefirstmonth.Thatmuchofthebonewasexposed beforeitbrokeoff.
Mywifetoldme,whenthisbrokeoffintheyard,shesaid -Iwanttokeepthis. Isaid-Why?
Shesaid-I’llalwayshaveapieceofyounomatterwhereyougo.”
Pastor JamieCoots in an interviewonABC News.Hetalkedabout the aftermathofa venomous snakebite. At theend of hisstory,heheld up what once wasthe tipofhis rightmiddlefinger.
“ThisismyGod-given rightinthe United States,” he said on the courthouse stepsbeforethe hearing. “IfGodmovesonmetotakeupa serpent,Itakeupaserpent.”
In aserpent handling church,one mayobserve notonlypreaching, prayingaloud together on one'sknees,dancing andsinging butalso serpenthandling, fire dancing, speaking in tongues, thelayingonof handsfor healing, testimonies, andattimes,poisondrinkingand foot washing. An observer mayalsowitness stigmata,the oozing of blood from thehands or feet in empathywiththe deathofJesus.
Allquotationsinthe book arequotedexactly as they were written, I have notchanged thechoiceofwords or thespelling, thelanguageis thequotedperson'sown.
1.Preamble
Mark 16:17-18, theKingJames version:
Andthesesignsshallfollowthemthatbelieve;Inmynameshallthey castoutdevils;theyshallspeakwithnewtongues;Theyshalltakeup serpents;andiftheydrinkanydeadlything,itshallnothurtthem; theyshalllayhandsonthesick,andtheyshallrecover.
Verses 9-20 of chapter16, whichdealwiththe resurrection of Jesus, are missingfromthe oldest manuscripts(handwritten Bibles,beforethe artof printing came along).
Thelanguageand style of this part of theGospel of Mark differs from thePhoto:cgrape, Pixabay. language andstyle of therestofthe Gospel,and theversesforma summary of what is writteninthe otherthree biblical Gospelsand in theActsofthe Apostles.The verses were probably addedduringthe 10thcentury.Without theseversesthe endofthe gospel is abrupt, andone cannot tell if therewas once anotherendingthathas been lost or if thegospelwas meanttoend as abruptly as they do without theseclosing verses.Fromthese verses in theend of theGospelof Mark in theNew Testamentofthe Bible, people in theeastern United States have gottenthe inspirationtocatch venomous snakes in the wild,havethese snakes as part of theirceremoniesand thus risk the health of both animalsand congregation members. It also happens that people drinkpoisonduringchurchservices, butitisnever snake venom. Oftenitisdiluted strychnine,but battery acid also occurs. Thereare reportsofbelievers dyingafter drinking strychnine during a church service, butthisisnot acommonoccurrence.Inaddition to snakes andpoison, people speakintongues,practicelayingonof handsand holdinganopenflame againsttheir ownskinduringthese services.
Photos: Friendsand family to Cody Coots. Publishedwith permission from Cody.The snakeseeninthispicture is aNortherncottonmouth, Agkistrodonpiscivorus. Belowyou cansee Cody holdinga flametohis hand.
Surprisingly fewpeopleget bitten during church service, afactthatiscommonly attributed to some kind of trickery on thepartof serpenthandlers. Research suggests that aperson’s chance of beingbittenis rather low, especially if they only handle venomous snakes occasionally. Venomous snakes areoften calmer than we give them credit for, andtheycan become accustomed to being held andthuslesslikelytobite. Otherresearchers disagree with this explanation, suggesting that thecommonpracticeofcrowdingmultiple snakes in asinglebox leaves theanimals stressed whichinturn weakensthe immune system.Thisleads to sickness andparasiteoutbreaksleaving thesnakeslistless, unable to muster up theenergy to strike.There is some evidence forthislineofthought.A groupof snakes confiscatedfroma church in Tennesseeweresosickthat MichaelOgle, acurator of herpetologyatthe KnoxvilleZoo,was forced to have them putdownratherthanriskthe rest of thezoo’s collection. Thecounterargument is that most of them arefreshly caught before everyservice andreleasedsoonafterward.Handlingsicksnakeswould be like handling non-venomous snakes,and that woulddefeatthe purpose. Thepoint is to have enough faithinGod to take up somethingwild, untamedand unpredictable.
However acclimated to humans asnake mightbe, it is nevertruly tame.The more oftena person handlesvenomoussnakes, thegreater thechances fora bite.Inmyview, sooner or lateryou have hada venomous snakeinyourhandone time toomany. Fortunately, bitesaren’tnecessarily fatal. Toxinismetabolically expensivefor asnake to produceand themainpurpose forthe venom besidesdefense is subduing prey.Snakesratheroften give humans drybites,warning nips that inject none or very little of theirprecious venom. Afullbitefromsomevipersbeing used underceremony, like theEastern copperhead, is easily survivable.Contrarytopopular belief,itisimpossibletobecomeimmune to snakevenom.Instead, successive bitesoften lead to worseningallergicreactions.[1]
ThePentecostal practitionersare awareofthe risks. There’sa constant repetition in recorded interviews:“Don’ttakeupa serpentifyoudon’tfeeltheSpirit.Don’thandleforshow.There’s deathinthatboxandyouopenitatyourperil.“
At thesametime, they embracethe risk.A common misunderstanding is that thosewho practice thefaith do notbelieve they will getbitten by thesnakesand that they seedeath as proof of alackoffaith anda one-waytickettopurgatory.Thisisnot true.HavingobeyedGod's will by dealingwitha venomous snakeissaidtobeanassuranceof entering hiskingdom.
Life anddeath rest entirely in God’shands.Theybelieve that whatever happens while handling thesnakesisHis will.Sometimes He holds back thesnake.Sometimes He callsthemtoHeavenbyletting the snakebite. It’s notsomething they expect therestofthe worldto understand,and it is somethingthatI can’tunderstand. Ibelieve that the“don'thandleforshow”part wasprobablya bitoverlookedwhen some pastorsbecamecelebrities viareality TV afew yearsago.
Pastor JamieCoots received an almost world-famous snakebitein 2014. Cootswas bitten by aTimberrattlesnake on hisright hand during serviceinhis church "FullGospelTabernacleinJesus name church"inMiddlesboro,Kentucky. Afterthe bite,Coots droppedthe snakes butpickedthemupand continuedthe ceremony.After the service, he wasdrivenhome, despitehis health condition. When
paramedicsarrived, they were notallowed to give himmedical treatmentasitwas notcompatiblewithhis faith.
JamieCoots died in hishome. Laterinthe book youcan read more, both aboutCoots andabout Timber rattlesnakes.
Churches do notdenyanyonethe opportunitytoseek medicalcareif they arebitten. Even though,accordingtomanypractitioners,thisis againsttheir faithtoseekcare. It is accordingtothemuptoGod to decide thefateofthe bitten person,not themedical staff. However, they do notcriticize anyone whoseeks treatment, andtheyalways offertosendfor medicalhelp.
Photo: Usman_Khaleel, Pixabay. Timber rattlesnake, Crotalushorridus. This speciesisquite commoninAppalachia.
Thephenomenonofrattlesnakesduringchurchservice hasalways fascinated me.Itseemstometobebotha chaoticand lifethreateningenvironment in thesechurchesduringservice.Two years priortothisbook,I wrotethe book "Snake church"which,despite its Englishtitle,isa book in Swedish. Thebookhad thesamesubject as this book,but with aslightlygreater focusonthe snakes than on religion.After thebookwas released,I posted acopytothe pastor whocontributed andlet me interviewhim.Wekeptintouch,and he suggestedthatI should writethe book in English. Here we arenow,
this is theEnglish version. My idea wasnot only to translatethe Swedishversion,but Ialsowantedtoadd alittleand explorethe subjecta bitmore. Theideawas that this time Iwould focusa little bit more on thechurchand thebelief, while thebook will also be about thesnake speciesthatoccurinthese churches.I hope youfindthe topicasexcitingasI do!
Handling venomous snakes in church is notexactly abig city phenomenon,ithappens in smallcongregations in ruralareas of Appalachia.The membersofthe congregationsoften know each other, andithappens that thepastorate is passed down within thefamily. Theideaisthatthisbook will trytobalance between tellingthe story behind thesereligious ritesand tellingthe storyabout theAmerican vipers that aresometimes included in theservices. Idiscuss therituals,someimportant people in theworld of religious snake-handling practicesand thevenomoussnakesinvolved. We must also askourselves what consequences thepracticehas forsnakesand humans.
Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain. Counties included in the cultural definition of Appalachia.
Photo:
My view.
Before we go furtherinthe book andtry to tell thestory of this belief andthe snakes that arepartofthe practice,I want to writea couple of shortlines aboutmyviewonthe matter. Ihavea smallcollectionofvenomoussnakesathome, butI choose nevertohandlethese withouta snakehookora similartool. My belief is that everyone whopractices free handling venomous snakes sooner or laterhas done it onetoo many times. Venomous snakes must be treatedwithrespect andcaution,and accidentscan stillhappen.
Photo: RickardLjunggren. Some of my snakehooks. In thebackgroundyou cansee some of my terrariums. Allterrariums have asmall warningsign with informationabout thespecies living in them. If Iwas to getbitten, I pull thesignoff andtake it with me to thehospital. It's an extraprecautionin case Ican't speak properly aftera bite.
Iamnot abelievermyself andI find it abit difficult to accept this literalbelief that thebook's practitionershave, butmygoalwiththe book is to treatthe subject respectfully.Onmymother'sside, Icomefroma religiousfamily, but theimportanceofChristianityinthe family hasgradually faded. The role of thechurchhas decreasedwitheachgeneration, we have followed thesecularizationthathas takenplace in Swedishsociety,but we have perhapsbeen agenerationafter thegreat mass whohave made thesamejourney.I am baptized,confirmed andI wasmarried in church,but that wasdonemorebecause of traditionthanfaith.
I seenothing strangeabout someonehavinga Christianfaith,orany otherfaith forthatmatter, even though Iamnot abelievermyself. Oneshouldnot make funofother people's faith. Ithink that the phenomenon of religiousserviceswhere youriskyourlifeisa little crazyand I'ma little curiousabout whothe people areand what drives them to do what they do.Itsurprises me abit that somebody can choose to go so farintheir practice of faiththattheyrisktheir ownlife andhealth, or that of others forthatmatter. Formeitisextreme, while it is abit spectacularwiththe handling of venomous snakes. Iamalsoaware that thephenomenoncomes from themorerural partsofAppalachia*,inthe partsofthe United States wherethe inhabitantsare oftencalledhillbillies or mountain people.I'm notgoing to make funofthe people of theregion, Ijustwanttotellthe storyof thesnakes, thepeopleand thechurchand maybeadd my opinion here andthere.
*Appalachia is aculturalregioninthe easternUnitedStatesthat stretchesfromsouthernNew York statetonorthernAlabama and Georgia. While theAppalachianMountains rangestretches from Canada to Alabama, Appalachia usuallyrefersonlytothe cultural region in thecentral andsouthernparts of therange.
Summarized: My pointisnot to make funofreligious people or people from easternUSA.I thinkthatwhattheydoisdangerous anda bit crazy, butfor me thereisa difference between (inthe eyes of others) doingsomething crazyand beinga lunatic. Iamwriting thebook becauseitisa subjectthatI find interesting. Snakes andhistory have been an interest allmylife, thesubject of thebookissimplyan exciting combination.
IhopethatI manage thebalance andthatI do notoffendanyone.
The churches that practice thehandlingofvenomoussnakesduring theirservicesare avanishingly smallpartofAmericanChristianity. It is asmall part of theAmericanPentecostal church,mostpeoplewho belong to theAmericanPentecostal movement do notcomeinto contactwithsnakesmoreoften than we do in Swedishchurches. Services at theHouseoftheLordJesusaresimilar to thosepracticed by otherPentecostal faiths -exceptthatfollowers here usesnakes, fire andpoisonintheir worship. Handling snakes is areligious rite that occurs in some churches in therural southeastern United States.These churches arepartof theSanctificationmovement,thePentecostalism movement,CharismaticChristianityor anyother of thefew movementswitha Protestant orientationthatcombine strong biblical faithwithrevival pietyand an emphasis on sanctification.According to Christianbelief, sanctification is theprocess by whichthe Christianis transformedintoevergreater holiness andlikenesstoChrist.
Photo: borkertd,Pixabay.The Timber rattlesnake, Crotalushorridus,is thespecies most commonlyusedduringreligious services in Appalachia.Itisa beautifulcreaturewitha nastybite.
The book is about the Pentecostal churches in the southeastern United States that use venomous snakes during worshipto affirm their faith to themselves and to other church members. In addition to the book's overall description of the phenomenon, two pastors have also participated by sharing their faith. Of course, the book is also about the snakes theyuse, snakes always playthe main role in my books. How are the snakes affected by being taken from the wild and handled during church services?
