Discussing
What religious snake handlers want

grace infused, thoughtful faith... what separates the servants of the good news from the snake oil salesman. thank you, paul, for deep words about the thin veil that separates us from the divine, and the thinner line that separates the "crazy religious whackos" from the mild mannered christian.

It seems like we are all just grasping a ephemeral straws in our search for the Almighty. If the snake handlers are crazy, so are we all.

I think the main thing that saddens me about the tragedy of the snake-handler and others of this persuasion is the way they have become so blinded by their quest for tangible encounter with the Almighty that they have, in a cruel twist of irony, completely missed what they were so desperately grasping after. And I don't think it's just the biblically misguided snake-handling population that's suffering: the whole church suffers spiritual casualties from all forms of reckless, ecstatic sensationalism in its many guises.

We all SHOULD desire meaningful encounter with God. But the ENCOUNTER is not what we should be seeking; what we should be grasping after is God Himself, and then He can dictate the terms of the encounter.

Friends, I hope that a news story like this elicits our deep, compassionate prayers on behalf of the souls who are desperately clinging after shadows. We who have encountered the Reality--whether in ecstasy of Spirit or quietude of reflection--can appreciate and mourn for what these seekers are missing. May He draw them each in His own special way.