In my name they shall 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.

Mark chapter 16, verses 17 and 18.

There aren't too many Christians out there who read the entire Bible literally.

I'm not putting any top spin on this.

I know many of you listening are Christian and take the Bible very seriously and read much of it literally, and I respect that.

But I would say very few people read every word of the Bible in plain language.

Many of those very few people live in rural Appalachia, an overwhelmingly white, impoverished region of the states,

where some of the most devout followers of Christ practice a display of faith

uncommon in our species. A display that goes against our deepest instincts. The handling of snakes.

As I read in our opening quote,

the Bible says that at least some followers of Christ will be able to handle snakes and consume poison without fearing harm.

In the early 1900s, an Appalachian man named George Went Hensley took this claim very seriously,

handling snakes, and imploring others to join him. And so, the dangerous practice of snake handling

in Christianity was born, or to use a Christian theme reborn, as it's a practice that is a rose inspired by said verse several times.

This iteration, though, appears to have been the one that spread meaningfully,

and now ideological descendants of Hensley's interpretation continue to handle snakes in their congregations.

You can go to Appalachia right now and find Christians who routinely prove their belief in God by handling venomous snakes, sometimes drinking poison, and sometimes dying.

This is a complete coincidence, but on this day, exactly, and sometimes dying.

This is a complete coincidence,

but on this day, exactly 67 years ago,

George Went Hensley was injured during Sunday service,

...