Taking Up Serpents

Miss Birdie's book (still not done) is giving me a chance to revisit The Holiness Church of JESUS Love Anointed With Signs Following from Signs in the Blood. Once again Birdie has need of Aunt Belvy's power of prophecy. And for all of those who thought Harice the preacher was hot -- he's back!



The Signs Followers base their practices of serpent handling and poison drinking on these lines from 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.


I've never been to a Serpent-Handling Church -- they exist in our neck of the woods but I'd feel disrespectful, like a tourist or a writer taking notes. ( If I were invited to go . . . I'd be there like a shot! Though not taking up serpents.) My research comes from two terrific books which I highly recommend for those of you who'd like to know more about this interesting sect.

The Serpent Handlers by Fred Brown and Jeanne McDonald is an up close and personal look at various believers, with a good deal told in their own words. It gives a powerful and moving insight into the motivations and beliefs of these folks who take up serpents.

The second book, Salvation on Sand Mountain by Dennis Covington is a literary account of the churches and people, beautifully told by a New York Times reporter who, in the process of learning more about the Holiness faith, discovers his own roots.

These are both wonderful books that, by taking somewhat different approaches, together give a more nearly complete picture of this unique expression of faith. And, yes, both books have some pretty amazing pictures.

I felt good about my treatment of the Signs Followers in my first book -- I had Elizabeth moved by her experience in the church and respectful of the congregation's beliefs. But in order that this return not seem like warmed-up leftovers, in this book I'm showing the church from two points of view very different from Elizabeth's: first there's Miss Birdie's niece, Myrna Lou, who is kind of freaked out at the thought of even seeing snakes, and then Miss Birdie herself, who, while not a member of this church, is very much a believer.

It's a good reminder of how a story can differ, depending on who's telling it.