Snake-handling preacher killed by snake, just like his dad
Mark Wolford (Photo for The Washington Post by Lauren Pond)
If you lie down with dogs, you get fleas. Lie down with timber rattlers, and you’ve got a good chance of not getting up again.
That’s what happened to West Virginia pastor Mark Wolford, reports The Washington Post.
Wolford died while hosting an outdoor service Sunday at Panther Wildlife Management Area in West Virginia. During the ceremony, the lively preacher sat a rattler on the ground and sat next to it. The snake did what snakes do — it bit him on the thigh.
Instead of going to a hospital, he went home and tried to recover. His kidneys shut down within three hours. Someone called paramedics when it was too late.
Wolford, who combed the woods for vipers, should have known better. In 1983, when he was 15, he saw his dad die while “taking up serpents.”
But faith, which has never actually moved a mountain, has a way of moving people away from reality.
“Praise the Lord and pass the rattlesnakes, brother,” wrote Wolford on his Facebook page as a way of advertising the Sunday service.
His funeral will be held Saturday, exactly one week after his 44th birthday.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
154 comments Add your comment
commonsense
May 31st, 2012
6:32 pm
@RCG, actually, volcanoes and the shifting of tectonic plates made the mountains. C+ for effort though!
debdoes
May 31st, 2012
6:40 pm
he shoulda stuck with original lyrics…Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition…Dixie Chicks
Mr.Humble
May 31st, 2012
7:02 pm
I have never understood these “snake-handlers”. This is what comes from literal and individual interpretation of holy books. The author of this article makes a mistake when referring to such acts as “faith”. There is a big difference between faith and foolishness. God gave us some mush between our ears called brains. We are allowed to use it. True faith is guided by wisdom.
washillbilly
May 31st, 2012
7:02 pm
I live in Georgia but raised in WV and thought this area was familar – dang, its in my mamas’ back yard!! but I cant blame the preacher. the web site for the “Panther Wildlife Management Area in West Virginia” is PET FRIENDLY!
JN
May 31st, 2012
7:02 pm
The verse in the Bible that speaks of handling serpents and is always listed by snake handlers as the reasoning behind their actions is actually included in a speech given by Jesus Christ to his 11 disciples. He is commissioning them to go out in to the world and spread the Word about Jesus Christ. He is telling them all the ways people will be able to recognize that they are disciples of Christ. The passage is specific to that period in time and is not intended to be applied broadly to every believer of Christ over the ensuing 2000 years. So the issue seems to be misinterpretation. It is misplaced faith that moves people away from reality, not faith in and of itself. I am guessing George Mathis is an atheist.
washillbilly
May 31st, 2012
7:06 pm
I live in Georgia but was born in WV. i thought this place sounded familar so I looked it up on the map – dang if it aint my Moms back yard. But I cant blame the preacher. I looked up ” Panther Wildlife Management Area in West Virginia” and found its web site and it says it is “PET FRIENDLY”. Just saying…..
Hetch Hetchy
May 31st, 2012
9:11 pm
George Mathis writes, “But faith, which has never actually moved a mountain, has a way of moving people away from reality.”
I find this statement both funny and arrogant. Arrogant in the sense that Mathis lives in his reality, as we all live in our own respective realities.
In quantum theory, something can be in multiple places at the same time. This is also “reality.”
Our universe may be one of an infinite number of universes. In this scenario, everything is possible.
All I’m saying is there is no reason for a “reporter” to take a snarky attitude toward people that have “faith.” I certainly don’t.
Bigred
May 31st, 2012
9:27 pm
Dumb de dumb dumb! DUNB
WalterEgo
May 31st, 2012
9:41 pm
And this guy gets to go to heaven? Send me elsewhere.
W
I JUST DON'T GET IT
May 31st, 2012
9:44 pm
Religion, faith & the Bible, so misunderstood. These so called religious people are scary to me. God did give man a BRAIN, it’s up to him to use it.This is just like people who won’t get blood transfusions and/or seek medical treatment for illnesses. I don’t think there is anywhere in the Bible where God says let man be STUPID. May he rest in peace, my condolences to his family. Sad that he has died.