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.
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154 comments Add your comment
The Peanut Gallery
May 31st, 2012
12:26 pm
Oh no! One less vote for Romney!
TJ
May 31st, 2012
12:27 pm
Live by the serpent, die by the serpent.
The Believer
May 31st, 2012
12:41 pm
Just an example of how stupid he was. These are the people we listen to, and support as well. How stupid from all of us! Will always say the same: Politics, and religion – 2 biggest scams in the world!
cj
May 31st, 2012
12:42 pm
Not only did Jesus say “they shall take up serpents and they shall not hurt them, but also “do not put the Lord your God to the test” when requested to throw Himself down from the temple, and when Peter struck a Roman Soldier who was carrying Him away, “Those who take up the sword shall die by the sword”…enough said.
dre
May 31st, 2012
12:43 pm
Ginga Din, this is a little off topic, but calling Ron White a comedian is a helluva stretch.
LBW
May 31st, 2012
12:50 pm
Probably drugged up, too. I hate preachers – they are ex criminals, pedofiles, and otherways challenged. But they do very well financially, due to those who support them. Just look at their scandals, having kids on side, etc, etc. Does not Jerssie Jackson have one with his housekeeper, or so? Didn’t we see him crying, and shedding crocodile tears when Obama was elected? How crooked these people are! Disgrace!
cj
May 31st, 2012
12:51 pm
Paul was bitten by a snake and lived, but this fellow is tempting the Lord by picking up one. We are commanded in Scripture not to test the Lord by silly physical feats. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t believe for healing, deliverance, whatever. It just means that, until the Holy Spirit speaks, use your judgment.
DavidEm
May 31st, 2012
1:05 pm
Thanks for stating what many of us have realized: that faith moves people away from reality.
Pastor Terry R. Graham
May 31st, 2012
1:08 pm
Here is the scripture:
Mark 16:17-19 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; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
I am not a fan of snakes, so I would never try to play with any type of snakes, especially rattle snakes.
We need to understand the spirit of the Word, versus taking everything by the letter.
Amazed in Kentucky
May 31st, 2012
1:12 pm
However you feel about a certain religious practice is one thing, but to say that “Faith has never moved a mountain” is really a scary thing to say. For many faith in God has moved many mountains. I know faith has moved mountains for me. You may not agree with religion, but faith is a stronger force than you could posibly understand apparently!