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
Imnewhere
May 31st, 2012
1:56 pm
Correction: Snake 2 – Man 0
Saintmarks
May 31st, 2012
1:57 pm
Went thru the whole of the responses to find a sensible one, the last one I see above is from For God So Loved the World. The passage from Mark 16 is literal in that Paul did get bit by a serpent and God’s power was there to keep it from harming him. Paul didn’t go out of his way to hold up serpents in meetings.
The anti-Christian penchant is alive and well in many of these responses. I don’t understand why, but simple minded people will look at a rogue “pastor” like this (Westboro Baptist folks are another example) and besmirch all the good done by sincere, Godly pastors of all stripes and denominations who help people and make their communities better.
Folks that do such have an issue with God themselves and hide behind this kind of story instead of dealing with their own spiritual shortcomings.
carla
May 31st, 2012
2:18 pm
These people have mental issues. What an idiot!
Braves#17 Fan
May 31st, 2012
2:19 pm
@Saintmarks – You certainly nailed it with your statement about the anti-Christian penchant in today’s “anything goes” society. Today’s young people need to quit grinning, nodding and accepting everything Hollywood throws our way, and reconsider who they look up to as role models.
Quagmire
May 31st, 2012
2:22 pm
Where’s the part where Jesus makes water into wine……………………………..let’s get the party started
joey
May 31st, 2012
2:25 pm
SSSsssssssstupid ssuxer!
Thud
May 31st, 2012
2:27 pm
Here you go, Quagmire. John 2:1-11
Larry the Cable Guy
May 31st, 2012
2:39 pm
Now thats funny I dont care who ya are..
Larry the Cable Guy
May 31st, 2012
2:43 pm
The Scripture says “They shall take up serpents”. First thing you have to ask yourself is who is “They”.. Obviously he wasnt one of “Them”…
Tom
May 31st, 2012
2:56 pm
Larry, the “they” were obviously mongooses….er….mongeese?