Snake handling

[Zen Badger]

It's all to do with signs of True Believers™ from (I believe) 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; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."

We can see how well that works out...

if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them?.... So why don't they drink poison

I guess they're not prepared to test their faith in their god that far.

[Minimalist]

It's all to do with signs of True Believers™ from (I believe) 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; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."

We can see how well that works out...

The problem with Mark 16 9-20 is that it was tacked on centuries later because the church was embarrassed that "Mark" did not have a proper orthodox ending to his fairy tale. So they wrote him one. All but the stupidest fundies admit this and the stupidest fundies are the ones who play with fucking snakes.

Serves them right.

[Godscreated]

He got bit by a poisonous snake.

And you don't think that's evolution in action?

No that is stupidity in action, if they had read scripture then they would have known not to tempt God.

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It's all to do with signs of True Believers™ from (I believe) 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; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."

We can see how well that works out...

Worked great or the disciples, for whom it was intended.

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While I wouldn't necessarily condone such things, in the sense of "don't try this at home", it is the sort of thing that would qualify as a testable claim.

Only if you were one of Christ's disciples.

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if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them?.... So why don't they drink poison

I guess they're not prepared to test their faith in their god that far.

The great majority of us understand what God meant when He said,"do not tempt the LORD thy God."

[Skepsis]

And you don't think that's evolution in action?

No that is stupidity in action, if they had read scripture then they would have known not to tempt God.

I dunno, seems to me that the only teasing that was happening was the stupid fundies touching the snakes.

[Zen Badger]

And you don't think that's evolution in action?

No that is stupidity in action, if they had read scripture then they would have known not to tempt God.

Same thing really

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It's all to do with signs of True Believers™ from (I believe) 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; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."

We can see how well that works out...

Worked great or the disciples, for whom it was intended.

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Except that passage doesn't specify the disciples, it just says"them that believe"

While I wouldn't necessarily condone such things, in the sense of "don't try this at home", it is the sort of thing that would qualify as a testable claim.

Only if you were one of Christ's disciples.

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I guess they're not prepared to test their faith in their god that far.

The great majority of us understand what God meant when He said,"do not tempt the LORD thy God."

Oh? your god is subject to temptation?
Weak willed as well as petty and spiteful.

[Godscreated]

Worked great for the disciples, for whom it was intended.

Except that passage doesn't specify the disciples, it just says"them that believe"

Yes it does imply the disciples, you need to read the scripture before and after that verse.

Only if you were one of Christ's disciples.

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The great majority of us understand what God meant when He said,"do not tempt the LORD thy God."

Oh? your god is subject to temptation?
Weak willed as well as petty and spiteful.

Just because one is tempted does not mean they are susceptible, omnipotent would dismiss the susceptibility of God. Even myself, being human and all that goes with that, after 20 plus years of smoking, I could not be tempted to smoke ever again. I'm not bragging, I just can not stand even the smell or taste, and I'm so glad I quit.

[Zen Badger]

Worked great for the disciples, for whom it was intended.

Except that passage doesn't specify the disciples, it just says"them that believe"

Yes it does imply the disciples, you need to read the scripture before and after that verse.

16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
16:18 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.
16:19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
16:20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

There it is, which bit says it only applies to the disciples?

Only if you were one of Christ's disciples.

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The great majority of us understand what God meant when He said,"do not tempt the LORD thy God."

Oh? your god is subject to temptation?
Weak willed as well as petty and spiteful.

Just because one is tempted does not mean they are susceptible, omnipotent would dismiss the susceptibility of God. Even myself, being human and all that goes with that, after 20 plus years of smoking, I could not be tempted to smoke ever again. I'm not bragging, I just can not stand even the smell or taste, and I'm so glad I quit.

I understand what you mean, afterall sending 2 bears to maul children to death is hardly the actions of a being capable of self restraint.

[Drich]

[quote='Zen Badger' pid='297541' dateline='1339320424']
[quote]16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
16:18 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.
16:19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
16:20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

There it is, which bit says it only applies to the disciples?[/quote]
The Part that says only the Apstoles were the only Christians who did any of these things.

Paul said it best here:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1 Corinthians+12&version=NKJV

He speaks to this very thing in the whole chapter. As a 'pastor' of any church one should be familiar with the whole bible and not just what Jesus says. For we are charged with reconsiling the whole of scripture and not just the parts that we want to believe.

[Napoléon]

I wonder what excuse Christians will have for his death?

He got bit by a poisonous snake.

Haha, now that's funny.

But seriously, it was part of god's plan. Wasn't it?

[The Grand Nudger]

Drich, you do realize that the passages you just offered as an excuse merely confirm that god gives away these superpowers, there isn't anything in there which contradicts the verse Rollers use to justify their religious observances. But by all means, attempt to erode the credibility of any given passage by reference to another passage until you're blue in the face. You're taking a load off of folks like me. Thanks buddy. It's always nice to meet a brother in disbelief.