Complex sentence: A native of rural Appalachia, Hensley experienced a religious conversion around 1910: on the basis of a literal interpretation of scripture, he came to believe that the New Testament commanded all Christians to handle venomous snakes.
Split into simpler sentences: A native of rural Appalachia, Hensley experienced a religious conversion around 1910. On the basis of a literal interpretation of scripture, he came to believe that the New Testament commanded all Christians to handle venomous snakes.