page_title: Church of God with Signs Following
hierarchical_section_title: Church of God with Signs Following
caption_attribution_description: English: Handling serpents at the Pentecostal Church of God. Lejunior, Harlan County, Kentucky. Company funds have not been used in this church and it is not on company property. Most of the members are coal miners and their families. The pastor Eli Sanders, who is standing at the right died from a snake bite suffered during the ritual use of snakes in September 1958
context_page_description: The Church of God with Signs Following and the Church of Lord Jesus with Signs Following are the name applied to Pentecostal Holiness churches that practice snake handling and drinking poison as a demonstration of the strength of their faith during worship services. The practice originated in the Appalachian region of the United States and is based on a literal interpretation of the following biblical passage:
  "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,"
  — Mark 16:17-18
  The beliefs and practices of the movement have been documented in several films and have been the impetus for a number of state laws related to the handling of venomous animals.
context_section_description: The Church of God with Signs Following and the Church of Lord Jesus with Signs Following are the name applied to Pentecostal Holiness churches that practice snake handling and drinking poison as a demonstration of the strength of their faith during worship services.  The practice originated in the Appalachian region of the United States and is based on a literal interpretation of the following biblical passage:
  "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," 
  — Mark 16:17-18
  The beliefs and practices of the movement have been documented in several films and have been the impetus for a number of state laws related to the handling of venomous animals.
caption: Snake handling at a Church of God with Signs Following service in 1946
exif: {}