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 said the reverend Jamie Coots, of Middlesboro, KY. This reality TV preacher demanded that his flock follow his lead and handle poisonous snakes to show "their faith and trust in The Lord."
From the church of ineffable stupidity:
According to the Middlesboro Police Department, emergency crews responded to reports of a possible snakebite victim at a church on Evans Drive around 8:30 p.m., but say the victim had already left the scene by the time they arrived.
Police say they found Coots at his home with an apparent snakebite to his hand. Officials say EMS responders explained the dangers of not treating the wound, but that Coots still refused to be transferred.
Police and EMS returned to the scene an hour later to find Coots dead.
Coots and his fellow moron, Andrew Hamblin, a sick fuck 23 year old who is infamous for mishandling poisonous snakes (half died from mistreatment while in his care) and winning a court battle to have his church own them in Tennessee, had a reality (?) TV show called Snake Salvation, promoting the handling of poisonous snakes because their god would protect them.
It is a story that simply writes itself. With all thanks to Lord Darwin.
On edit, here is the story.
http://www.rawstory.com/...