'Too many people were getting hurt': Snake-handling pastor and his congregation evicted from their church after legendary preacher died from bite and his son was bitten

The Mail, UK/June 22, 2014

A building owner evicted a pastor and his worshipers from their church because of their fondness for handling venomous snakes while praying and dancing.

Clyde Daugherty, who built the LaFollette, Tennessee-based church in 1994, rented the building to Andrew Hamblin for just $267 a month but eventually became fed up with all the serpents slithering about and occasionally injuring or killing congregants.

'Too many people were getting hurt and dying, and that's a proven fact,' Mr Daugherty told 10News. 'He was focused too much on the wrong things, like attention from the media and the TV show, instead of the word of God.'

Mr Daugherty said he had offered to sell the church, trailers and surrounding property to Mr Hamblin for $66,000, but the pastor declined and is now looking for a new building.

Mr Hamblin's Pentecostal church practices a rare, century-old Christian tradition of worshiping God with venomous snakes such as timber rattlers, cottonmouths and copperheads, according to Urban Christian News.

The 22-year-old plays mandolin, loves zombie movies, receives food stamps, has five children and was the star of a 16-episode National Geographic reality series called Snake Salvation, which featured Appalachia's serpent-handling churches. About 125 such churches exist in the U.S.

Pastors use the snakes to show non-Christians that God protects them from harm, holding them aloft as they pray, sing and dance.

The belief stems from a literal reading of Jesus' words in the Gospel of Mark: 'And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.'

Mr Hamblin, who said he has been bitten by poisonous snake many times, made headlines last fall after authorities seized more than 50 venomous serpents in his possession. A grand jury ultimately didn't indict him after his court appearances drew large crowds of supporters.

Mr Hamblin's mentor, fellow reality TV star and snake-wielding pastor Jamie Coots, died in February after being bitten at his church in Middlesboro, Kentucky. His son Cody, 21, took over for him and was bitten by a snake last month.

'I was with Jamie in Middlesboro, Kentucky, when he was bit,' Mr Daugherty said. 'Enough is enough. There will be no snakes at my services.'

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