Not to be cruel or mean spirited, but if one wants to see the idiocy of the Christofascist crowd that demands that the Bible be taken literally - or at least certain favored passages - look no farther than Pastor Jamie Coots, one of the stars of National Geographic's "Snake Salvation," who died on Saturday after he was bitten by a snake. Coots refused medical care citing his belief that snake bites will not hurt believers. (Would that more of Christofascists in Virginia would take up snake handling.) The example of Coots again raises the issue of why does anyone take these people seriously much less give them deference or respect. They are a menace to themselves and others. Here are details from WBIR-TV:
Kentucky Pastor Jamie Coots died Saturday night after he was bitten by a snake, according to officials and family members. Coots starred on the reality show "Snake Salvation" alongside Pastor Andrew Hamblin, from LaFollette, who was recently in court for TWRA citations for snake-handling. The National Geographic show profiled the Pentecostal, serpent handling preachers.
Middlesboro Police Chief Jeff Sharpe said Coots was found dead in his home at about 10 p.m. Saturday a snake allegedly bit Coots while he was handling the animal in his Middlesboro church, Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name.
Sharpe said Coots went home before emergency workers got to the church. Officials then went to his house but weren't given consent to treat him or transport him to the hospital. About an hour later officials said they returned to the home, but Coots had passed away.
Another preacher at the church, Cody Winn, said he was right next to Coots when he got bit during the Saturday evening service. "Jamie went across the floor. He had one of the rattlers in his hand, he came over and he was standing beside me. It was plain view, it just turned its head and bit him in the back of the hand before, within a second," Winn said.
He said Coots dropped the snakes, but then picked them back up and continued on. Within minutes, he said Coots headed to the bathroom with his son and Andrew Hamblin, an East Tennessee preacher who also handles snakes.
"Andrew said he looked at him and said 'sweet Jesus' and it was over. He didn't die right then, but he just went out and never woke back up," Winn said. His son, Cody, said his dad had been bit eight times before, but never had such a severe reaction.
A little more than a week from Sunday would have been exactly a year since Jamie Coots pleaded guilty to violating Tennessee's exotic animals law. As part of a plea deal, Coots surrendered his vipers.
Jamie Coots isn't the first to get fatally bitten at the Middlesboro church. Back in 1995, a snake handler named Melinda Brown passed away after she was bit.
True, snake handlers are among the most extreme of the Christofascists, but in the last analysis, they are all equally crazy and embrace the same kind of ignorance based on the myths of Bronze Age herders and the writings of unknown authors from the 1st and 2nd centuries.
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