Did you know that there is a “snake church” in Kentucky where part of the service involves a rattlesnake biting the pastor?
Surprisingly, there are reportedly more than 125 snake-handling churches throughout the state’s Appalachian Mountains, so it turns out that this is not the only type of church in the area.
One of the many pastors overseeing a group of followers in a church where people handle snakes is Cody Coots.
He pastors a fourth-generation serpent church and works at the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus’ Name in Middlesboro, Kentucky.
The pastor replaced his father, Jamie Coots, who passed away in 2014.
The senior pastor supposedly died while leading a church service while being bitten on the wrist by a rattlesnake.
Cody claims that his father passed away 10 minutes after the collision.
Cody is seen doing the same service he learnt from his father and the other pastors before him in the documentary “My Life Inside: The Snake Church.”
While the other church members handle the rattlesnake’s back, he holds the rattlesnake’s portion in his hands.
The preacher furiously shakes his hands while clutching the snake as they wrap it around his neck.
Then, in an effort to calm the lizard down, Cody murmurs a prayer to it.
But at one point in the video, Cody is struck in the head near his ear by the snake.
Cody appears to be unfazed and continues with the ceremony despite blood dripping from his shoulders and onto his shirt.
However, he was escorted out the church by worried attendees, who then took him to the hospital for urgent medical care.
Cody did not exhibit any signs of suffering throughout it all.
Cody has previously experienced rattlesnake bites.
However, the pastor claimed that he is not concerned about the result because he trusts that God would keep him safe and heal him. He also believes that the bites are divine messengers.
But Tammy, his wife, expressed her concern that Cody might meet the same fate as his father, dying at the hands of a rattlesnake.
Tammy, who did not share the same Pentecostal upbringing as her husband, was present when that vicious snake attack took place. They were both on the church’s stage.
On social media, the video of the snake bite incident has sparked criticism of the Church’s practices.
Cody’s recovery was wished for by some, but messing with the snake, according to others, is wrong.
The preacher shook them roughly in his hands, the reptiles only automatically defending themselves as predators.
Even worse, one internet user noted that the deed is cruel to God’s creatures.
There are churches that believe they are obeying the Bible while handling snakes.
Mark 16:17–18 in particular mentions the use of serpents in man’s purpose to worship and proclaim the word of God.
According to Yahoo! Lifestyle, Cody is reportedly rethinking his role as a snake church pastor in light of the attention the documentary has garnered.
The pastor was also advised by doctors that he should think about permanently stopping this practice because his most recent snakebite almost cut an artery that could have killed him.
