Pentecostal and people who handle serpents?

I'm a herp enthusiast AND a Pentecostal. You just opened up a can of worms. Ahem...

THEY'RE ANIMAL ABUSERS, NOT CHRISTIANS!! All of them. And they're PROUD of it! How in the heck is that Christian behavior? "I love Jesus and all His creation," says the moron "pastor" as he flings a near-defenseless copperhead around like a lasso until the poor thing dies of exhaustion. One guy even said he didn't worry about the authorities confiscating the animals he was abusing because he could always go get more out of the woods! It's a well-documented fact that animal abuse is the precursor to abuse of humans. Someone put these idiots away before they start claiming it's biblical to beat your toddler to within an inch of her life!

The Bible does NOT say you can abuse snakes. It even tells us outright that we are to CARE for animals, not torture them. Incidental snake bites while doing God's work, such as the one Paul received, can be healed by God as a sign that the person is His servant (more likely they receive a dry bite, where no venom is injected at all; this is almost certainly what happened to Paul). But knowingly torturing an animal and getting bit or scratched as the animal tries to defend itself? God is not going to protect you from the consequences of your own stupidity and your blatant disregard for the role He gave you as the steward and protectorate of animals.

This guy is also a Christian. Listen to his take on rattlesnakes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8EyGbxMVqc

As for speaking in tongues, that is a gift of the Holy Spirit, and it is for practical use. I believe tongues has been abused in the Pentecostal church. We need to focus less on the sign and more on the Spirit. Tongues will follow naturally. It is not the be-all-end-all of Spirit baptism, anymore than a single sneeze is a sign that you have the flu.

It is my understanding that speaking in tongue shouldn't be allowed unless there is someone there to translate what is being said. If not how do you know who's speaking through them, maybe it's Satan. When it comes to snake handlers; there is a difference in faith and foolishness God gave us a mind so we can think, some people take everything in the bible literal and do not consider the time which it was written in. Just because God said something to his faithful 1200 years ago doesn't mean that it applies now. Remember the bible was written by men to the best of their ability in the time it was written. God gave us reason and common sense to apply the word to our time and not live in the past. This is considered taboo by some, but helps me make sense of it. To each their on, as long as you live right and love the lord understanding the gift of salvation, the small print shouldn't matter. God bless you!

FIrst off, I don't think pentacostals are just going around picking up snakes as an everday thing and are dying in large numbers beacuse of so. Everyone has a brain and a sense of danger and need to preserve self. Thus if you can find me articles telling about people who literally died handly snakes I doubt you can come up with more than a handful.

Secondly, I think pentacostals focus is on experiencing the Lord and feeling his presence through the Holy Spirit. Tongues has a big emphasis in their denomination however its not just for "pentacostals" I know catholics who have received it, lutherans, baptists etc etc because its not about denomination, its about ones personal faith in the Savior and surender to his Reality. There's only one reality and truth. THats jesus and his Holy Spirit he poured onto the earth. If you are born again and received his spirit, no matter what denomination, you can speak in tongues. Its all about John 3: You have to receive his supernatural spirit from Above and be born again. THats universal in every Christian religion.

So, What exactly is your question?