Them That Believe: The Power and Meaning of the Christian Serpent-Handling Tradi [Paperback]

Although outlawed in many states, serpent handling remains an active religious practiceand one that is far more stereotyped than understood. Ralph W. Hood, Jr. and W. Paul Williamson have spent fifteen years touring serpent-handling churches in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, and West Virginia, conducting scores of interviews with serpent handlers, and witnessing hundreds of serpent-handling services. In this illuminating book they present the most in-depth, comprehensive study of serpent handling to date.Them That Believenot only explores facets of this religious practiceincluding handling, preaching, and the near-death experiences of individuals who were bitten but survivedbut also provides a rich analysis of this phenomenon from historical, social, religious, and psychological perspectives.

Ralph W. Hood, Jr.is Professor of Psychology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.W. Paul Williamsonis Associate Professor of Psychology at Henderson State University. Hood and Williamson are coauthors, with Peter C. Hill, ofThe Psychology of Religious Fundamentalism.

There is no competing work that matchesThem That Believe; it is both original and stimulating. The scholarship is superior, and reflects well the 15 years the authors have worked on this project. This is an outstanding work. Margaret Poloma, author ofMain Street Mystics: The Toronto Blessing and Reviving Pentecostalism

This book provides one of the most comprehensive and thoroughly researched reports on serpent handling Christians ever written. The use of multiple methodological lenses (e.g., sociology, ethnographic participant-observation, phenomenological psychology) adds a depth and richness not seen in other works. The book is very well written and arranged, and the scholarship is excellent. Stephen Parker, author ofLed by the Spirit: Toward a Practical Theology of Pentecostal Discernment anlCq