Stupid is as stupid does

I may have a little different perspective on this than most. Saturday night Jamie Coots pastor of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name in Middlesboro, Kentucky died from the bite of a timber rattlesnake. Coots' church believes in the literal interpretation of the King James Bible and bases their belief on Mark 16: 17 & 18 which states the following. "And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." The folks in these churches believe they are obeying a biblical command when they handle snakes. Jamie Coots was bitten by a 2.5 foot long timber rattlesnake near the base of his right thumb. He quickly became sick and went to the bathroom to throw up. His son went to get car keys to take his father home when Pastor Coots lost consciousness. Five men carried him to his car and his son drove him home. Friends carried him into the house and placed him in his recliner. An ambulance was called but his wife refused to allow treatment saying to go to the hospital was against his religion. People of this faith typically rely on prayer for healing after being bitten. He was bitten between 8 and 8:30 and was pronounced dead at 10:16.

I have seen people claim to be healed by prayer. Were they really sick? They claimed to have been. Were they really healed? They claimed to be. Do some religious folks take advantage of this for monetary profit? I've seen that too. All I can say about Pastor Coots is that his faith was stronger than mine ever was or would ever be. No worries about me getting bitten by a snake in church. There are two reasons. One, I don't go to church anymore. Two, if I did and snakes come out, I am sooooo gone. Part of me wants to say: Pastor Coots, what the fuck is wrong with you? Are you stupid or something? The answer is apparent. Bitten by a snake, refuses treatment, dies, stupid. I would offer that it was a success for natural selection. We thinned a slow stupid one from the herd but he did reach breeding age and fathered a son. The son is going to take over his father's duties in the church. Slow learners I guess.

On a related note a study released recently indicates that 25% of the American public believe that the sun revolves around the earth. Do you still wonder why the Chinese, Japanese, Koreans and Indians have more engineers and scientists than us. We have people arguing that the earth is 6,000 years old and that the sun revolves around the earth. Can any of these people read? Folks, the Bible is not a science book. It is a book about faith. It is allegories. It is an extended metaphor. It is not intended to be taken as literally true. Ask Pastor Coots. Oh wait, you can't because his literal beliefs got him dead. He is completely, totally, absolutely fucking dead. The truth is that dead men know nothing anymore about literal truth or allegories or metaphors.