Twisted Scripture Mark 16:18

In 1910, after reading Mark 16:18, George Went Hensley introduced snake handling to churches throughout the Appalachian region. Although this passage is a part of the ending of Mark that is considered by many not to be original, much of the church for eighteen centuries viewed this passage as authoritative. Therefore, if it were interpreted literally, one would expect to hear that early Christians obeyed the directive to “pick up snakes.” No evidence exists that this ever happened, although the apostle Paul was protected when bitten by a venomous viper (Ac 28:1-6).