Hundreds attend anti-drug rally in City Park

http://www.interfaithunitychurch.com/courseinmiracles.html

alkie, you need to check this out.

note: see the Miracle Distribution Center. (AA surely is listed)

Oh that's right, the Christian Pastor Randy “Mack” Wolford died because of his very small rally that killed him.....

Why I watched a snake-handling pastor die for his faith

By Lauren Pond, Published: May 31

This is what I saw through my camera lens: Pastor Randy “Mack” Wolford, tossing and turning on the couch in his mother-in-law’s West Virginia trailer, suffering from the pain of a rattlesnake bite he had received earlier in the day. Parishioners surrounding him in prayer in the stifling heat. His mother stroking his feet, her expression a mixture of concern, sorrow and, eventually, acceptance: This is how her eldest son — a legend in the local Pentecostal serpent-handling community — would die.

Camera in hand, I watched as the man I’d photographed and gotten to know over the past year writhed, turned pale and slipped away, a victim of his unwavering faith, but also a testament to it. A family member called paramedics when Mack finally allowed it, but it was too late. Mack Wolford drew his final, labored breaths late Sunday night. He was 44.

The scene has been playing over and over in my head since then, and the questions are weighing on me: As a photojournalist, what role did I have in this tragedy, and what is it now, in the aftermath? Was it right for me to remain in the background taking pictures, as I did, and not seek medical attention for the dying pastor, whose beliefs forbade it? Or should I have intervened and called paramedics earlier, which would have undermined Mack’s wishes? Finally, what was I supposed to do with the images I shot?

My thoughts have been especially muddied because of the context in which I knew Mack. He wasn’t just a source and a subject in my year-long documentary project about Pentecostal serpent-handling; he was also a friend: We shared a meal at the cafe where members of his family work; he screened videos about himself for me at his house; I once stayed the night on his couch.

The practices of the Signs Following faith remain an enigma to many. How can people be foolish enough to interpret Mark 16: 17-18 so literally: to ingest poison, such as strychnine, which Mack also allegedly did at Sunday’s ceremony; to handle venomous snakes; and, most incomprehensible of all, not to seek medical treatment if bitten? Because of this reaction, many members of this religious community are hesitant to speak to the media, let alone be photographed. .....

Read more at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/why-i-watched-a-snake-handli...

avogadno, why didn't you just leave?

I have NEVER made a "joke" of believers. I'm a believer myself. I take shit on here all the time for being a believer. I don't mean a believer in Bill Wilson. I mean a believer in God/god/higher power. I respect atheism until it takes cheap shots at my intelligence for believing something the atheist scoffs at. There's no sense in unilateral respect. That's one of the main problems on this forum. As if anyone gives a shit.

Well, in AA, a doorknob, Satan, or anything else can serve as a God of your understanding. Nothing prevents this, and many groups encourage people who have problems with Chirstianity to seek alternative Gods of one's choosing. Moreover, many groups meet in churches, and all AA meetings involve ritual chanting. So I'd say my comment is right on the mark.