"Snake Salvation," a new reality television program focusing on the real world activity of Pentecostals handling poisonous snakes, recently debuted on the National Geographic Channel ... oddly enough.

The series features Andrew Hamblin, a 22-year-old who leads Tabernacle Church of God in LaFollette, Tenn., and Jamie Coots of Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name church of Middlesboro, Ky.

"Based on previews of two premiere episodes shared with The Christian Post ("Appalachian Hunt" and "Smoke 'em Out"), viewers will likely find themselves cringing (over a rotted human finger claimed by a snake bite) and shaking their heads in bewilderment (a believer seeks only prayer instead of medical attention after a venomous snake bite)," The Christian Post reported.

"There are about 125 snake-handling churches in the United States, and almost all of them are found in Appalachia," Time magazine recently reported.

"Snake handlers like Hamblin do not worship snakes. Instead they use snakes to show non-Christians that God protects them from harm. In church services, when they feel the anointing of the Holy Spirit come upon them, these Christians reach into boxes, pick up poisonous snakes and hold them up as they pray, sing, and even dance."

According to Religious News Service (RNS), Hamblin and Coots "are among a handful of believers in Appalachia who practice the so-called signs of the gospel, found in Mark 16: `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.'"

Time pointed out that "Even within Christianity, the Bible passage in question is a point of controversy. Most scholars agree that the Bible's editors added those verses to the original gospel text several centuries after it was written. Chronologically, the Gospel of Mark was the first of the four gospels, and the last twelve verses of Mark are absent from the two earliest manuscripts. Early third-century theologians like Origen and Clement of Alexandria also make no mention of them.

"That does not deter devoted serpent handlers. `For scholars of religion, the questions surrounding the Mark 16:9-20 passage are extremely important for questions of canon formation and scriptural authority,' explained Yolanda Pierce, scholar of religion at Princeton Theological Seminary. `But for those who believe that the version of the Bible that they physically hold in their hands is the true, literal, and unchanging word of God, it's pretty irrelevant if that particular Mark passage was added later than the other chapters.'"

In case you think it's all snakes and gospel-rockabilly music, long-sleeve shirts and pants wearing guys and long-skirt-wearing woman  twenty-four/seven, think again. There is a strong element of danger involved. Preachers or Parishioners who may get bitten by snakes most often do not seek medical attention. Instead, they expect to be healed through the power of prayer.

"Six bite-sized facts" about snake handling

In a Christianity Today story about "Snake Salvation," Kate Tracy presented "six bite-sized facts about this fringe but growing Appalachian tradition":

1. "The practice began in 1910 when an illiterate Tennessee preacher tried to literally apply Mark 16:18: "They will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them..." (ESV). However, scholars debate the authenticity of that passage."

2. "Snake Salvation star Andrew Hamblin is a 22-year-old pastor leading a resurgence of snake handling among younger Pentecostals (photos and timeline)."

3. "The rattlesnake death of West Virginia pastor Randy `Mack' Wolford, thoroughly profiled by The Washington Post Magazine, happened to be photographed by the Post as well."

4. "More than 100 venomous snakes were confiscated in a 2008 sting operation in Kentucky. Gregory James Coots, father of Snake Salvation star Jamie Coots, owned the majority."

5. "In 1940s Georgia, snake handling was penalized by death."

6. "Five Tennessee children were orphaned in 1999 after their parents died handling snakes. A judge ruled that the paternal grandparents, who also believed in snake handling, would have custody during the summers and holidays, but could not bring the children to snake handling services."

National Geographic Channel producer Matthew Testa said that sixteen episodes are planned so far. "We live at a time when, because of the Internet and television, we are all becoming more and more alike," Testa said. "To find a really distinct American subculture is incredibly rare."

Testa touted the apparent normalcy of serpent-handling believers; they dress modestly -- dresses for women, pants and long sleeves for men -- shop at Wal-Mart, and their churches are located in residential neighborhoods.

According to RNS, "Titles of 10 episodes ... listed at the National Geographic Channel's website, include[e] `Casting out Demons,' `Bitten in Church' and `Venom in the Vein.'

"One episode will cover Coots' court battle earlier this year. Officers from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency confiscated five rattlesnakes from Coots during a January traffic stop on Interstate 40 in East Tennessee, as state law bans private citizens from owning venomous snakes. In February, he was sentenced to a year of probation."

Hamblin told Time that he hopes to take his spiritual mission far and wide: "One day he hopes to lead an international mega-ministry that goes far beyond snake-handling, one that would focus on `reaching out and feeding the hungry, helping homeless people, helping the drug addicts, seeing them be delivered, the alcoholics be delivered.'"

The producers of "Snake Salvation" may be wary that a snakebite could actually result in someone dying during the filming of the show. However, it may be the possibility of something going horribly wrong that might attract viewers who would not likely invest their time watching a program about a fringe religious sect.