Author
Lauren Pond
Book Format
Hardback
Publisher
Duke University Press
Published
November 2017
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Test of Faith
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Author
Lauren Pond
Book Format
Hardback
Publisher
Duke University Press
Published
November 2017
£26.34
Save 34%
Free UK Delivery
Available - Usually dispatched within 4 days
Test of Faith
Today's Price £26.34
Add both to basket for £36.36 and save £14.63
Pentecostal serpent handlers, also known as Signs Followers, hold a literal interpretation of a verse in the New Testament's Gospel of Mark, which states that, among other abilities, true believers shall be able to "take up serpents." For more than a century members of this uniquely Appalachian religious tradition have handled venomous snakes during their worship services, risking death as evidence of their unwavering faith. Despite scores of deaths from snakebite and the closure of numerous churches in recent decades, there remains a small contingent of serpent handlers devoted to keeping the practice alive. Who are the serpent handlers? What motivates them to continue their potentially lethal practices through the generations? Documentary photographer Lauren Pond traveled to West Virginia in search of answers to these questions. There she met Pastor Randy "Mack" Wolford, one of the best-known Signs Following preachers in the region and spent the following year documenting Mack and his family. The course of her work changed dramatically in May 2012, when Mack, then forty-four years old, suffered a fatal rattlesnake bite during a worship service she attended.
Pond photographed the events that followed, and has continued her relationship with Mack's family. Test of Faith provides a deeply nuanced, personal look at serpent handling that invites greater understanding of a religious practice that has long faced derision and criticism-and serves as a meditation on the photographic process, its ethics, and its capacity to generate empathy.
Author
Lauren Pond
Book Format
Hardback
Publisher
Duke University Press
Published
November 2017
Weight
1204g
Page Count
144
Dimensions
260 x 285 x 21 mm
ISBN
9780822370345
ISBN-10
0822370344
Eden Code
4527421
More Information
Author/Creator: Lauren Pond
ISBN: 9780822370345
Publisher: Duke University Press
Release Date: November 2017
Weight: 1204g
Dimensions: 260 x 285 x 21 mm
Eden Code: 4527421