“…When they drink deadly poison it will not hurt them at all” (Mark 16:18)
It turns out that the tragic news that a Zimbabwe pastor was eaten alive by crocodiles in front of his congregation is a classic example of fake news.
Many people were taken in by the story, and this is perhaps because it had an element of plausibility to it.
And that is because it would not have been the first time Christians have been killed attempting to imitate Christ’s miraculous deeds. Some have died from extreme fasting, while others have been bitten by deadly snakes in their attempt to live out the Jesus’ alleged promise: ‘They will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all’ (Mark 16:18).
For those wondering if they’re faithless for not handling pythons, there’s a good explanation for the Mark 16 passage – many scholars believe it to be inauthentic, at least not part of Mark’s original Gospel.
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