Journalist DENNIS COVINGTON. He's written a new book about the practice of snake handling in a Southern Appalachian church. Practitioners use snake handling as a kind of "annointing", in a belief that the Holy Spirit comes down to protect them from fear and danger in handling the poisonous snakes. COVINGTON came to write the book as a journalistic endeavor and it became an exploration of his own faith. He himself handled the snakes. COVINGTON's new book is "Salvation on Sand Mountain," (Addison-Wesley).
Copyright 1995 Fresh Air
