Dolly Parton’s Dad Once Cussed Out A Pastor For Bringing Out Rattlesnakes While The Kids Were Performing At Church

I’d be out of there, too.

Dolly Parton has a truly incredible story, coming from practically nothing deep in the Smoky mountains of East Tennessee to become one of the most iconic and beloved musicians of all-time.

Dolly’s Grandpa, Reverend Jake Owens, was worried about her and her faith when she was younger, mostly because of her bleached hair and tight clothes, thinking that she wasn’t walking with the Lord because of those things. Well, he was wrong, and Dolly has always been very open about her faith and belief in God, and she credits her longevity and success to the many blessings she has received over the years.

She grew up going to the Church of God her grandpa preached at, which is a Pentecostal denomination, and she was eventually baptized when she was 12 years-old. Her family was always very musical, and her grandfather was an expert fiddle player, so she and her 11 siblings would travel around to local churches to sing.

But one time, it didn’t go exactly as planned… Dolly recalled going to an old country church with her dad and siblings, like she normally would, to sing during a Sunday morning service. Dolly’s dad was not religious when she was young and didn’t go to church, so he would take them, and then stand outside and listen to them sing from outside of the building, only checking in some to make sure all was well. But one day, the preacher decided to bring out the snakes, and her dad absolutely lost it.

I don’t know all that much about snake handling churches, and it’s certainly far less common in the Appalachian mountain region than it used to be. It has primarily been observed in Pentecostal and Holiness denominations, but is largely regarded as dangerous, and in many cases, heretical, in mainstream Christianity. But if you’re unfamiliar with the purpose of “snake handling” in the church, people would bring out venomous snakes, like copperheads and rattlesnakes, during a service in order to demonstrate faith and obedience to God, and the justification for it is based on the verses in Mark 16:17-18.

In those verses, he talks about casting out demons, speaking in tongues, drinking poison, laying hands for healing, and obviously handling snakes, just to give you a very surface level, brief explanation. Basically, people who practiced it saw it as “sign following,” and used it as a test of faith in God’s protection, however after a number of people died, there are laws implemented against it in most states.

Regardless, Dolly’s dad Robert was NOT a fan of the practice, especially when they whipped those suckers out around his kids.

And he let the pastor know with some colorful language:

“We used to get invited to sing a lot in different churches, so this one time, we went to church, daddy took us. and he would stand outside these old church houses with the windows up, and he’d listen to us sing, look in the windows, and we’d get done and we’d go.

So kept winding up this old country road and finally we get up there, we’re up there just singing our little hearts out, and all of a sudden people just start going, ‘Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!’ Shoutin’ there in church, we thought boy, we’re doing good. We’re really touching these people. You know, we’re there singing, we’re good. We didn’t know, though, that behind us, the preacher had pulled out a big snake.

Daddy was in the back, so all of a sudden, Daddy comes down the aisle hollering ‘Holy Jesus! Sweet Lord!’ And we’d never seen Daddy in church, much less shouting. and not only that, he starts talking tongues. He said, ‘You get them bleepin’ snakes away from my bleepin’ kids, you bleep bleep bleepin’ bleepster!'”

I mean, a perfectly normal reaction from a father who is afraid their young child might get bit by a poisonous snake…

In video from Facebook, Dolly told Jay Leno the same story, adding that, at the end, her dad told them on the ride home that he couldn’t believe he’d cussed people out in a church:

“And he grabbed us and took us out, seriously, and threw us in the car, and he was going down the road, and we were just sitting still as a mouse. And he said, ‘I can’t believe I said bleep bleep in the bleep bleepin’ church house!'”

Just classic… I can only imagine what that whole experience was like in real life, but clearly, it stuck with Dolly after decades, because let’s be honest, considering no one got hurt, it’s a really funny story, and a sign of a childhood in a completely different time and world.

You can watch her tell the story here, it’s hilarious:

@sparks8675309 #dollyparton #churchstory #funny #snakesinchurch ♬ original sound – userLindasparks

“Daddy Was an Old Time Preacher Man”

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