Talk:George Went Hensley/GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: MathewTownsend (talk · contribs) 21:19, 11 January 2012 (UTC)

I will review this article. MathewTownsend (talk) 21:19, 11 January 2012 (UTC)

Two in a row, good to see you again! Mark Arsten (talk) 21:33, 11 January 2012 (UTC)

My main problem with the article is all its headings. Would you mind if I changed a few? (You could always change it back.) The article looks fascinating. MathewTownsend (talk) 22:09, 11 January 2012 (UTC)

Sure, that would be fine, there are quite a few of them. Mark Arsten (talk) 23:01, 11 January 2012 (UTC)

Question

• Was Hensley religious before his conversion experience and was born again? After he was born again, did he retain the same religious beliefs overall for the rest of his life? MathewTownsend (talk) 17:20, 12 January 2012 (UTC)
  • From what I recall of the source books, he was raised in a fairly religious Baptist family, then left the church at age 21 or so. About 10 years later he had a born again experience and joined a Pentecostal Holiness church, which he stuck with for the rest of his life (in theory, at least, in practice he wasn't very holy at times). I can try to clarify these facts if you think they're not clear in the article. Mark Arsten (talk) 17:51, 12 January 2012 (UTC)
  • It's entirely possible (somewhat likely even) that he had a born again experience in the Baptist church as a child, but I don't think there's a source for it. Mark Arsten (talk) 17:55, 12 January 2012 (UTC)
  • Was there more that you wanted from me on this point? Mark Arsten (talk) 03:02, 13 January 2012 (UTC)

(ec)Reply

• The lede does a very good job of putting the story together, I think, but the rest of the article doesn't follow the lede. All Hensley's moving around seems to be related to his arrests for snake handing, but sometimes no reason is given for the move.
• What exactly about snake handling is so compelling? Did it prove that you would go to heaven if the snake didn't bite you? The "Theology" section doesn't really explain it.
• Please feel free to revert, change anything I'm doing.

MathewTownsend (talk) 18:02, 12 January 2012 (UTC)

• • Alright, I will check through my notes and the sources I have, but I should be able to clear those details up. I think he moved so much for several reasons that I can point out; part of it was definitely wanderlust though. His theology of snake handling is a bit tricky to pin down since he never wrote a systematic theology or anything, in fact, he literally couldn't spell theology! There are a few statements that he made that might clear it up a bit, hopefully I won't veer into WP:SYNTH. Mark Arsten (talk) 19:02, 12 January 2012 (UTC)
  • Made a few changes, I don't have the energy right now, but I could try to look over the rest of his moves and try to match them up with a reason if possible. Mark Arsten (talk) 03:02, 13 January 2012 (UTC)

Query

• What do you think of the heading changes? MathewTownsend (talk) 22:33, 12 January 2012 (UTC)
  • Looks fine to me, I wrote the article in small bits at a time, so that's probably why there were so many headings before. Mark Arsten (talk) 22:58, 12 January 2012 (UTC)

Lead

• Do you think "He was frequently arrested for violating bans on snake handling." should be moved to another part of the lead? It almost seemed to break up the flow for me. Mark Arsten (talk) 16:38, 13 January 2012 (UTC)
  • Many factors seem to be linked to his divorces, not just arrests for snake handling. The article never says that he was frequently arrested for snake handling, does it? It just give two instances when he was. Also he was arrested for moonshine. So probably there's a better place to put that sentence. MathewTownsend (talk) 18:40, 13 January 2012 (UTC)

• Ok, took a stab at clearing that up. Also, I don't think this is part of the GA criteria, but there are a couple picture of Hensley in the book by Kimbrough, (i.e. here I think since he's dead one of them would qualify under WP:NFCC #1. I might try to put one in soon. Mark Arsten (talk) 18:50, 13 January 2012 (UTC)

• The pictures could qualify under fair use (I think) under the proviso that he is dead (hence there is no way you or anyone else could take a picture of him now.) And if you justify how a picture of him is essential to understanding the article. How about the one on page 139 of the link you gave above, showing him with a snake around his neck, demonstrating to reporters? That one definitely adds! But upload it to wikipedia, and not to the Commons. MathewTownsend (talk) 19:08, 13 January 2012 (UTC)

• Actually, page 139 is not him. But the one you suggested is. (There is also one of him in a court hearing with other people.) MathewTownsend (talk) 19:24, 13 January 2012 (UTC)

• Looking again, I think the best option is this one, since it shows how he had an assistant read to him during the services. Will try to work on it soon. Mark Arsten (talk) 20:12, 13 January 2012 (UTC)

• Good choice! The fact that he was illiterate is a huge deal. MathewTownsend (talk) 20:30, 13 January 2012 (UTC)

• Thanks for touching up that picture, I don't know too much about that type of thing. Mark Arsten (talk) 21:54, 13 January 2012 (UTC)

• Alright, I finished my second pass through the article with your comments in mind. Mark Arsten (talk) 21:28, 13 January 2012 (UTC)

• Reply - it's really a good article already! Just a few more comments/questions that you mightn't be able to answer.

• How many children did he have altogether? Only those with Irene?
• Just a comment - the fact that he was illiterate means that his wives had to play a large role in his pastoral work - reading, writing etc. That must have had an effect on his marriages!
• Also, he must have been charistmatic! MathewTownsend (talk) 23:03, 13 January 2012 (UTC)

• Thanks for the compliment and the help you've given. I think one of the source books does list his children, I can probably put that in after dinner. The involvement of his wives in his ministry likely did play a big role in all the marriage conflicts, keep in mind, he fought with one wife over whether to put their children in an orphanage so she could help him more. Not exactly a family man! Mark Arsten (talk) 23:08, 13 January 2012 (UTC)
• Wow, he had 13 children and >10 step-children, I hadn't realized it was quite that many. Mark Arsten (talk) 00:36, 14 January 2012 (UTC)

• Quite a guy! Americans seem to come up with these wacky but engaging people. Have you read Samuel Colt and John C. Colt for example? MathewTownsend (talk) 00:43, 14 January 2012 (UTC)

• I've heard of Samuel Colt, but I haven't read anything about him or John. I'll check those out. It is true though, America tends to produce some funny characters and unusual religious movements. I've actually been making that my editing focus lately, pretty interesting to read about. Mark Arsten (talk) 00:47, 14 January 2012 (UTC)

GA review-see WP:WIAGA for criteria (and here for what they are not)

1. Is it reasonably well written?

   A. Prose: clear and concise, correct spelling and grammar:

   B. Complies with MoS for lead, layout, words to watch, fiction, and list incorporation:

2. Is it factually accurate and verifiable?

   A. Provides references to all sources:

   B. Provides in-line citations from reliable sources where necessary:

   C. No original research:

3. Is it broad in its coverage?

   A. Main aspects are addressed:

   B. Remains focused:

4. Does it follow the neutral point of view policy.

   Fair representation without bias:

5. Is it stable?

   No edit wars, etc:

6. Does it contain images to illustrate the topic?

   A. Images are copyright tagged, and non-free images have fair use rationales:

   B. Images are provided where possible and appropriate, with suitable captions:

7. Overall:

   Pass or Fail:

• Congratulations! MathewTownsend (talk) 17:40, 14 January 2012 (UTC)