As I was walking past the EMU Amphitheater a couple of weeks ago, I saw an older man standing center stage with a wooden cross. He had his Bible propped open and was yelling to passing students that they had better come follow Christ and be saved, or they would go to hell. I’ve
always found these sort of religious disputes interesting, so I decided I would stay awhile and let myself be amused by the bickering that was certain to take place.
While listening to the man rant about being saved, I could hardly take anything he said seriously. The way he yelled out to no one in particular, even contradicting the very message of Christianity, seemed almost comical. People began to gather around, and whether offended or just egging on the man, they
responded by yelling harsh comments at him in return.
Based on what he was saying, I could understand why people might be offended. After all, it seems logical that if one bluntly tells someone they’re going to hell, one risks offending them. Although I didn’t let his words get under my skin, I did find the man’s attempt at preaching the gospel rather pitiful.
I may be wrong, but doesn’t the converting of someone to a particular faith involve something called “spiritual enlightenment?” I highly doubt if anyone in the crowd was feeling enlightened or even comforted by the man’s message. Instead it only created bitterness with the people listening. He was attempting to win people over by
invoking guilt and fear, which I think is an inappropriate approach to take in today’s society.
Things only got worse when another guy appeared on the scene with a sign around his neck that said something along the lines of burning in hell if one doesn’t follow Christ. The “burning in hell” part was nicely done, with red and orange flames coming off of it. I heard him say, “Come get your tickets to heaven,” and he had little papers in his hand that he was trying to hand out. I had had about enough; to me this was more a mockery of Christianity than an actual attempt at spreading the gospel. Tickets to heaven? What is that all about? Do these people have nothing better to do than come to the University campus to annoy students?
Yet, the irony was that both seemed to enjoy the contentious debate they were conjuring. It was almost as if they wanted people to yell harsh comments back at them. I could just see them thinking, “Yes! Send out your fiery darts oh, ye wicked ones! I will be a martyr!”
I had to wonder, do these men really think they are going to change anyone’s outlook on life? The only thing they were doing was giving people more reasons to shun any sort of religion in general. They had the stereotypical preacher countenance of being better than “thou” and having the only “truth and light,” which I think many people find irritating.
I’ll admit that this sort of thing can be entertaining, but for the sake of those who really believe in Christianity, these preachers need to sedate their egos a bit, take a long walk and really mull over life’s great questions. If they really want to extend anything like a Christian message, maybe they should volunteer somewhere and
actually help the community. The preachers should take those nice wooden crosses and go build someone a fence, because as far as I can tell, they aren’t doing any good on campus.