Preachers on (secular) college campuses

[crawfishgirl]

My school used to get Brother Jed-- I think he travels all over the country. His visit was a hotly anticipated spectacle on campus, and it was something of a badge of pride if he singled you out as a harlot. I always wanted a copy of his book, it looked like a fine piece of outsider art.

I remember Brother Jed. His companion was Sister Cindy, and she talked about being a born-again virgin after being the "disco queen of Florida". I enjoyed his preaching in front of the student union - he was very entertaining to watch. The arguments between him and the other students were funny.

I just googled him, and got many hits. This is his website - brojed.org/cms/

[IronicallyMaeve]

On social media, we're now discussing have a queer kiss-in to protest these preachers. Even straight people said they'd join.

I love my school.

[Jezebel]

We had one on campus today, just a lone dude with a banner on a pole denouncing various sins--some legit (stealing, murder), others not (homosexuality, premarital sex). Speakers on campus are not allowed to use bullhorns or any kind of amplification, and shouting will get them kicked off campus, but he had an obnoxiously loud speaking voice that carried across the main courtyard all the same. He just stood there and tried to rope passerby into conversation, and read aloud from the Bible, but he didn't single anyone out for insults, or give Muslim women in hijab/niqab any grief. He got a few hecklers and a couple of people who argued with him, then got deep into conversation with a like-minded fellow and was relatively quiet.

I didn't talk to him; I had better things to do than punch that tar baby. I did consider telling him that he'd get a much better response if his sign was all about the good things Jesus was for, rather than sin, judgment, damnation, and hellfire. But I figure if he was honestly interested in those things, he'd be out doing useful work in the community in his spare time, rather than standing around a community college campus with a sign condemning sin, so it clearly wasn't worth the effort.

There's a freeway overpass not far from my house, and some days there's a couple of guys out there with a huge sign that says JESUS--as if some random motorist on I-5 is going to smack their forehead and say, "Oh, yeah! Jesus! Why didn't I think of that? Of course I'll go be a Christian now, it makes total sense!" I honestly don't know what those guys think they're going to accomplish with it. Again, they could go do something that actually helps people in a significant way--but instead they make a big, empty public display of what devout Christians they are.

[Mama Mia]

There is a faux-nice old Christian lady who hands out pamphets by our town's university every Monday. At first I thought it was sweet, but I am not at all pleased that this evangelism is considered appropriate but a Muslim, Wiccan, or atheist pamphleter would almost certainly not be allowed.

By not allowed, what do you mean? They couldn't really run of other prostylizers could they? I'm genuinely asking. Unless it's illegal, but tolerated, for the Christian lady - but you think they would enforce the law with other groups? I just can't imagine what their premis would be if it's a legal activity in general.

[RandomTrivia]

There's a freeway overpass not far from my house, and some days there's a couple of guys out there with a huge sign that says JESUS--as if some random motorist on I-5 is going to smack their forehead and say, "Oh, yeah! Jesus! Why didn't I think of that? Of course I'll go be a Christian now, it makes total sense!" I honestly don't know what those guys think they're going to accomplish with it. Again, they could go do something that actually helps people in a significant way--but instead they make a big, empty public display of what devout Christians they are.

I got a quick glimpse of a guy near the local interstate ramp the other day - he was pulling/carrying a big wooden cross with an American flag at the top. I'm guessing there was a wheel at the bottom, but I was dealing with the intersection and didn't try to get a better look.

College campus used to get a regular assortment of people in the "Speakers' Circle" but I usually avoided the congestion, so I don't know if we ever had anyone famous. I did get my share of the tiny little New Testaments, which got to gather dust in a corner until I got rid of them.

[NachosFlandersStyle]

.

There's a freeway overpass not far from my house, and some days there's a couple of guys out there with a huge sign that says JESUS--as if some random motorist on I-5 is going to smack their forehead and say, "Oh, yeah! Jesus! Why didn't I think of that? Of course I'll go be a Christian now, it makes total sense!" I honestly don't know what those guys think they're going to accomplish with it. Again, they could go do something that actually helps people in a significant way--but instead they make a big, empty public display of what devout Christians they are.

When I lived further into the Bible belt I saw billboards like this all the time, usually green with big white letters that just said JESUS. I always read it as an exclamation, like "JESUS! What a dumb sign!" I also used to live near the greatest anti-abortion billboard of all time. It was white with giant block letters reading FETUS and then, in tiny print below, a dictionary definition that I guess was supposed to prove that a fetus is a person? I like to imagine a pregnant woman driving past and seeing "FETUS!!" and suddenly deciding to keep the baby.

Edit: typo

[ViolaSebastian]

Brother Rick was a nutter that frequented my university my freshmen year. He would yell things at people walking by and was obsessed with STDs. He said that we don't just have normal STDs, we have "super gonorrhea THREE" and he had a little movement that went along with it.

OMG, Brother Rick!!

[bBvideo 560,340:24nue8dr]

[/bBvideo]

[jerkit]

So, umm, my freshmen year roommate is totes in that video, Viola ;)

[jerkit]

Also, thank you SO MUCH for finding the super gonorrhea three dance.

[NachosFlandersStyle]

I remember Brother Jed. His companion was Sister Cindy, and she talked about being a born-again virgin after being the "disco queen of Florida". I enjoyed his preaching in front of the student union - he was very entertaining to watch. The arguments between him and the other students were funny.

I just googled him, and got many hits. This is his website - brojed.org/cms/

Yes! I remember him basically bragging about all the drugs and sex he was into before he got saved. Part of me thinks that any conversion story that starts with how wild and sinful and basically satanic you used to be is pretty much code for "I smoked half a joint once." But another part of me thinks that you couldn't get to be as whacked-out as Brother Jed without the help of some serious drugs.

[ViolaSebastian]

So, umm, my freshmen year roommate is totes in that video, Viola ;)

HAHA, I swear I'm not a creeper, it was a random choice.

[jerkit]

HAHA, I swear I'm not a creeper, it was a random choice.

I wonder if Brother Rick was just a Kentucky thing or if he traveled? I know he preached at UofL because I had a friend who went there the same time I was at UK and we talked about it.

Also, my former roommate was ALWAYS listening to Brother Rick. She thought he was hysterical. She would even skip class to listen to him. Once, she brought a lawn chair and a cooler.

[Sobeknofret]

My school used to get Brother Jed-- I think he travels all over the country. His visit was a hotly anticipated spectacle on campus, and it was something of a badge of pride if he singled you out as a harlot. I always wanted a copy of his book, it looked like a fine piece of outsider art.

We got him too! He called me a cross-dressing harlot one time, because I was wearing a trilby hat and pants with suspenders. He was a total loon, but man we loved to see him come to town because he was always good for a laugh.

[ViolaSebastian]

I wonder if Brother Rick was just a Kentucky thing or if he traveled? I know he preached at UofL because I had a friend who went there the same time I was at UK and we talked about it.

Also, my former roommate was ALWAYS listening to Brother Rick. She thought he was hysterical. She would even skip class to listen to him. Once, she brought a lawn chair and a cooler.

I'm fairly sure he was spotted at EKU and WKU--he must have made the rounds.

[Freed]

There was one on my campus for the longest time, but he eventually got arrested and banned for grabbing a student's arm hard enough to leave bruises. The debate team was a little disappointed, I think; they loved to get together and debate him.

Another got arrested for punching a cop after being asked to leave private property. Class act, this bunch.

[TXGirlInAMaterialWorld]

I always made sure to steer clear of the street preachers that visited campus when I was in college. I was scared to death that I would know one.

It also made me cringe thinking of all the "contacting" I had done in youth both door to door and at community events and how weird we looked to everyone else. Most people just blew us off altogether but some were very angry and aggressive. Of course we were told that the adversary had a hold of their hearts- GAG!

When I see a street preacher now I just walk on by. If it is kids being forced by their parents/chruch to preach or protest- I am always extra nice as I want to show them that not everyone is angry and out to get them.

[moodygirl86]

Once a preacher ran up to me as I was walking to class, stuck his finger in my face, and shrieked to everyone around, "THIS GIRL IS A WHORE! SHE HAS LEFT HER FATHER'S HOME AND FUCKS EVERY MAN SHE MEETS!" Half of it was true: I'd left my father's home to move into the dorm. But I was a super straight edge virgin non-drinker with straight As who went to church every Sunday and I was so SO embarrassed at all the people who turned to look. I basically ran away crying. Poor little VodouDoll. I'd yell right back now.

I'd have pointed out that at least I don't shout the F word in public (which is generally true, though I have made one or two exceptions in my life).

[Terrie]

Ray Comfort has come to my school a few times, and last time he brought Josh Duggar, who stood on a box and did his "are you a good person" talk. Of course I didn't know about it until after I saw it on Instagram, which was highly irritating for me.

I've always wanted to have someone try that one me. Depending on the leading questions:

Religious Nut: Do you think you'll go to Heaven when you die?

Me: Yes.

Nut: And how do you know that?

Me: God told me.

Or maybe just "Everyone knows the souls of the departed live on Alpha Centuri."

If they manage to get to the "are you a good person?"

Me: Do you mean am I within the accepted tolerances of what is considered an accepted variation of the platonic ideal of a person? Well, I have four limbs, a head, and I'm capable of walking and chewing gum at the same time, though I actually don't like gum. So, yes, I qualify as a "good" person. The manufacturing process did not go awry.

They all use the same damned script, and I really, really want to see how far I can derail it.

[Mela99]

We had this guy at IUP who we dubbed the Oak Grove Preacher (cause half our campus was an Oak Grove). He would stand there between classes and bemoan people who went to college, sinned, etc. He used to recruit "interns" to help him preach - ironically, from the same group of people Ian/Larissa "fellowshipped" with in college.

He also brought some group who ran around with sandwich boards telling us all college was a sin and doing anything that wasn't serving Jesus would send us to hell. Literally told us all to drop out and go back home and spend life praying, and not spend money on anything that isn't a good christian company.

One of my buddies engaged one of them in a debate until they all got mad and told him to go away. He kept pointing out their brand name outfits and talking about how they were made in non-christian companies.

And one year someone was handing out evolution DVDs saying why evolution is a lie, Darwin fucked animals, and global warming is a joke. BF at the time and I got loaded and watched it. Hysterical.

And at least every other year they handed out the little orange bibles.

[NotALoserLikeYou]

I've always wanted to have someone try that one me. Depending on the leading questions:

Religious Nut: Do you think you'll go to Heaven when you die?

Me: Yes.

Nut: And how do you know that?

Me: God told me.

Or maybe just "Everyone knows the souls of the departed live on Alpha Centuri."

If they manage to get to the "are you a good person?"

Me: Do you mean am I within the accepted tolerances of what is considered an accepted variation of the platonic ideal of a person? Well, I have four limbs, a head, and I'm capable of walking and chewing gum at the same time, though I actually don't like gum. So, yes, I qualify as a "good" person. The manufacturing process did not go awry.

They all use the same damned script, and I really, really want to see how far I can derail it.

Haha! I like that one about being a properly made human. Or what would he say if you said God told you you were going to heaven? Would he be presumptuous to say God didnt speak to you?

[Terrie]

Haha! I like that one about being a properly made human. Or what would he say if you said God told you you were going to heaven? Would he be presumptuous to say God didnt speak to you?

Me: Are you calling God a liar?

[Hane]

Once a preacher ran up to me as I was walking to class, stuck his finger in my face, and shrieked to everyone around, "THIS GIRL IS A WHORE! SHE HAS LEFT HER FATHER'S HOME AND FUCKS EVERY MAN SHE MEETS!" Half of it was true: I'd left my father's home to move into the dorm. But I was a super straight edge virgin non-drinker with straight As who went to church every Sunday and I was so SO embarrassed at all the people who turned to look. I basically ran away crying. Poor little VodouDoll. I'd yell right back now.

I was the same at that age. I wish someone told this SOB that it's a sin to bear false witness against someone--as in, calling you a fornicator when you weren't!

[lawlifelgbt]

Every spring, my alma mater deals with a homophobic preacher in the "free speech zone" around the clocktower/center plaza of campus. The LGBTQ orgs kept getting madder and madder, and in spring 2012 (I think) they filmed this.

The spring after I came out, I was living at a (liberal) campus ministry apartment right near campus. The pastor woman running the house, and the other pastor in another house across the street from mine (I knew him well too- he ran a Lutheran campus ministry out of that house, and I was ELCA), knew about me and were supportive. It was kind of a weird setup. Lutheran house and misc. Protestant house (mostly United Methodist) right by each other, and we often attended each others' events. I couldn't get in at the Lutheran house to live, so they just sent me across the road!

So anyway, with these connections, that's how I got the pastors to tell off that guy in 2010. Despite the controversy, he will never stop spewing things!