One day last semester while on my way to lunch I saw a man holding one of the strangest signs I had ever seen. He was surrounded by a huge crowd of people and was preaching about who he believed was going to hell. His long list included people who were Jewish, Atheist, Hindu, Pagan, Agnostic, Satanist, Mormon, Buddhist and Jehovah witness. As well as those who fall under the categories of cross dressers, gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, “girly men”, “mouthy women”, murderers, child molesters, abusive spouses, and sinners. There must be about twenty more that I can’t remember. His presence sprouted a lot of controversy although many of the upper classman say that he comes every year. The Women’s center made t-shirts that said “I am a mouthy woman”. One student was so offended he went and put on a dress so he could be a cross dresser. A lot of people became so enraged there was a lot of shouting and argument. I feel like more than anything it made a lot of people act like hypocrites, both him and those that refuted his claims.
How can he be so specific about it and make such a blanket statement that clearly encompasses the majority of the human population? How can he make such general statements as “mouthy women” and “girly men”? How do you quantify that? And if you say sinners are going to hell wouldn’t he himself be included? Does this viewpoint make sense? It seems so cut and dry to me.
2 comments:
I remember that day last semester. I remember also being very frustrated with him as well as those who crowded around him. It is not his place to say the things that he did and condemn everyone around him. And yes, I do believe that with the speech he gave, and the manner in which he gave it, he was telling everyone that he too would end up in hell (however, obviously that was not his intention). I think that those who made a big deal out of the situation were simply making matters worse (however I understand that he did offend a ton of people). I think that a problem with what occurred was that he got exactly what he wanted. HE wanted the attention, he wanted to be noticed, and he wanted his voice to be heard. Although people may not have heard it in a positive light, they heard it either way. Also, being that us two remember it, it is very likely that others do too, which again is just what he wanted. I think that it is that type of person that gives Christians (which is what he claimed to be) a bad name. Because it is that person that people remember and associate with Christianity. I don’t mean to simply say that it is only Christians that get this reaction. It is any religion whom there are extremists that speak so loud that the true roots of the religion cannot be heard.
I remember this man as well. I walked directly passed him because I knew that whatever he had to say many people would not be happy with it, and I probably wouldn't be happy with what he had to say. I agree with Summer that it is these type of people that make people despise religion of any sort. Unfortunately, I think it is the extremeist that we see the most often trying to convey their religion, but their religion may not even be close to the viewpoint they provide. As far as what he said, I believe that no one is perfect. Whether or not people believe in sin or not, everyone makes mistakes, so no one has the right to judge anyone for anything they do. We are each given the right to choose how we want to live our lives, and that is something that no one should judge or try to take away from us.
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