Guess who’s back? That’s right, Michael Venyah and his cohort of evangelists have descended upon Mississippi State’s campus yet again. Venyah and friends (Soulwinners Ministry International) are fast becoming a staple of MSU events, drawing crowds, snickers, questions and campus police as they preach their version of the Bible. Venyah’s liberal use of the phrase “You’re going to hell because of .” has caused as much uproar as it has laughter. But I wanted to know exactly what entails damnation in Venyah’s book. Fortunately, he was kind enough to let me interview him, one-on-one, after one of his Drill Field preaching sessions.
It quickly became apparent Venyah was stuck in evangelist mode. I felt as though I were interviewing Borat or Stephen Colbert, because he never came out of character. Every other sentence seemed to be a verse from the Bible or a call for me to repent of my many sins. Even when asked a question about his everyday life, he responded with Scripture. But eventually, after listening to several lectures more boring than watching C-SPAN, I got to the meat of his cause.
The first thing I wanted to know was how he acquired funding. I’ve heard students surmise that he sues people who physically attack him or his group, but Venyah insisted he has never filed a lawsuit against anyone, although he did say he and his family have been attacked on more than one occasion. He also mentioned that in 2005, he spent a night in the Starkville jail after a student accused him of harassment. When asked how he makes ends meet, Venyah quoted me several Bible verses and said God tells people to make donations and provide lodgings.
OK, it seemed as though his ministry was legitimate, not a money laundering scam. But I had doubts about his methods.
When asked if yelling in public is an effective way of delivering his message, Venyah said, “Well, it’s a Biblical method . God’s word says to speak above the din and cacophony of those that are trying to oppose.”
So far, so good. Venyah’s ministry seemed legitimate as well as sincere, but then things began to get weird. I started asking him about sins he thought condemned people to hell. Among them were drinking soft drinks, drinking alcohol, writing fiction, homosexuality, dancing, listening to secular music, liars and plagiarizers (he warned me not to misquote him, or I would be thrown into the lake of fire).
But there were a few curious exceptions to Venyah’s list. For instance, if someone who he considers saved (which isn’t many) is tired from preaching, that person may have caffeine. Venyah went on to say alcohol production and hemp clothing were examples of “man torturing God’s nature.”
I then wanted to know what he thought about MSU football Coach Dan Mullen and MSU athletics, and that’s when he dropped the bomb on me, saying, “Mississippi State and all other academic institutions should be shut down.” Seriously, Venyah? No university or collegiate sports? But Dan’s the man!
Venyah was dead serious. He went on to say that homeschooling was the only correct method of education, our government should be a theocracy and all “conjectural” sciences shouldn’t be taught. His idea of conjectural sciences includes sociology, psychology, anthropology and all higher mathematics. He also believes physical ailments ranging from insomnia to cancer are brought about by not being saved, and he has healed many people from such ailments. When asked if he had ever healed an amputee, Venyah said, “I’ve seen one person have a leg grow out an inch.” An inch? After he said that, I could have sworn I heard crickets chirping.
In private and when not thumping his Bible and yelling at students, Venyah came off as a relatively nice guy. You know, the kind of guy with whom you’d want to kick back a few beers.
For my final question, I asked Venyah if Ole Miss was going to hell. His response consisted of a long-winded condemnation of the greater Oxford area that I interpreted as a yes. We’ve been saying it for years, but now it’s official: Go to hell, Ole Miss, go to hell.
Matt Morgan is a sophomore majoring in sociology. He can be contacted at [email protected].