Michael Venyah’s preachings are not necessarily on par with the standard Christian teachings. It seems that Michael does get several people each day to either come to debate him or to listen to him, but is his message really what people need to be listening to? His message is definitely one of “fire and brimstone,” but who is he to judge?
Michael believes that he is here to “save” the population of Mississippi State University, and he believes that everyone must give themselves entirely to God. I had the occasion to sit with him and have a little debate for around an hour and a half a while ago, and I was surprised at some of the beliefs that Michael has.
First of all, I disagree with the fact that he attacks people based on his observations of them. He will attack them based on their dress or their mannerisms. No one should judge anyone or anything based on appearances alone, and what’s more, they shouldn’t really be passing judgments in the first place. Does the Bible itself not say, in essence, “Do not judge lest ye yourself be judged as well?” Michael has no right to do this to anyone, especially since he certainly is no saint himself.
Yet, I was surprised when I found that Michael actually said that he believed that he was living his life “free from the bondages of sin.” He said that he no longer sinned. I asked him if that meant that he was almost equivalent to Jesus Christ, and his answer, surprisingly, was yes. Michael says that everyone is capable of living their lives without sin and he went on to quote some things from the Bible. Now, I consider this a heresy, since no one is capable of living without sin. No one. The Bible says that. It is the quest of life to achieve a level of perfection, but of course, as humans we cannot quite reach that level. Michael is in error here.
In any regard, he should not go around saying that he is perfect or that we are all sinners and are going to burn for wanting to have some fun. Just because I play some video games in my spare time. He says that it is wrong because it detracts from reading the Bible or worshipping God. He went as far as saying that playing games is sinning because games detract from God. Games take away from truly living because they are a diversion from a reality.
This logic is a fallacy, and so are most of Venyah’s beliefs. He is a false prophet, and his presence on this campus is, in my opinion, something that is tolerated, though it can be upsetting at times for the reasons I have stated.
Venyah is a mistaken person who is misleading people, and I hope more people can realize this and escape the clutches of the man’s grasp before they, too, endanger themselves in his web of lies and false teachings.
Jesse Brown is a sophomore in computer engineering.