You have probably heard of the “yelling preacher,” as some around campus have dubbed Michael Venyah. It is impossible to go to The Union or the post office without getting a taste of his preaching.
There has also been a lot of debate about what to do with him. The university decided to move him to the “free-speech zone” between the YMCA building and George Hall. Many have protested against this move, saying that it’s a violation of Venyah’s freedom of speech. They would rather see him return to The Union steps.
Still others wish him off campus altogether. They are tired of his “fire and brimstone” style of preaching, his doomsday message and his practice of singling out people for laughing or wearing certain types of clothing.
Venyah isn’t the first to evangelize on campus. There are plenty of people posting themselves around campus giving out religious tracts and Bibles. Posters and blackboards everywhere advertise religious organizations and meetings. Plus, we have a chapel that holds services.
So what is the difference? What’s getting people so riled up?
The Bible gives a clear example for Christians and preachers to follow in the only perfect being ever to live: Jesus Christ. The Gospels show Jesus preaching, teaching and interacting with people. Most Christians take Jesus’ example and apply it to their own lives, which was a style of living popularized by the “What Would Jesus Do?” movement.
When Jesus went to Samaria, he met a Samaritan woman who had many lovers she had never married. Jesus asked her for some water, and taught her lesson in “the living water.” This led her and everyone she told to change their ways.
Jesus knew of her sins. He did not call her a harlot. He did not angrily condemn her. He used kind words and gentle consideration.
You could argue that this was Jesus working one-on-one, something that Venyah is not doing when he preaches to the people changing classes. This may be true, but Jesus did not only work one-on-one.
Just read the famous “Sermon on the Mount” recorded in Matthew chapters 5 through 7. Jesus gives a long sermon to the multitudes gathering around him. While we get no feel for his tone of voice, Jesus uses words like “judge not” and “blessed are the meek.”
Obviously, Jesus was not a fan of “fire and brimstone” sermons.
Fire and brimstone is most related to a popular perception of the Old Testament God. Sure, God did use fire and brimstone in extreme circumstances. Who knows how many chances he gave Sodom and Gomorrah? God shows his mercy when he spared Ninevah in the book of Jonah.
One of my favorite passages of the Bible is in 1 Kings 19. God told the prophet Elijah to wait for him on a mountaintop. God was not in the destructive wind, the earthquake or the fire. God was “a still small voice.”
We know where the earthquake and fire is on campus. But where is the still small voice?
The still small voice is in the man giving out New Testaments and kindly wishing you a good morning. The still small voice is in the people sitting in and around the State Fountain calmly discussing God over open Bibles and coffee drinks. The still small voice is in the many religious organizations and churches that welcome anyone to their services and meetings.
I am not saying that Michael Venyah does not have the right to preach. I am simply stating that he gives Christianity a bad name. If his intention is to convert people to Christianity, or “win souls to Christ,” he is going about it the wrong way. No one ever became a Christian from being harassed.
Remember, the word “love” appears in the Gospels 75 times, while the word “hate” appears 23 times, and never does it say “God hates you.” Don’t let the fire drown out the still small voice.
Angela Adair is a senior English major. She can be reached at [email protected].