Dealing with Campus Preachers

Being a student at your typical large university, I’m often subjected to the random ‘holy man’ who sees us as existing a few steps below the denziens of Soddam and Gammoreah (pardon my spelling).

My question is, what verses in the bible can I specifically point to that might contradict these people?

I’m aware that this won’t stop the campus preachers. This is for my own edifaction.

You’d have to post some of the quotes in order to get rebuttals.

(By the way, you probably shouldn’t have put this in General Questions . . . but, anyway, welcome to the SDMB!)

You’re not likely to beat them at their own game, but what type of verses are you looking for? There’s the ever-popular “judge not, lest ye be judged” one, but they can counter it with one of the many admonitions to preach the Gospel.

Remember, in their eyes, they’re doing you a favor by pointing out your wicked ways and showing you the light, so you too can be saved. In the face of that, the best response would probably be to smile, nod, and move on rather than to try to answer.

The most recent one (and the one who prompted me to seek the aid of the millions), slapped down the “judge not” argument by claiming that since he was perfect and without sin, he was entitled to judge.

Or something ridiculous like that.

He also refused to let anyone touch his bible to point things out.

“I don’t let heathens touch my bible.”

If the fellow is claiming that he’s perfect, it would appear that he has a Messiah complex. He may be harmless, but I can’t imagine that you could convince somebody who’s “perfect” that he could be wrong about anything.

Just refer them to Eradikiah 3:14. :dubious:

Why do you feel the need to contradict him? Leave him be.

Besides which, as I’ve discussed in many a previous thread, that passage condemns hypocrisy, not judgment per se. Hence the admonition “Remove the log from your own eye *before you see fit to remove the speck in your brother’s eye.”

Whatever you do, don’t join Omega House.

I think it was Jack Handey (or some other NatLamp writer from the mid 80s) who said “I interpret the Bible literally, but don’t attach any importance to it.”

Read the OP where the answer to your question is very clearly explained.

JB, There are well known counter-arguments to anything that you can tell these guys. They’ve certainly heard them all and will have a prepackaged explanation for any verse that might seem to contradict them. For example, anything in the “Old” Testament that contradicts them doesn’t count since Jesus came into being and changed the rules. That being said, there’s a verse in Matthew that goes along the lines of “Do not be as the hypocrite and pray in public.” I’d look it up exactly for you but I’m away from home with very poor computer access right now.

Haj

These fanatics that feel compelled to witness feed off abuse as it validates their self-image as noble martyrs. The worst thing you can do to them is render their ranting impotent by ignoring them.

This isn’t really a General Questions with a factual answer. It’s more of a poll.

Off to IMHO.

DrMatrix - General Questions Moderator

Never argue with an idiot. They bring you down to their level and beat you with expierience. Whoever first said that is a genius, and it certainly applies here.

      • Off to where?
  • If it’s warm outside, you can dissolve honey in water and then spray or throw it on them. Bees and wasps will be attracted to the smell.
    ~
      • Ummm, , , okay, I replied to the (unlocked) thread in GQ and it posted there, but it also posted to the thread in IMHO…?
        ~

I just had to quote that from the OP so maybe, just maybe, people would actually answer the question asked which had nothing to do with with the effectiveness of arguing with campus preachers.

Haj

Well, from a campus preacher’s point of view…

(Yes be shock, for I was one of them! Muhahahaha!)

I hope the OP’s problem is with the preacher, not what they are doing. Sure, I may be convinced that I am right, but that doesn’t give me the right to say hurtful things, insenstive remarks, putting down others (after all, I am not better, or even worse, than the person whom I am talking to) or showing no respect. In fact, if you don’t want to listen to me, just say so and I shall kindly agree.

I find it kind-of alarming those ‘preachers’ could call other ‘heathens’ right in the face or pretend to be without sin. If that’s what you want to contradict them, just read through a couple of chapters on the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) on an online bible (Bible Gateway is useful). Jesus has plenty of words for such religious snobs. Nothing beats “You brood of vipers!”

Now…

The easiest way to put off campus preachers is to simply speak the truth “I am busy”, “I am not interested” - from where I am came from, we are taught to respect their “no” and just leave them alone.

There’s no point trying to use the Bible to contradict campus preachers - most of them follow certain form of ‘preaching material’ which are based right off the Bible. In fact, you may give the false impression that you are interested (“He’s asking questions! Wow!”) or make them even more persistent because you have started the arugment. So unless you just want to stir some troubled water (and not to win the argument), you can still try. The best thing is just to go to an online Bible, type in some key words and take entire verse out from context. That’s shall be fun. If they stutter, consider that you have won and hopefully they will return in shame to read their bible more!

That’s my two cent worth.

I don’t think these people are allowed there unless they are students or staff.

I don’t think a public university can keep people off their grounds, especially outdoors, unless they are committing a crime of some sort. This includes the preachers and the “street musician” who blows the same two notes over and over again on his recorder. Freedom of religion and assembly and all that. (Notice that the University of Minnesota only seems to become a “den of iniquity” requiring preaching during the spring months.)

The best foil for a campus preacher that I’ve heard of (and that a friend of mine claims to have witnessed) is to hire a stripper. Apparently, the preacher’s “stirrings in the trouser department” were quite evident. A guy couldn’t claim to be “without sin” after that :).

My husband once flummoxed a poor guy who was giving out those little Gideon Bibles (the ones that have just the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs) by asking him why they left out the Old Testament. “Isn’t the Old Testament important?” It helped that he had just taken a class (academic, not religious) on the history of the bible. The poor guy had no answers for him.

Perhaps the bible verses aren’t the best choice for a foil–he’s probably got a canned answer to any verse you can come up with. I personally don’t see why everyone has a need to confront them. I just ignore them, myself. They’d get really flummoxed if no one took their bait IMO.