# What is your opinion regarding public evangelism? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 18, 2024, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-regarding-public-evangelism/996283 "2024-01-18T18:23:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Vlad\_Igor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Vlad\_Igor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vlad_Igor)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-regarding-public-evangelism/996283/61 "2024-01-20T00:59:30Z")
I will also add that it is much easier to stand on a corner and preach/harangue/judge than it is to wade knee-deep into the muck that people find themselves in. It’s the same for social media, where it is much easier to post on social media how much you support X than it is to actually go be with people in X and support them person-to-person. The theoretical is much more comfortable to support than having to deal with reality. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-regarding-public-evangelism/996283/62 "2024-01-20T02:46:32Z")
> [@dewbiedoo](#): > > That’s it right there. In my undergrad there was a guy who had a voice like a drill sergeant on steroids. Every day he’d stand in the middle of the quad booming out fire and brimstone. Everyone ignored him. Ours got a plaque… > **[Berkeley Historical Plaque Project Berkeley Historical Plaque ProjectHonoring...](https://berkeleyplaques.org/e-plaque/holy-hubert-lindsey/)** > > Sproul Plaza is hallowed ground for Mario Savio and the Free Speech Movement, but the FSM can’t claim a monopoly on Sproul Plaza: Hubert Lindsey preached fire and brimstone at and near UC’s Sproul Plaza from the mid 1960s until the mid 1970s. “Holy... [![](https://pnuematicrain.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/elio-de-piso-holy-hubert.png) ](https://pnuematicrain.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/elio-de-piso-holy-hubert.png) ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-regarding-public-evangelism/996283/63 "2024-01-20T03:04:47Z")
Dude. I’m so glad to see you. One of my favorite posters. ---
**Author:** ![philipdalton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/85e7bf/32.png) [@philipdalton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/philipdalton)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-regarding-public-evangelism/996283/64 "2024-01-20T12:11:46Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > When I was in college in the Eighties, we used to get Brother Jed and Sister Cindy doing their yelly evangelism thing on our campus. I was surprised to see he kept it up well into the 2010s (he died in 2022). These two were quite entertaining. > > I see somebody tried to make a reality show about his family. I feel very sorry for his daughters. I’d put the link in here but I can’t figure out how to include a link to a YouTube video. I know how to do that. On the YouTube clip there is a “Share” icon, isn’t there? Click on that, and various options should come up. If you click on “Copy link” you will have the URL for the video clip. So, if you position your cursor where you want to put the link in here and then press your thumb or finger down two options will come up, “Paste” and “Select all”. Click on the option on the left and, hey presto, there will be the link to the YouTube clip, right there with your comment. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-regarding-public-evangelism/996283/65 "2024-01-20T13:28:19Z")
That’s half the story; the easy half. Here on the SDMB’s instance of Discourse, there’s a glitch in how video links are processed so you need to fiddle a bit to make your link appear in a post here. It’s a well-documented glitch with a good workaround, but if somebody just naively inserts a YouTube preview link into a post the post won’t save. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-regarding-public-evangelism/996283/66 "2024-01-20T18:14:32Z")
I’m very much an atheist, but I’m generally cool with this kind of thing. If I honestly thought that my words could save eternal souls, then I would be doing the same thing. The only time I have a problem with it, is when it gets aggressive – telling individual people that they are going to hell, or shouting and getting in the face of people who disagree with them or scoff. I mean, I know that should go without saying, but it’s just that street preachers are the #1 group for getting aggressive IME, followed by political campaigners, and then followed by basically nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-regarding-public-evangelism/996283/67 "2024-01-20T18:18:02Z")
The main problem with public evangelism is, as someone pointed out, that you’re trying to get people to commit to something without personal connection. Anything works better and more persuasively if you first build rapport with someone in person 1-on-1. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-regarding-public-evangelism/996283/68 "2024-01-20T18:26:37Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Anything works better and more persuasively if you first build rapport with someone in person 1-on-1. Or, apparently, several-on-one in a particular way. It is called love-bombing, I think, and is used by some cults? ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-regarding-public-evangelism/996283/69 "2024-01-20T20:05:19Z")
Don’t forget flirty fishing. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-regarding-public-evangelism/996283/70 "2024-01-20T20:15:06Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > When I was in college in the Eighties, we used to get Brother Jed and Sister Cindy doing their yelly evangelism thing on our campus. I was surprised to see he kept it up well into the 2010s (he died in 2022). These two were quite entertaining. University of Wisconsin? He was a staple of the campus experience when I was there, in that same era. I agree with others who have noted that such “evangelism” doesn’t seem to be about actively attempting to convert, but about following what they believe God has commanded them to do (and, probably, about some self-righteousness about one’s own adherence to “the rules”). ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-regarding-public-evangelism/996283/71 "2024-01-20T21:36:57Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > University of Wisconsin? He was a staple of the campus experience when I was there, in that same era. Nope. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, in California. Apparently Jed and Cindy traveled all over the country to share their “message.” I can still hear him yelling “FOR-ni-cay-SHUN!” at the crowd. From the look of the reality-show pilot, he calmed down considerably in his old age. Same message, but a lot less confrontational about it, at least with his family. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-regarding-public-evangelism/996283/72 "2024-01-20T21:39:57Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > Nope. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, in California. Apparently Jed and Cindy traveled all over the country to share their “message.” Either that, or someone was franchising out the “Brother Jed and Sister Cindy” personas. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-regarding-public-evangelism/996283/73 "2024-01-20T21:40:02Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > > University of Wisconsin? He was a staple of the campus experience when I was there, in that same era. > > Nope. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, in California. Apparently Jed and Cindy traveled all over the country to share their “message.” > > I can still hear him yelling “FOR-ni-cay-SHUN!” at the crowd. > > From the look of the reality-show pilot, he calmed down considerably in his old age. Same message, but a lot less confrontational about it, at least with his family Yep. He was at the University of Georgia, too. Early '90s. A Jewish classmate told me he was present when Brother Jed asked the crowd, “How many Jews are here right now?” and someone replied “Enough to kick your ass, Jed.” ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-regarding-public-evangelism/996283/74 "2024-01-20T21:43:17Z")
**Matthew 6:5-15** And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-regarding-public-evangelism/996283/75 "2024-01-20T21:48:39Z")
According to this(and many other religious websites) there are numerous Biblical verses telling us that public prayer is proper and, at times required. [Are you afraid to pray in public? Are you embarrassed at praying out loud? Here’s how to pray in public. (whatchristianswanttoknow.com)](https://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/how-to-pray-in-public/) You can justify almost any previously held belief with Bible verses and “spiritual guidance”. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-regarding-public-evangelism/996283/76 "2024-01-20T22:12:42Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > I can still hear him yelling “FOR-ni-cay-SHUN!” at the crowd. A number of whom were probably in favor of it. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2024, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-regarding-public-evangelism/996283/77 "2024-01-20T23:53:26Z")
I also heard about Jed and Cindy. They were a little before my time, thankfully. More recently, there’s been a local man who stands on busy street corners with a cross, and a small sign that says “FREE BIBLES” and the name of the church he is promoting. (Surprisingly, it’s mainstream Protestant." Also, several months ago I saw the Gideons with their cartons of pocket Bibles, standing just off the property of the high school up the street. Again, it’s their right to do that, and the kids’ right to say yes or no. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2024, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-regarding-public-evangelism/996283/78 "2024-01-21T00:18:32Z")
Jed visited the University of Illinois in the mid-70s when I was there, but I never saw Cindy. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2024, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-regarding-public-evangelism/996283/79 "2024-01-21T02:23:12Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > A Jewish classmate told me he was present when Brother Jed asked the crowd, “How many Jews are here right now?” and someone replied “Enough to kick your ass, Jed.” Great answer. Way back when I was in college (the 70s), I only remember Campus Crusade for Christ. One of my friends (Jewish) was asked by one of these imported “Christians” if he could see her horns. ---
**Author:** ![Vlad\_Igor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Vlad\_Igor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vlad_Igor)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2024, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-regarding-public-evangelism/996283/80 "2024-01-21T02:45:35Z")
They came to Indiana University every now and then in the 1980s, sometimes as guests of “Mad” Max Lynch. Jed had a disarmingly candid style that drew you in and then he would pull out the “you’re going to Hell” knife. Cindy was a shrill harpy who screamed and hissed at the young women present, who were clearly whores of the worst kind. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-regarding-public-evangelism/996283.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-opinion-regarding-public-evangelism/996283.md?page=5)