Post by Jesse Morrell on Apr 28, 2006 19:40:25 GMT -5
‘THE WORD' PROMPTS A STIR; SUNY STUDENTS, PREACHERS MIX IT UP
Noni Valentine, a SUNY freshman, holds up her end of the debate that’s been riveting the campus for the past several days as street evangelists from the Open Air Outreach have taken to making their case to passing students. That’s proselytizer Miles Lewis above doing his best to ignore Valentine’s sign. Photo by Shelayna Bassette
‘THE WORD' PROMPTS A STIR; SUNY STUDENTS, PREACHERS MIX IT UP
By A.J. SHEAR, Staff Intern
SUNY Oswego has been rattled to life by two born-again Christian preachers from Open Air Outreach, a lay organization of evangelists.
Founder of the organization Jesse Morrell and colleague Miles Lewis have been holding forth in the SUNY quad for two days preaching to students and other passersby.
Starting Wednesday morning, students gathered in large crowds to listen to what the preachers had to say. Civil conversation quickly disappeared as many students began yelling and others held signs and chanted in protest.
“Go home!” “God said not to judge,” and “Don't take the Bible so literally,” were just some of the things students could be heard shouting.
“We are here to call sinners to repent and to put their faith in Jesus Christ,” Lewis shouted during a class change in front of around 200 students by the Hewitt Union. Thursday, the tone was a bit more civil as the proselytizers returned.
According to Lewis and Morrell, sinners include those who drink alcohol, homosexuals, and anyone who does not believe in Jesus Christ including Jews and Muslims.
Some students thought that the arrival of the preachers was in reaction to the campus “Day of Silence,” which was a project to raise awareness about the discrimination that homosexuals face on a daily basis.
“The rainbow was hijacked by homosexuals,” Lewis said as two students tried to give a rainbow colored ribbon to him. He also said that homosexuals need to “deny their desires.”
“He's done this on purpose to force his views on us all. He knew there'd be a ton of gays and lesbians,” student Krystyna Doran said. “He's also declared that this is no longer a day of silence.”
“We didn't plan it, but I was grateful for it,” Morrell said. “It was the work of the Lord.”
The two preachers were also critical of the Jewish population.
“Jesus is the Jewish messiah,” Morrell said.
“A good Jew needs to put his faith in Jesus Christ,” Lewis said.
Many of the students were angered by the comments including SUNY Oswego student Josh Belser. “He's inciting bigotry and hatred. It's his right to speak but its also my right to say he's wrong.”
According to Lewis, the campus organization Brothers and Sisters in Christ (BASIC) knew they were coming but after Wednesday, BASIC wanted something other than Open Air.
“I am a part of BASIC and I don't agree with it. It's one thing to preach Open Air gospel of love, but when you preach condemnation...I think its giving Christians a bad name,” said student Kelly Hopson.
Some students were affected by Open Air's message in a positive way. Jim Strail was standing outside of the crowd with Bible in hand.
“He did make a difference in one person's life,” Strail said.
University Police Officer David Scott put the situation in perspective.
“We are here to ensure freedom of speech. You would find that the college encourages diversity of thought,” Scott said. “It stimulates conversation. Long after they are gone people will still be talking about it.”
Source: www.pall-times.com/news/
