The Grounds of the University are usually a peaceful place where the molding of young minds can occur amidst a pastoral tranquility often unseen in ordinary society. Unfortunately, this serenity is often interrupted when students happen to cross paths with an elderly gentleman who seems rather irate about something. As the man approaches, people realize he is shouting about how they and their friends lead sinful lives that would make Caligula cringe. Some students deem it worthwhile to engage in a battle of wits with this man. Of course, by battle of wits I mean an exchange that usually devolves into a sloppy shouting match between two individuals who have little to no interest in calmly considering the merits of differing opinions. Through these "battles," we can learn a little about ourselves from our reaction to these preachers because students often exhibit the same intolerance they disdain when they confront these men out of anger.
Preachers like Brother Micah and some of his ilk, who have graced the Grounds to redeem our troubled souls, usually come from small fundamentalist Christian groups. Many of these small sects, unlike more well-established churches, rely upon this boisterous mode of preaching to reach out to people and show them the error of their ways in hopes that they will repent. Students living in the supposed dens of iniquity and sin that are today's college campuses seem like ripe fruit for saving. The goal of many of these preachers is often not conversion, but merely to warn us of our wicked ways in the hopes that we will reform and live a more pious lifestyle. Of course, as most mainstream religions would agree with this basic premise, the issue is more of the method by which many of these preachers go about practicing their craft.
Second-year College student Art Conley further draws out this comparison when he said, "If non-Christians come away from one of Brother Micah's sermons with the belief that he is representative of the whole of Christianity, then it is not he who is at fault; it is we Christians. Brother Micah is visible to the world in a way that we are not; if we as Christians object to his message for whatever reason, then we should probably be spreading our true message with as much fervency as does Brother Micah his own." Of course "fervency" does not exactly encapsulate these preachers' styles. With their bellicosity, their often accusatory tone and general histrionics, these gentlemen believe the best way to spread their religion and show students the road to repentance is to scream it to their faces. What results is more of a confrontation than an interfaith dialogue.
There is also the issue of how they present the topic at hand. By focusing purely on the negative consequences of students' actions, preachers hope to scare you into repenting in the same manner of the fire and brimstone preachers of old. This tactic is really akin to going to a job interview and having your boss only present to you every single unfortunate thing that could befall you if you fail to meet his standards. This method creates an intolerant and malicious atmosphere that only serves to focus more on the frightening and the bleak than the virtues of faith and love that are often highlighted by other religions.
Of course, these preachers make a pretty easy target, and some noble students who worship at the altar of reason embark upon this great crusade to show Brother Micah and the like the error of their ways. What results is a Kafkaesque display of half-thought out arguments, logical fallacies and mostly ad-hominem attacks that seem to blur the lines between preacher and clergy. Many students decry these individuals for their intolerance but answer them in much the same way. The condescension, unwillingness to respect other points of view and righteous anger that seem so characteristic of your average Brother Micah are just as present in some of his opponents. Both assert a world view in which they are firmly entrenched in a rather boisterous and hurtful manner. Many of us are tempted to give students a pass as they are the ones who are being shouted at and denounced as sinners in the first place. Instead, we should take a cue from our British cousins to "Keep calm and carry on." Nothing is gained in a confrontation between a bellicose preacher who is absolutely convinced he is right and an arrogant second-year philosophy major who is absolutely convinced he is right. These actions only serve to add fuel to the proverbial fire and confirm many of these preachers' views that college kids are nothing but petulant sinners. When both sides cruelly assert that they are each holier than thou, neither are.
Pietro Sanitate's column appears Tuesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at p.sanitate@cavalierdaily.com.
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