Campus preachers: fanatics or

passionate believers

Stern-faced, loud shouting, Bible-wielding preachers have visited this campus ever since I’ve been here, and before.

Have you ever wondered how much breath it takes to preach that loud for that long?

Do you ever wonder how much determination these individuals must have to return to the campus week after week even though many students don’t give their message a chance?

The recent events in the Free Speech area have sparked some debate as to the method religious persons use to get their point across to students walking by.

The question is: when is someone expressing their faith considered fanatical and when are they simply perceived as passionate?

Case in Point

A fanatic, according to the American Heritage dictionary, is someone who is possessed with extreme zeal and enthusiasm.

The first religious fanatic that comes to mind is David Koresh.

Koresh was the leader of the Branch-Davidian religion.

This man was someone who let his religious beliefs rule his life in such a way that it cost his followers their lives as well.

Koresh and his followers completely separated themselves from reality in order to create their own world in the form of a compound in Waco, Texas.

Marcus Wesson is another one who comes to mind. Although not a leader of a particular religion, he immersed himself in religion so much that he became his god, with the rights and privileges of being all powerful. Including the right to marry and procreate within his own family and to choose whether his children should live or die.

Case in Point

Someone who is passionate is driven by emotion. In the case of the preachers that emotion is love not anger.

Although I cannot warrant the delivery of these preachers I am confident that their overall message has a positive twist. We all need to weigh both sides before passing judgement.

No matter what we believe we are responsible primarily for ourselves.

What is your passion?

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