In fall 2013, Kerrigan Skelly of Pinpoint Evangelism visited the UTM campus and spent most of the day shouting at anyone who cared to listen about how they were all going to be sent to Hell unless they repented. While some students who had assembled were genuinely attentive to what Skelly had to say, most ignored him. In fact, a few actively scorned him from the crowd, which did nothing but add fuel to his fire.
Now, there are rumblings that he’ll be returning to campus soon to go right at it once more.
Before we get too much further into this post, I’d like to point out a few things. Firstly, I am a Christian myself and have been since I was very little. Secondly, the opinions I may share with you here are not necessarily those of the Pacer staff as a whole, and as such they should not be held responsible for anything that may be offensive. Lastly–and on a related note–I mean no offense to anyone who genuinely agrees with what Mr. Skelly and his associates have to say; my intent is only to provide a viewpoint of my own before opening it up to you, the readers.
The Christian Church gets a lot of flak from atheists and other religious groups for being overbearing, overly proselytizing and generally holier-than-thou. It’s been that way since the Dark Ages, when the Church was the closest thing to an overarching political system in the wake of the fall of the Roman Empire. Even today, long after the split between Catholicism and Protestantism, Christianity generally has terrible PR in many parts of the country, with many citing groups such as the WBC and certain other controversial sects of the church. It’s bad enough that one has to ask, “Why?”
My answer: Look no further than the likes of Mr. Kerrigan Skelly.
I’m not talking about street preachers specifically, although those irk me a bit as well. I’m talking about those Christians who have no compunction about being stuck-up, self-righteous, and arrogantly smug about how they’re so much better and how they’re going to shout endlessly at other people about how much better than them they are. Nobody’s going to be receptive to somebody shouting at them about how they’re going to Hell, but that’s what modern Christianity has devolved into, it seems.
Mr. Skelly may talk about how all of UTM’s students are going to have an eternity of torment during the afterlife, but he’s missing the big picture. He routinely eschews the idea of being true to Christianity’s basic message in favor of a more inflammatory and demeaning approach. In fact, his teachings have been called heretical by certain other Christian ministers. In any event, he will not let any amount of public scorn keep him from saying what he has to say.
So what do you think? Do you agree or disagree with Mr. Skelly’s teachings and viewpoints? What do you think about the way he delivers his message? How do you think students should deal with being yelled at and called bad names when they are just walking to class? Should they just ignore it or should they tell him he might have better luck converting people if he would quit insulting them for five minutes? Be sure to leave a comment below. Just remember to keep it clean so it can be seen!
Voice It! topic suggestions should be emailed to VoiceItUTM@gmail.com.
We never post comments that contain foul language or material that could be considered libelous.
I wish people wouldn’t react so much to him. I don’t like his message or his methods either, and in my eyes he’s sort of the same as a bully. Maybe if we all just walked around the University Center instead of walking in his line of fire he would get bored and go home? That’s definitely the method I will be employing all day tomorrow.
What this traveling “evangelist” preaches is not actually biblical christianity but a long ago condemned heresy called “Pelagianism”. It is one of the most condemned heresies in the history of the Christian church, yet it is frequently found parading as christianity. I have a brief response to Pelagianism posted to my Facebook account, and am happy to discuss this issue further in person or online with anyone who is interested or who may be feeling hurt by this man’s words.
Rev. Dawson Bean
Campus Minister
RUF at UT-Martin
Thank you, Dawson, for serving at UTM and being a voice of reason and love to a lost world. I would encourage all to read Rev. Bean’s Facebook post, especially if you are open to an intellectual and enlightening look at true Christianity.
He is no different from the majority of religious people these days. Its all about how everyone is going to hell because people dont believe what they do. Religion for the most part has become a poison which saps the strength of society. I am all for believing in God, but just because I choose to express faith in a different way does not mean that I or anyone else is going to hell. Im very sick of the “Holier than thou” mentality of religious followers. And it is not just him either. For those who say that ignoring him is the answer ask yourself this: if I ignore you will you go away and stop pushing religion? Doubtful.
As a follower of Christ, I believe his actions are detestable. Yes there is a hell and yes people will go there, but key to not ending up there is love. This man is not reflecting Christ correctly. We are to “love one another for love is of God.” That means we should also spread the Gospel in love, in spirit, and in truth. Jesus never did what that man is doing to people. He needs to point to Christ and the Bible, not to people’s shortcomings.
Oh gosh, just ignore it. You can’t argue with ignorance. There is nothing that you can do or say to people like this. It only encourages them. When they leave they will fully believe that they did something “right” and “good”. If you ignore it and show that you truely don’t care then eventualy they would move on to an area where they can get a reaction. It’s pathetic and sad.
Oh for the love of the FSM… people like that “evangelist” are why I hate many Christians. Preaching believe what I say or I’ll hurt you? Asking me to believe in tall-tales and superstition? And let’s not forget the hypocritical ones… for all those reasons, along with my desire to think for myself, I want nothing to do with organized religion