A religious picketing group made an appearance on Thursday, Nov. 17, outside Reisner Dining Hall and sported signs encouraging students to support their cause.
“Something like 60 to 70 percent of young people, when they come to campus, turn their backs on the faith they grew up with; turn their backs on Jesus Christ,” said one of the members of the troupe. The man, sporting a microphone taped to his face and a speaker around his neck, went on to explain that he does this with the rest of his family.
“We actually do this at seven or eight different campuses” he added. “When I was in college, I struggled greatly internally with whether there is a god, whether Jesus is who he said he was, and whether or not the Bible is the word of God. After much prayer and searching I came to understand that there is a God.”
“These guys are racist, transphobic and homophobic,” said a counter-protestor sitting nearby.
“I want to provide (students) apologetic resources defending the existence of God, and I want them to have the resources to research if God exists, so they don’t have to turn their backs on God and they don’t have to live under the oppression of a Godless existence. There’s so much hopelessness between students with drugs and alcohol and suicidal tendencies,” the protestor said.
Due to the cold and the lack of student engagement, the picketers left a short while later with little to no further intervention. Any of those who feel distressed or are looking for resources to talk to can reach out to Etter Health Center at (717)-477-1481.
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