The College was the site of religious proclamations once again on April 18, as a preacher from an evangelical ministry came to speak in the Alumni Grove outside of Eickhoff Hall, on behalf of TCNJ Protestant Bible Fellowship, a campus organization.
Pastor John Reuther of Covenant Baptist Church and Fellowship chaplain Rev. Dick Kocses were joined by members of the Protestant Bible Fellowship and carried Bibles and signs that read: “Are you going to heaven? Free test.”
According to Paul Soon, senior biology major and vice president of the TCNJ Protestant Bible Fellowship, these pastors got a permit and came to spread the Gospel’s message.
“We don’t want to yell at people,” Soon said. “We want to share the good news (of the Gospel) even if they think we’re outspoken.”
This occurrence was notably tamer than Thursday’s religious demonstrations, according to senior music performance major Alex Cap, who was present at both events, who said, “As soon as I came upon the scene (on Thursday), there were many more angry people and there was a lot more yelling going on.”
Caps added that the men outside of Eickhoff were “preaching the whole story of the Gospel instead of trying to arouse a crowd and create anger.”
Nevertheless, the group was met with student opposition. Students blasted songs, including MIA’s “Paper Planes,” from a room in Eickhoff Hall.
“It’s ironic,” Cap said, “because one of the first things he started talking about was the open mindedness of college students, yet here they are blasting music and not really listening.”
Jamie Primeau can be reached at primeau2@tcnj.edu.
