Letters to the Editor
Re: “Uncivil Unrest” by David Guidi, Jan. 17.
Campus preacher Micah Armstrong was choked and had one of his signs broken outside of Cooper Hall. The photograph that appeared on the cover of the Oracle yesterday showed his sign, which displayed in large yellow letters “God Hates Sin,” referencing Bible verses Psalm 5:5 and Psalm 7:11. The King James Version of the Bible says in Psalm 5:5 “the foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.”
The Bible does not cloud its language here: God hates both the sinners and sin. This is a direct contradiction to many verses including one (1 John 4:16) that says, “God is love.” I first read Psalm 5:5 upon a curious visit to the infamous Web site of the Westboro Baptist Church, the home church of homophobic preacher, Fred Phelps. He makes this verse central to his church’s theology.
I visited Cooper Hall yesterday to see if Armstrong was as bad as I had thought. He was worse. How does he claim that he is going to heaven knowing that Psalm 5:5 means God hates him? Armstrong claimed he was no longer a sinner, in that he claimed since his “conversion” he has never sinned. He went on to claim that all Muslims are terrorists. And that makes him a liar.
Students should know that Armstrong’s theology is equivalent to Phelps’. He should not be welcomed here on campus. He should apologize, “repent” and never return. If not, students shouldn’t deem his preaching worthy of even being passively listened to.
Kenny Dixon is a senior majoring in mass communication and performance.
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