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Lincoln Secular Humanists counter the 'cross guy'

Source: Daily Nebraskan (University of Nebraska--Lincoln)
Date: November 13, 2007
Author:  Jennifer Li

Saturday night moviegoers have been walking past evangelicals by the Douglas Grand Theater for years, but now members of the Lincoln Secular Humanists are holding up signs and passing out flyers across 11th street from the theater.

"We want a secular society not theocracy," "Honk if you hate the cross guy's message" and references to Bible verses and the Flying Spaghetti Monster are some of the signs that the group displays.

With the demonstration, the group is trying to present a different point of view from the evangelicals who have preached on that corner for some time, said Alex Ramos, a sophomore music education major at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Since mid-October, Ramos has been organizing what he called his "counter-propaganda campaigns."

"People seemed to like it, so we came back," he said.

"Religious people have church as a community," Ramos said, and the group provides an alternative for open-minded secular people to mingle.

Ramos and a few other UNL students in the group are also hoping to start a Center for Inquiry on Campus to replace the now defunct Campus Freethought Alliance and reach out more to UNL students.

Many people commented on the signs as they walked by with words of encouragement like: "Good work guys," "Proud of you," "You all make me very happy. I just wanted to let you know that." Many even asked to join the demonstration.

Alex Houchin, a Lincoln resident of six years, joined the demonstration after seeing the group's message. He said people's constitutional right to free speech could be just as frustrating as it is empowering. On some matters, he said, "it's easy to pick a side and start screaming. Sometimes it's hard to keep an open mind after a message as abrasive as (the cross guy's)."

James Ferguson, Zach Baldwin and Josh Fromm, three students from Southeast High School also joined the demonstration.

"I think religion isn't meant to be something to push onto other people," Ferguson said.

Baldwin and Fromm said they are offended by the cross man's message, that if people don't believe what he believes, they will go to hell. He and another cross-holder, Brian Hammer, have been standing on that corner preaching their messages for two years.

Across the street, John Bilka, the "cross guy" himself, said he doesn't tell anybody they're going to hell if they don't believe what he believes.

Bilka said he is simply preaching the gospel and asking people to read the Bible to see its messages.

Bilka is affiliated with the Glad Tidings Church, 56th and Van Dorn streets, which is of the Assembly of God denomination.
"I'm not offended that people are offended," Bilka said. "There was a time when I would have been offended, too."

Bilka said he turned to Christ nine years ago, after weighing his sins for two years. He was 19 at the time and finally decided he was fed up with his own drinking.

Bilka said he preaches at the corner by the Grand because that's where people can go to get away from God and religion, and it's the perfect opportunity to remind people of God.

All the great preachers were open-air preachers, he said, including Jesus, the Apostles and the other prophets. There are other people doing what he's doing around Lincoln, too, Bilka said, such as the ones who preach at the UNL campus by the Nebraska Union.

Bilka said he came across an open-air preacher himself outside a heavy-metal concert once, and the preacher's words stuck in his head.

"It (hurts) my heart when there is forgiveness of your sins, when there is freedom and when there is a relationship with God," Bilka said, and the only thing holding people back is their stubbornness.

Bilka said he doesn't really care what the Lincoln Secular Humanists are doing across the street, and that it seems like they're mocking him, but he remains unshaken.

"It's what's great about America," he said.

As for his counterparts across the street, Bilka said, "We'll see what happens when it's 15 below."

To that, Ramos said, "I'll be here."


This article was retrieved from http://media.www.dailynebraskan.com/media/storage/paper857/news/2007/03/23/News/Atheist.Panel.Discusses.Personal.Beliefs.Mindsets-2788612.shtml
 

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