Biblical testimony is better than a turn-or-burn message

A religious sceptic commented on a city centre street preacher, who strikingly drew a crowd and held people’s attention. The non-local preacher engaged people effectively and successfully shared a Bible message.

My contact noted how pavement preachers often fail to connect, or get into contentious argument with LGBTQ+ groups.

I watched friction at Belfast’s Cornmarket last month, between preachers and a group with Rainbow Flags. Bemused shoppers did not appear to pay much attention to either group.

In spite of flags being waved under their noses, the street preachers kept their cool, but their ‘turn or burn’ message did not fit with the context. It was easy to see why so many Northern Ireland people are bored by religion. However, a different speaker nervously took the microphone and wonderfully described a rescue from criminality and trouble, to deep spiritual peace. ‘Turn or burn’ is a cheap imitation, when a two minute testimony like this one captures a Bible promise: ‘I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.’

The Good News (‘The Kerygma’) is summarised in the Bible: ‘For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried , that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.’

Should street preachers (and church leaders) concentrate their effort on this critical message, not LGBTQ+ issues?

Legal conflict might be avoided if street preachers read ‘Your Verdict on the Empty Tomb’. Val Grieve came to faith as a sceptical Oxford law student, when a Christian encouraged him to properly study the evidence. Val Grieve’s superb 77 page paperback might help preachers focus on the Christmas gift Belfast shoppers need to know about: ‘The Empty Tomb’.

Dr James Hardy, Belfast, BT5