by Michael Findlay, STAR Writer

watermount, st. catherine

It is a very common thing on our buses to have itinerant preachers bestowing the gospel on passengers at a price.

The method used is to give out Bible tracts and then begin to preach and sing with great emotion. After the preaching and singing, the preachers pass around a pan to passengers hoping for a collection in order to help them cover their expenses so they can continue their preaching.

I had an experience travelling on a bus from Cross Roads to Spanish Town recently. It was in effect an explosion of religious fervour when one gentleman objected to this method of evangelism and before long the whole bus was drawn into the argument. The poor preacher was so surprised that he lost his voice and seemed to cringe in a corner.

You may ask what was the gist of the objection to his style of preaching? Well, the main antagonist was angered because he felt that God's words should not be exploited for cash. He was saying that if the preacher wanted to beg, then he should beg and not use the Bible as a means of welfare. For the entire length of our trip, a heated debate began about offering and its collection and usage in the Church.

An elderly man quoted from the book of Malachi to defend the collection of offering for the purpose of evangelism. Still the antagonist was unrelenting in his attack on persons whom he believed were selling the gospel.

A Rastafarian joined the discussion by agreeing with our antagonist. He began his diatribe of Jah's name being used by hypocrites and parasites in making a quick buck.

By this time the bus was in an uproar of laughter. Minutes later, a lady began to speak in tongues and told the antagonist and Rastafarian that they were out of bounds. She saw nothing wrong in the preacher collecting a small offering to offset the cost of his evangelical works.

At this time, the support seemed to have given the preacher some courage as he began to rebuke his detractors. The preacher said his detractors were misled and should give him the opportunity to express himself as a messenger from the Lord. By this time the whole bus was brought in the discussion and participants were either for or against the collection of offering.

I was totally flabbergasted by the turn of events. To think that an attempt at preaching the Word could become so heated and descend into anarchy!

I have always believed that freedom of expression is a tantamount right in this country. But, never have I seen such intolerance portrayed by what was a docile group of passengers ignited into a uproar. And, all this uproar was caused because two men had different views from the 'masses' plying a route which I will never forget.