“Hell Awaits:” The beliefs of Y-City Preachers and Athens’ response

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in TNPs fall print.

Ohio University, like many public college campuses, is a forum where free speech is protected. According to their free speech policy, Ohio U is prohibited from censoring speech, even if it could be considered controversial or offensive. 

The policy goes on to say that “the on-campus presence of any persons, groups or organizations should not necessarily be viewed as an endorsement of specific beliefs or speech, but instead serve as a reflection of the University’s obligation to comply with legal free speech requirements.”

 Due to the legal right of individuals to freely express their viewpoints, many religious and political organizations pay the campus a visit periodically to spread their perspectives. Ohio U has been visited by organizations including the Gideons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and others. Some annual visitors who stir up considerable controversy are the Y-City Preachers. 

Periodically, the Y-City Preachers can be found on college green with a megaphone and a large sign displaying warnings of hell. Last year, their sign warned that “hell awaits, judgment is coming.” This message was depicted alongside a list of sinners: drunkards, thieves, homosexuals, liars, fornicators, cowards, hypocrites, drug users, muslims, Bible mockers, sin approvers, idolaters, adulterers, and revilers. In visits since, they have carried a variety of different signs that convey similar messages.

According to their website, the Y-City Preachers do not affiliate with a particular denomination, but they profess to hold conventional Christian beliefs based on the text of the Bible. They believe the Bible was divinely inspired and they believe in the Trinity. However, things began to deviate from the widely regarded norm when they assert that they do not believe in “original sin.”

When contacted for comment, Y-City Preachers thanked The New Political for their offer of an interview but declined.

In typical Christian doctrine, “original sin” is the belief that all humans are born into a “state of sinfulness” due to the first sin committed by Adam and Eve. Some denominations and variations of the Christian faith have different perspectives on this with some groups splitting from others because of doctrinal disputes.

Y-City Preachers do not believe that all people are born sinful. According to their website, all people are born with no knowledge of right and wrong and sin is something people choose to do as they grow and cognitively develop. They believe that everyone is led astray by their own free will and choices. 

While the beliefs of Y-City Preachers seem aligned with most essential aspects of Christianity, their ideas gradually deviate from the norm. According to their website, Y-City Preachers believe in three phases of salvation: initial salvation, a probationary period, and future salvation. This argument maintains that, until the point of death, an individual who has attempted to be saved is not officially “married to Christ.” This means that they believe salvation can be lost, which can be a highly contentious issue within Christian circles. 

Y-City Preachers’ website also states that their eschatological view pertaining to the book of Revelation is “post-tribulation,” which means that they believe “many Christians will be martyred by the Antichrist system,” and that “Christians will go through the seven-year tribulation.” They also oppose divorce and remarriage, except in the cases of “sexual immorality or death.”

Their website asserts that “we do not associate ourselves with the divisiveness of politics. The sheer hatred and sinful acts of politicians is appalling and abhorrent.” However, the next paragraph flips to a radically positive and pacifistic perspective, stating “We believe as Jesus said: love your enemies, turn the other cheek, do not repay evil with evil, do not resist an evil person, do good to those who persecute you. So all forms of self defense, retaliation, and killing (including ‘for your country’) are never to be engaged in by Christians.”

Y-City Preachers’ doctrine will depict something mundane and widely known, like “treat others the way you want to be treated,” and follow that by the much more contentious claim that self defense is inherently immoral. Their statements jump between the two extremes, the widely known and the hotly debated. Bystanders may find it difficult to challenge their views because they make a radical claim before retreating to a basic belief, like kindness, that is more difficult to dispute.

The YouTube channel of Y-City Preachers contains videos from their visits to campuses, along with recorded sermons. In the YouTube video of Y-City Preachers’ recent visit to OU, the preacher states that if he were to go out and get drunk that night and immediately die, he would go to hell if he did not have the chance to repent of that sin. If someone attempts to voice a counterpoint, the preacher can quickly shift the entire topic of the argument to the fundamental issues of repentance, sin, and salvation that are integral parts of the religion. 

In response to the confrontational nature of Y-City Preachers’ evangelism, students and community members have reacted in dramatic ways to counter the preachers’ points. Some students attempt to engage in conversation, while others gather to see what the commotion is about. Both a drummer and a saxophonist have played their instruments loudly to drown out the preachers’ words. Some students choose to argue with the preachers, while others kiss their friends or partners in front of them.

This recurring contention exists as a dramatic example of the exercise of free speech on  campus. Those professing their specific religious perspective are free to wave their signs and shout, and the students exercise their right to shout back. Some may argue that lashing out offers the preachers the attention that they are seeking and that the best thing to do would be to deprive them of an audience. However, both students and Y-City Preachers are exercising their protected right to protest.

Despite the countless readings, interpretations, and practical applications that people can take from the Bible, many of the Christian organizations on campus and in the Athens community do not behave in the way the Y-City Preachers do. 

Nicole Powers is a senior at Ohio U and is the current president of OU Catholics, a student Catholic organization. Powers, speaking for herself and not on behalf of OU Catholics as an organization, shared that she had only heard the preachers from a distance. Still, on the topic of evangelism, Powers shared that the methods used by Y-City Preachers are “definitely not how I would approach it. It’s definitely an intense approach that grabs your attention, but I think it’s one of those things where, just in general, as humans, we don’t like to be told that we’re wrong,” Powers said. “So to have somebody, in a very intense way, to kind of be pushing that, I can certainly see that that is intimidating and could be a deterrent from any group of faith.”

Powers expressed empathy for the evangelists, given that they could genuinely believe they have the opportunity to save students’ souls from eternal torment. Still, the Y-City Preachers put forward an intense image. 

“Even with the idea of going up to talk to them, there is almost this expectation that you are going to have to have all the right answers…it’s much more of an attack, I think, than a genuine conversation, whether they intend it that way or not,” Powers said. “I think it kind of deters the opportunity to actually have genuine conversations.”

When asked about Powers’ experience with evangelism, she shared that her faith is important to her and she consequently enjoys sharing it with people, but prefers establishing friendships with people as opposed to debating them on the street.

“What I try to do is just, make people feel at home. I think that’s the most important thing, because for something like faith, where it is something that will kind of dictate and guide your life, you want it to be a comfortable place and a good, supportive environment,” Powers said. OU Catholics hosts events and the organization focuses on attempting to foster a community. Powers added that she will cook dinner with her friends and prefers to focus on cultivating a positive environment.

Brookfield Church, a non-denominational church located on Court Street, periodically passes out lemonade and iced lattes during university events. Their campus outreach strategy  is simply making themselves known to students who are seeking a church. Brookfield Church also holds occasional free lunches for students who attend their weekly services, “Cram Nights” where their facilities are open for students to study during finals week, and even a volunteer project during move-out. The move-out project allows volunteers to collect furniture and other items left behind by students and distribute them to places they are needed in the community. Organizations like Reach Out on Campus, Cru and H2O Church operate similarly to Brookfield, leaving notes around campus advertising their church services and events.

Ohio U maintains a diverse student body reflected by the wide array of religious views and non-religious views on campus. While many students are not seeking a religious community to engage with, others may desire a spiritual community. Religious groups of all shapes, sizes and doctrines exist on campus, and many of these groups strive to be welcoming and helpful resources to the students who seek them out. 

Several organizations have even expressed exasperation about Y-City Preachers. Ari Faber, the Operations Coordinator for the United Campus Ministry Center (UCM), said “I think it’s fairly clear that nobody in town agrees with these people.” Faber described the atmosphere and culture of Athens, describing the community as people who want to help each other and are “trying to squash all that,” in reference to the aggressive evangelism style of Y-City Preachers.

UCM is not an exclusively Christian organization, and likewise there are many organizations on campus that may offer a religious community beyond Christianity. According to UCM’s website, they are a non-profit that offers events, opportunities for spiritual growth, volunteer opportunities, community service, and a firm commitment to social justice. 

“Our programs are free and open to everyone, regardless of who you are, what you believe (or don’t), or where you come from. Radical hospitality is what we do and we mean it!,” UCM’s website says. 

The goal of many of these organizations, beyond spiritual growth, is the fostering of a community. Therefore, many other organizations, student-led or not, on or off-campus, reflect this emphasis on hospitality and openness. Regardless of their thoughts, beliefs, feelings, or views, students in Athens have options and can find a place for themselves.