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Uploaded on Jul 15, 2009

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Holy Bible

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Uploaded on Jul 14, 2009

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They were preaching again tonight. Sean's microphone broke but he kept at it. There were many hecklers. I felt bad for the zealots. I don't think rudeness is acceptable behavior here.

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Uploaded on Jul 14, 2009

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PASSION OF THE CHRIST

There's a family from Waco, Texas, visiting New York City. Unlike tourists who come to sightsee, dine at TGIFriday's and see a bad Broadway musical, this family has a much different and more ambitious agenda. They are in New York to save people's souls.

To do so, they set up on a very busy street and proselytize using a small amplifier and a microphone. Their message: If a person does not become born again, he will go to hell.

It should come as no surprise that this opinion did not go over very well with the crowd. New Yorkers do not shy away from confrontation. And apparently, they do not care to have out-of-towners tell them that they are sinners and will suffer eternal damnation at the hand of God. Alas, there was no theological debate. It was a shouting match, both sides screaming at the other to be heard.

About 200 people stood around and watched, myself included, waiting for bloodshed the way people do when driving slowly past a horrible car crash on the highway. One man turned to me and said, excitedly, "This is more entertaining than TV!" I agreed. The outcome is far less predictable than what's normally on the tube.

Some other pearls of wisdom overheard: A sermonizer told a man that he was an animal. The reason? Because only an animal would believe in Darwin's theory of evolution. One young man yelled at the missionaries: "My skateboard is my God!" He implored them to go away so that he could ride his God down the park steps in peace.

Unfortunately, I don't have the time right now to come up with a poignant ending to this story. The police came and broke it up just when it was getting really ugly. I'm hoping with great anticipation that I will see them again today.

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Uploaded on Jul 14, 2009

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