Reverened Jed preaches again at Tappan Square

He stood out in a red vest, waving his hands around, voice booming over those of college students. Once a year, students collect in Tappan Square to celebrate spring and the annual visit of Brother Jed and his ministry.

Students gathered around Brother Jed in Tappan Square Tuesday as he and another of his ministry, Brother Tom, preached against the evils that befall college students -- sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll, premarital sex, homosexuality and masturbation.

Brother Jed, or Rev. Geroge "Jed" Smock, has been preaching at Oberlin, and over 600 other campuses nationwide, since 1977. He isn't shocked by the outgoing nature of Oberlin students; he would rather come to Oberlin as opposed to some other schools. "I prefer coming to Oberlin rather than Kent or Ohio State. Students listen better, and they try to respond intellegently or reasonably though most respond emotionally," he said.

"Most students' approach is to rationally agree," said senior Art Ettinger, who said he has been following Smock for four years.

Students voiced their own opinions Tuesday, arguing with and against Smock and Brother Tom, wearing provocative clothing, improvising to the preachers' words. Gay couples embraced, people asked questions about sex, masturbation, anything in hopes to rile the preachers.

"I can be provocative and to a certain extent it's to my advantage. I like it better when it's a little fiesty, but it can lead to diminishing returns," Smock said.

"He's a classic preacher. He just wants to be proselytic," sophomore Dan Roisman said. He was one of the people who performed some contact improvisation dances to Smock and Brother Tom's preaching.

Smock's visit is one time of the year where students have the opportunity to openly address fundamental issues of religion in a non-classroom environment.

"A lot of people come out to be entertained and have a dialectic," Roisman said. People sat in a circle onTappan Square, one in fishnets and a satin bustier, another with a snake, while others became involved in the dialogue

"It's constructive to be confronted with religion in that manner" Ettinger said. "It demonstrates how similar many Oberlin students are to Brother Jed -- they're all emphatic about religion."

Smock thinks Oberlin students are often more interested in political issues, so he tries to put those issues "in a Biblical context." He noted however that Oberlin students seem a little less political this year.

Something Oberlin students don't question him about as much as other schools is his funding. "Oberlin students don't seem so troubled or bothered by where I get my money since most of the students are affluent," Smock said. He supports his traveling mostly through donations and the support of churches in his denomination

He's found that, despite Oberlin's rich Christian heritage, students aren't too open to Christianity. He said Charles Finney is one of his favorite theologans.

Smock noted Oberlin's "large contingent" of homosexuals and feminists, saying they were bigger issues in his preaching than on other campuses.

"I don't care to talk about homosexuality. If people can't see that's wrong, they're pretty far gone," he said. "I prefer to deal with the more philosophical questions. But it's a good way to initially get peoples' attention."

"I just like to crack jokes and be obnoxious," Ettinger said. "That's what they bring out in me."

"Not as many people are into making fun as they are proving how smart they are, how religious," Ettinger said.

While his job is generally rewarding, it's not always easy. "[Preaching] can get very frustrating. There aren't many students today that can follow a logical train of thought. So much is based on emotions," he said.

"Universities have gotten worse but I like to think they'd be even worse if it wasn't for me," Jed said. "I come to the campuses to make sin an issue because sin and religion aren't generally issues."

He was arrested at Kent State a couple of years ago for his own safety after the crowd of over 500 began throwing beer bottles and cans at him.

"If we threw rocks at him, he'd be like Christ," said junior Ellen Cheeseman.

He said, though people may start off mocking him, discussion following his visits can lead to serious talks on religion and the nature of truth.

"The more they mock and I see the shallowness and emptiness of their remarks, I'm more convinced I'm right. My faith is evidence to them than what I speak just may be true," he said.

Smock hasn't lost his temper in 25 years of preaching. "Everything I say is very calculated, and I know the response I'm going to get," he said.

Smock hasn't always been right, in fact he's a case study for reform. He was involved with the 60s hippie movement, and was on his way to India to study with a Guru when he stopped for a while in Morocco with a hippie band. He said on Christmas Day in 1971 a man in Arab garb marched into the middle of the circle he and others had formed and started to preach Christianity.

This made him think he should reinvestigate his own background before he eschewed his roots. He had never read the Bible so he decided to give it a try.

"I didn't read too far before I realized 'if this book is true I'm headed straight for Hell,' " he said.

After he converted, Smock saw how schools have exchanged the "truth of God" for secular beliefs. He home-schools his five daughters with his wife, and taught an Oberlin ExCo in 1990 on Biblical morality to five students. He just doesn't feel he has the freedom of expression in the classroom that he has in an area such as Tappan Square, especially with the current trend of thinking where he says "anything goes except Christianity."

You're a going down: students discussed their sexual and religious practices with Reverened Jed on Tuesday. (photo by Laren Rusin)