Whoa, That Was Deep Man

I'm not going to address my spiritual beliefs in this post because I like to (for the most part) keep this blog light-hearted.

However, I will say that I see no need for street preachers with microphones, loudly bellowing up and down the road about how we're all sinners and are going straight to hell.
I have nothing but respect for the religious proponents like the Jehovah's Witnesses or the Muslims from Discover Islam who stand quietly in the street and wait for you to approach them, but I really don't appreciate zealots literally shouting in my face about how I'm a wicked woman destined to writhe painfully in hellfire.
Call me crazy, but I don't find it especially pleasant conversation.

Anyway, there's one particular man who often preaches in the city centre and has no problem yelling obscenities at people who he deems to be without virtue.
While I can usually ignore him, I got very annoyed one day when he screamed at a passing same-sex couple holding hands that God hated them and was waiting to torture them eternally in the afterlife.

As someone who went to Catholic school (and Jesus Camp, but that's a story for another day), I know my fair share of Bible verses so I calmly reminded this guy of Matthew 19:6 ("So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate").
This didn't faze the street preacher though, he just waved me away dismissively whilst saying "the devil can quote scripture."

Oh well. These people have an answer for everything and no matter how nasty they act, they'll have some sort of justification for it.

I forgot about the encounter but time passed and I ran into the same street preacher on a different day.
When I wouldn't take the flyer he was trying to shove into my hand, he shouted at me "the devil will destroy you!"
As I walked away, he then threw back his head and loudly serenaded me.
I can't remember exactly but the lyrics were something like "oh, look at her who has gone astray, I rejoice the day she'll burn in hell."
Lovely sentiment but I doubt it'll make the Billboard Hot 100 Chart.

Anyway, as I strolled down the street, I couldn't help but realize that the exact same man had now insinuated both that the devil was coming for me and that I myself was the devil.

So ... could this man have been trying to tell me that I am my own worst enemy, in that I am the one with the potential to destroy myself?
Was he making a deeply poignant and philosophical point about how life often makes it that the person most likely to hurt us is ... ourselves?

No. He wasn't.

The next time I saw him, he was literally screeching at a group of Muslim women for wearing hijabs, so I think it's pretty much crystal clear that this man is not a truth-seeking prophet but rather just an idiot and a hate-filled nutjob.

So (coming from him) I'm going to take the fact that I was called the devil as an extremely generous compliment.

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