Not aligned with the UI spirit

"Excuse me, do you have two minutes for me to quickly share three verses from the Bible with you?"

Harmless request? This was the decision many Vandals had to make Oct. 2 as they walked into the Idaho Commons.

An innocent looking man stood inside, a welcoming smile plastered on his face and an unending supply of God's spirit to share.

Like a traveling salesman up against the tradeshow deadline to move the remainder of his product, this man aggressively (yet still smiling), disarmed passersby with carefully crafted catcalls that would make any carnival worker proud.

While many folks wisely, and courteously, turned him down, a few listened to his pleas.

His you-made-my-day-by-stopping demeanor worked well to hook those who hesitated to walk on.

The verses were chosen to be engaging and uplifting, and helped to establish a false sense of trust between him and his captive.

Only toward the end of the conversation did he briefly mention he represented Trinity Reformed Church, and warmly extended an invite to join his community.

What a nice, welcoming man, right?

Wrong. So wrong.

Trinity Reformed, the evangelical plant of Doug Wilson's Christ Church, led by hardline conservative pastor Toby Sumpter, is anything but nice, and in no way aligned with the spirit of the University of Idaho.

The church stands against much of what makes UI beautiful: equality, acceptance, appreciation.

Trinity Reformed knows no such values, as evidenced by both Sumpter's and Wilson's lengthy blogs on the "sins" of everything from non-heterosexuality to women's health, racial equity to gender identity.

They're welcome to their beliefs, depraved though they may be, yet they hide them in their "marketing" to unsuspecting students, offering only a comforting verse and the warmth of human connection.

Excuse me, do you believe dishonesty is harmful to UI's community?

Chad Mann

Troy