![\"Sister](\"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/wmul\/files\/rays-wife-preacher-protest-768x432-1.jpg\")
<\/a>\u201cHe read Leviticus 18:22, which is like, the most standard anti-LGBTQ+ verse in the Bible and yelled about transsexuals going to hell and whores going to hell,\u201d said Sam Green, a student at the protest.<\/p>\n
Green is a member of the Marshall University Appalachian Liberation Collective, a student organization which advocates for the liberation of marginalized communities.<\/p>\n
After grabbing the attention of spectators early on, he said the preacher calmed down while remaining antagonistic.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a friend message me that he was talking about LGBTQ+ people reading off hateful Bible verses and not reading them correctly,\u201d Green said.<\/p>\n
Other students found out about the preacher from popular social media platforms such as YikYak and Snapchat.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Ray said he felt like God sent him to Marshall two days before spring break because a student could die and miss out on everlasting life.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are hostile to the truth. It\u2019s a generation that\u2019s been deceived,\u201d Ray said. \u201cThey\u2019ve been deceived to think that good is evil and evil is good.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said he expected the backlash, and he continued to spread his message among the protesters for hours.<\/p>\n
Protesters and campus organizations created signs and chalk drawings to display resistance to Ray. The majority of the artwork included pro-LGBTQ messages and emphasized their opposition to Ray\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n
One of the artists, a student named Jewel Robinson, said the majority of her friends are part of the LGBTQ community. The rhetoric used by Ray motivated Robinson to draw a message with chalk that said, \u201cAll you need is love.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s fine, but not when you\u2019re spreading hate speech about my friends,\u201d she said about Ray\u2019s presence on campus.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s bringing the community together but for the wrong reasons,\u201d said Sophia Smart, another student at the protest.<\/p>\n Smart said Ray would probably go home if the protesters stopped giving him attention.<\/p>\n Students involved in the religious community on campus also disagreed with Ray\u2019s message.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t use this as your example for Christianity,\u201d said James Sneddon, a student who practices evangelism on campus. \u201cGod\u2019s kindness leads us to repentance.\u201d<\/p>\n He said Ray forgot to show that kindness is necessary to cause spiritual change.<\/p>\n Although many of the protesters stressed the importance of love, Sneddon also said, \u201cThis is not love. It\u2019s one side yelling at another side. They\u2019re screaming obscene things.\u201d<\/p>\n Aside from art, others protested by audibly mocking Ray.<\/p>\n \u201cThe crowd told this guy that his wife was gonna leave him for a high schooler,\u201d Sneddon said.<\/p>\n Smart said Ray\u2019s abstinence was the reason for his anger towards the protesters.<\/p>\n In addition to verbal and artistic protests, some protestors drew upside down crosses on their faces, and one student twerked on the flower bed to distract the preacher.<\/p>\n<\/a>