Monday

Off to a good start!  Nat the atheist was in rare form trying to prove that Christianity is nothing but fables, but I turned the argument upside down by pointing out how most of what evolutionists say are assertions about things that have no physical evidence to support them.  I challenged him to tell me one thing, any thing about evolution.  I suggested the mid-Atlantic ridge where the ocean floor supposedly is separating because of continental drift. 

 The first words out of his mouth were “Hutton said that…”.  I stopped him.  “I don’t want assertions that you expect me to accept as fact, I want evidence.”  Most everything that an evolutionist will say you can bet is based upon a story, a fairy tale, since there is no evidence of evolution anywhere in the earth.

 I pointed out the darling of the evolution researchers – the fruit fly.  (I bought a bunch of organic bananas, which was a big mistake.  The cloud of fruit flies is still swarming in my kitchen.)  Evolutionists have been torturing ff’s for over half a century using mutagenic chemicals, radiation, and any other harmful thing they can think of.  Those little pests live about a day, and mate like college freshmen.  The researchers have bred millions of generations with mutations, but after a half a century what have they created?  Fruit flies.  They have never seen a fruit fly become anything but a fruit fly.  In fact ALL the mutations that they have induced have been lethal to the ff’s.  If ever there were a chance to “prove” evolution, it would be with fruit flies.

 At one point, another atheist chimed in and said to Nat, “He’s not wrong.”  Nat said “At what?”  He responded “In everything he’s been saying.”  I announced to the crowd that I had a new “favorite atheist”.

 This being fall there is a more or less constant stream of roving bands of parents and prospective students wandering around in guided tours of the campus.  They always go by the Willard building preachers.  I suppose the university wants them to know how liberal they are.  The parents always seem to be very wide eyed as they experience street preaching for the first time.  Last week, as a parent was walking up the steps to Willard,

He suddenly turned around to me and said, “Hey, I used to listen to you preach when I was a student back in the late seventies!  You’re still HERE!”  I continue to come across people who were moved by my preaching 30 years ago.

 Tuesday and Wednesday

Both days were long days.  I began to preach late in the day and continued to almost 9:00pm.  The crowds I am finding are much different.  They are open, reasonable and in no hurry to go anywhere.  I am considering that I have been overlooking a great opportunity all these years.  For the last couple of nights, I sat and discussed reasonably the things of God, and PEOPLE CAME BACK AFTER DINNER TO SEE IF THE MEETING WAS STILL GOING ON!  People have been coming back.  I’ve only been doing this for a couple of weeks, and the word is out.

 The Daily Collegian did an article and a video: They generated a few contacts with students, including the President of the student run radio, who wants me to come on the air when I return to PSU in November

 The Daily Collegian Article

The Daily Collegian Video

Tonight I had excellent discussions bringing out the difference between Christianity and Islam.  One of the students has been discussing with me for several days, and seems to be getting closer.  He is understanding the difference between knowing God first hand or learning about Him from second hand sources.  A muslim girl was moved greatly today.  She kept pleading her case for the Quran, but I continually brought her back to knowing God.  She said she feels things when she prays, but hears nothing.

I asked her wouldn’t it be much better if she heard from God as well as prayed to Him?  She said that I lacked information (about the Quarn).  I stopped her and said, “I am telling you that God speaks to me, and you think I am the one lacking information???” 

I strove to show her and her friend that learning about God from a second hand source like the Quaran is identical to Adam’s attempt to become like God by acquiring the knowledge of good and evil.  Compare this with Father Abraham who believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.  Abraham listened and obeyed.  Muslims read and try to do good works.  Big difference.

I have had many opportunites to instruct Christians in the purpose of street preaching.  They understand about the necessity of forcing the believers to choose.  Who will they serve?  Jesus or the world.

Wednesday, I got these responses from my first newsletter.

Bro Cope,

I relate to your story Bro.

I preached full time on campuses, streets, churches, Bible studies.....then 17 years ago a voice problem arose and my ministry went down the drain.....making of money has not panned out like I had hoped...etc. etc. etc.

I'll be 60 in March and have been thinking just what you wrote in your first Newsletter--below--I don't have many years left i need to win the lost--before it's to late.........

Even today, driving home from work, I was imagining myself sending out a News letter stating that I was going back to ministry---no matter what---and asking for financial help.  I did not pay much attention to my "day dream"---as I've always considered asking for help as begging----then, after arriving home and checking my e-mail, there was your Newsletter saying what I imagined myself saying in a Newsletter, after these 17 years of being sidelined.

It's NOT begging Bro--You are worthy of double honor as a laborer together with God . Don't be reluctant to ask God's people for help---they need to stop supporting FLAKES and start to support the real deal.

Years ago, reading Jed's book, your testimony of preaching at Penn State, living in your car, etc. really spoke to me and was a great encouragement and example of somebody totally dedicated to Jesus and the work of winning the lost no matter what the cost.

Pray for me Bro, and I'll be praying for you.  I've been a "soul winner" for 36 years and it brakes my heart to be sidelined.

CG

Bro Cope,

It has been our privilege to know you and preach with you, and as always, we look forward to it in the future. You have been an incredible encouragement to Onica and I over the few years we have known you, and we have benefited greatly from your teaching from the Word of God.

We have a great burden not only to see souls saved on campuses and in the cities where we preach, but also for the Christians to get out there into the battle. Although we may not be able to give financially to your ministry, we support you wholeheartedly in your bringing the light to a lost and dying world.

Know that we will pray for you at every remembrance, and please oblige us the same as you remember.

God Bless You , Bro.

Brother, 
 
May the Lord grant you the desire of your heart and provide abundantly.  Please call when you are going to be in town.  Kal and I would love to have you over for dinner again.  The kids would too!

L.

Thursday

A beautiful day, warm and sunny.  I told the students yesterday that I was not coming to campus today because I had clean my apartment prior to leaving for Missouri to preach with Jed.  When I showed up, there was nothing going on.  No one was preaching.  There were some conversations going on, but that was it.

After I spoke to Gary for a while, I started preaching to almost empty steps arount 3:30.  Within ten minutes I had a large crowd of about 80.  I hammered on the atheist pointing out over and over that the position that they take on everything shows that they fully believe that their knowledge is the full extent of all that can be known anywhere in the universe.  Whenever any evidence is presented to them that contradicts their beliefs, they reject the evidence out of hand, and then have the audacity of claiming that we have no evidence.  In reality, the evidence is there, but they will do anything to deny it.

After a long battle, I was able to get the crowd as a whole to see that at every turn, the atheists were behaving irrationally.  Several people came forward to rebuke them.  I saw large numbers of heads bobbing up and down in agreement as I made my points. 

At the end of the day, the crowd grew more sincere and honest, and I was able to shake several of the atheist up.  Yasik was quoting Einstein’s special theory of relativity to claim that it is impossible to travel faster than the speed of light.  He asserted that as a mass approaches the speed of light, it’s mass would expand to an infinite mass.

I asked Yasik that if that is true, why does not the rest mass of the electron (9.11 × 10-31 kg.) approach infinity?  The argument was that electricity does not reach the speed of light.  In that case, I responded why does not the photon then approach infinite mass?  We know the photon travels the speed of light.  He was flumoxed.

The day was also productive in that I was video interviewed for a news report on Friday, asked to be on a half hour video interview show in November, and asked for a radio interview on Friday.

Friday

A great end to a great fall!  I got beaten up today!  How good it is to suffer for the name of Christ.  The day was rainy and cold, but Gary and I persevered.  Gary worked the crowd for most of the day, and towards the end, Gary asked If I wanted to preach. 

I started preaching on the subject of what is at the base of all American politics, but the atheists had a different subject in mind – evolution.  At issue was mutations.  I applied the definition that Mr. Webster applied to it:

Main Entry:
mu·ta·tion
1: a significant and basic alteration :
2: a: a relatively permanent change in hereditary material involving either a physical change in chromosome relations or a biochemical change in the codons that make up genes ; also : the process of producing a mutation b: an individual, strain, or trait resulting from mutation

Using this definition, I asserted that all mutations were lethal to the host.  Evolutionists always like to change the meaning of words.  They wanted mutation to mean anything that changes in a species.  In which case, all mutations are not lethal.  We went around about on this issue for waaaaaay toooooo long.  The point they were trying to make is that mutations (by their definition) can produce new and better adaptations, thus increased viability.  I argued that change is built into the gene machine and if it is programmed in the genes, it is not a mutation, but an adaptation.  It is often a waste of time to talk to these numbskulls.

A student asked me to speak on politics, and I agreed.  What a buzz-kill.  The crowd was gone in ten minutes.  But since it was late in the day, I stopped preaching.

As soon as I did, a Muslim man by the name of Shef came up and engaged me in a discussion.  We have been talking for several days.  He has a very good knowledge of the Bible’s contents, but some problems with coming to an understanding from the Muslim perspective.

We talked for some time about the difference between first and second hand knowledge of God.  Adam was originally a first hand learner, but when tempted and fallen, he tried to approach God through second hand knowledge (Knowledge of Good and Evil).  I pointed out that every other religion on the earth offers man a means of attaining God by way of second hand knowledge, except Jesus Christ who offers the Holy Spirit.  Each Christian can learn from God first hand and independent of other men.  He is very close to salvation. 

He told me that he has been reading the Bible for 6 months because he just had a problem with Islam.  He said he could pray to God, but he never could receive anything from God.  I believe I have been able to break through his confusion and to show him that Christianity, not Islam, provides for the problem of separation (the spiritual of Adam).  I showed him that the Holy Spirit is placed back in us to undo the death of the spiritual man due to sin.  He understood.

I was telling Shef at one point that as a preacher, one of my goals is to bring out the secrets of men’s hearts.  Consequently I was not allowed to defend myself.  If the hidden character is violent, then I have to love the man enough to endure a beating in order to show him the secrets of his heart. 

Then a drunk came up on the steps and beat me up.  He came up and began to curse and swear and blaspheme.  I don’t remember the conversation other than the rank of beer and a stream of abusive language.  I looked the man in the eye and said, "On the day of judgment, I will grab you by the throat and throw you into Hell myself".  Maybe not the wisest move on my part.

He swung at me with his closed umbrella, which I blocked easily.  Then he rushed me.  I was sitting on the wall at Willard, and he threw me to the ground, spilling my glasses and phone.  I think he struck me, and then my head bounced off the concrete like a tennis ball.  I thought that might be problematic, but I have not experienced any headaches.

Shef and another student got between us, and he struck Shef in the head.  But then the fight went out of him and he left.  Shef and the other student helped me up and were very concerned that I was okay.  I was.  It was the perfect audio/visual aid that one could have had for what I was telling them.  They both were moved by my grace in the event.  Shef is sure to be saved soon.  

After Shef left, I had a long talk with the other student.  He was a young Christian who just had a lot of questions.  Both Shef and he were both so thankful for taking time to talk to them.  They  pumped my hand repeatedly.  Pray for Shef that the seeds will sprout.  When I return to State College in November, I am believing he will be converted.

Next week, it is off to Ohio to preach at OSU, OU at Athens, Otterbein, and Terre Haute Indiana.  Then on to Missouri to preach with Jed for a couple of days.

Please, consider supporting me in my ministry. I don't have a whole lot of years left. I want to end my course on the front lines, battling for the Kingdom of God. If you can't support me yourself, would you be able to give me any contacts you have of churches that might be open to my ministry as I travel? Any help you could offer would be much appreciated.

If you do not want to be on my list, please reply back to this email message, and you will be removed.

Bro Cope
3598 N Atherton St, Apt 1
Port Matilda, PA 16870
814-883-9183

Paypal Acct: jbaber@prodigy.net