Any student on campus Wednesday, Sept. 15 surely caught sight of Pastor Aden and the Key of David church by his side. They’re quite hard to miss, carrying brightly colored signs condemning any reader as a sinner doomed to hellfire and shouting offensive taunts at any ear close enough to listen.
But who is Pastor Aden, and why is he here? The answer may seem obvious- he simply believes that he holds the key to salvation, and he’s here to bring us with him if possible. That’s what the average missionary intends to do.
Pastor Aden is no average missionary, however, and the Key of David is no typical congregation. A typical congregation, after all, doesn’t require a thorough vetting process via email in order to simply get the address that Sunday meetings are held at.
It’s worth noting as well that this is not the first time Pastor Aden has shown up on Bucks’ campus. According to Professor Mehul Shah, Aden has been making visits to Bucks for about five or six years.
Professor Shah (aka Stretch), a teacher of Philosophy and Humanities here at Bucks, also posits a couple theories as to why Pastor Aden makes these appearances in addition to acknowledging his fire and brimstone interpretation of Christianity.
“One popular theory is that he is trying to make money by instigating students to act unlawfully so that he can sue,” says Shah, “Another theory is that he has an extreme narcissistic personality disorder and he derives pleasure from putting others down to make himself feel better about himself.”
Both theories are plausible. One only needs to do a simple Google search to find a wealth of information about Aden’s past, with accusations of fraud among the mix of trouble he has allegedly caused.
This doesn’t explain why he chooses Bucks as a platform. Professor Shah has thoughts on this as well.
“Rebellious and idealistic tendencies in teens and younger adults make them prime targets for indoctrination. Extremists of all types take advantage of this. Either they take up his cause or they violently attack him. Either way he wins.”
So what if a student simply sees this as an opportunity to have some fun and respond for the sake of entertainment?
“Again, he wins,” says Professor Shah, “because he gains an audience.”
Seemingly, every choice a student can make in this situation is the wrong one. Any response is a win for these antagonists. What is there to do?
According to Professor Shah, the best thing to do is to take care of yourself by walking away.
“Walking away is important for two reasons: one, it is a great coping strategy to avoid being fed something unpalatable, an effective defense strategy against his unsolicited attacks. Two, even if you happen to be immune to his attacks, walking away leaves less of an audience and less chance for him to spread his incendiary message.”
Bucks boasts a community of the finest, most logical and empathetic group of people that this county has to offer. To even give Pastor Aden the time of day is only a service to him.
The best course of action during any appearance of this congregation is to take no reactive action or give them any attention at all.
“For Heaven’s sake, do not let Aden be your teacher,” concludes Shah. “Find someone you trust, and hopefully someone who is trained to understand mental health issues, like the wonderful counselors here at the school. If you fall into Aden’s trap, you miss the opportunity to grow, the chance to make yourself better.”