Today, a very special visitor is gracing our campus: the one and only Brother Jed Smock. After a two-year hiatus from the University of Washington, he is finally coming back to “save our souls from eternal damnation.”

Never heard of Bro Jed? Take some time today to stroll to Red Square, and you’ll quickly find out what he’s all about.

He should be easy to spot; just look for the gentleman with the neatly parted salt-and-pepper hair, glasses and retro suspenders yelling at a large crowd about the inevitable hell that awaits us all.

Yes, Bro Jed is one of those evangelists that seem to loiter around our campus every day. But he is not your typical “fire and brimstone” preacher. He has a rather unique style that has made him infamous on college campuses around the nation.

Unlike most of the soapbox preachers around here who use blanket generalizations to describe the heathens among us or illustrate their path to righteousness, Bro Jed has mastered the art of abrasion to pinpoint his brand of sinners and promote his light of purity.

He goes out of his way to personally offend most of the spectators his speeches inevitably garner. His arsenal of insults includes everything from the “It’s not okay to be gay” song to telling women they should be nothing but “baby-making machines” to warning masturbators (nearly all men to ever set foot on the planet) that they have taken the first step on the path toward becoming a “ho-mo-sex-u-al.”

Understandably, this causes quite a stir with everyone in the crowd. It frequently leads to heated debates and further name-calling. Every once in a while, he manages to strike just the right nerve in just the wrong person, and the sparks really begin to fly. It becomes quite a memorable spectacle.

So why does Bro Jed prod so severely to try to provoke such emotional reactions? Is he really a raging, intolerant radical? To a large extent, yes. But the reason he is so flagrant and boisterous about his immovable views is because he wants to stand out from the drone of religious sludge forced upon us every day.

Instead of quietly preaching and hoping people will listen, he loudly pronounces his fanaticism and attacks people to command the attention of a large audience. Every time he raises his voice, delves into another ridiculous life story or provokes a reaction out of an individual, he grabs the attention of even more people and manages to entice his viewers into watching a little longer.

It is a brilliant scheme. Really. Instead of being lost in the crowd of pastors, his tactics ensure he will stick out in the minds of his viewers. As they sit back at the end of the day and reflect on the events, no one could forget seeing the crazy guy screaming at people in Red Square. More importantly, who isn’t going to text all their friends about it and tell them to check it out on the way to their lecture in Kane?

I can still vividly recall my first Bro Jed encounter. During my freshman year, two years ago, I grabbed a seat with a couple of buddies and laughed at and with Bro Jed for a couple of hours. As long as you can mentally separate the content from the entertainment, it is really quite riveting and enjoyable to watch.

An argument could be made that Bro Jed’s tactics of immediately polarizing people are counter-productive to his goal of converting them. Sure, he alienates the majority of people immediately, but those individuals would write off his message anyway just by the subject and agenda.

His goal is to get people talking and to increase awareness through his extreme mannerisms. Ultimately, he knows he will not change many opinions. But if the later discussion of the topic with friends and peers leads even a couple of people his way, it’s probably worth it in his mind.

To be fair to Bro Jed, not all of what he preaches is antiquated, inapplicable nonsense. Amid the layers of bigotry are pleas that actually deserve some attention. For example, despite his shameful claim regarding the place of women in society, he does call for women to demand more respect and better treatment from men — a point that should be considered and enacted more often.

Having said that, I cannot respect Bro Jed’s opinions on an overwhelming majority of subjects. However, his masterful display of marketing himself and his message to those who he believes might gain something does impress me. And for that, I tip my hat to Bro Jed and anxiously await being entertained by him once again.

Reach columnist Jeff Dickson at opinion@dailyuw.com.