A Cape Town street preacher who despises Charles Darwin and keeps a copy of On the Origin of Species on a chain says he was left fearing for his life after two young men allegedly attacked him while he was preaching in the city centre.
Pastor Trevor Wood, 58, said the pair had been taunting him for some time, calling him a “false prophet” and objecting to the way he had placed his Bible in an arrowhead.
He said the confrontation later turned violent in Loop Street.
“I remember them coming at me and pulling me up against a car. The Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID) security officer was right there and I thought he would intervene,” Woods alleged.
Wood said the men then punched him in the head before one of them grabbed him from behind and put him in a chokehold.
“My breathing was blocked off, but I was looking at the CCID security right in front of me, hoping he would intervene, but he just stood there and did nothing,” he said.
He said he eventually lost consciousness.
“I then blacked out. When I regained consciousness, it felt like coming out of a deep faint or almost like I was dead and was coming alive again,” Wood said.
According to police, Cape Town Central police opened a case of common assault.
“According to reports, the complainant was preaching when he was approached by two unknown men who accused him of being a fake preacher and squeezed his neck. The male victim sustained bruises around the neck. No arrest has been made at this stage, investigation is ongoing,” Constable Ndakhe Gwala said.
Wood said that after regaining consciousness, people grabbed him and pushed him against a wall while the two men allegedly continued threatening him.
He said he managed to photograph the men, who he said even posed for pictures, before they allegedly confronted him again.
“I kept telling them I am going home and they said they were going to beat me up for taking video footage of them,” he said.
A Cape Town street preacher says an alleged attack by two young men will not stop him from spreading his religious message.
Wood eventually walked away and made it to his car without suffering further physical violence.
But the attack has left him worried about the impact on his health.
“My head feels dull and my thinking is stunted.”
He said he had also experienced moments of confusion since the incident, including mistaking strangers for people he knew.
Wood said he went to hospital as part of the police procedure and remained concerned about possible injuries after losing consciousness.
“I am not sure how long the attackers kept pressure on my neck after passing out or whether there could be some brain damage,” he said.
Despite the frightening experience, Wood said he had no intention of abandoning his street preaching.
“I preach in the streets because I want to spread the message of Jesus wherever I go,” he said.
Wood, who works as a software developer and is a part-time preacher, said he was currently on leave and hoped eventually to become a full-time preacher.
He has been married for 29 years and has two sons, aged 24 and 19.
He said his wife had been a major source of support throughout his preaching work.
“She is the quiet strength from home and keeps everything together for our family,” Wood said.
Wood also has strong views about evolution and Darwin, whom he said he “despises”.
Pastor Trevor Wood says he is more determined than ever to preach after a frightening midnight encounter in Cape Town left him unconscious.
“I hate evolution. I believe that God created the universe in six days and rested the seventh day. Anything else insults God,” he said.
While Wood said he strongly disagrees with Darwin’s philosophy, he insisted that he still wants people who hold different beliefs to find what he considers the truth.
“But I love him in the sense that I want him to come to the knowledge of the truth, but his philosophies I despise,” he said.
Wood said the alleged attack had not weakened his determination to preach.
“The attack on Saturday night has not changed my attitude to preaching. It has made me more determined and I will be back in town, Lord willing, next weekend doing the same thing,” he said.
And despite being 58 and saying he was no match for the physical strength of the two young men, Wood said he remained prepared to face danger for his faith.
“I am more than willing to die for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ my Lord,” he said.
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