The westboro baptist church

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Hello, I have a question about the westboro baptist church. I don’t understand them and as an army veteran they make me very angry. I am a Catholic (and I know they’re not too fond of Catholics either) so I know that the right thing to do is to pray for them. But I was wondering if anyone knew why they think the way they do and why their views are so messed up. Does anyone know any of their history or teachings that would cause them to be so hateful towards people? I mean I don’t agree with gay marriage but I certainly do not HATE gay people, and I definately know that God does not hate ANYONE. Well I seem to be venting a little bit, but if anyone could write on this subject I would appreciate it. God bless you all.
 
I suspect it would take a small army of psychologists to unravel them 😦
 
There whole spiel is based on God’s coming judgement for America’s tolerance of the gay lifestyle. They are free to voice their opinions and certainly God IS going to judge America for her sins, as He will the rest of Earth, but what I cannot stomach the most is their signs that say “GOD HATES…”. God doesn’t hate anything but sin and what they are doing is a sin itself.

If they want to protest funeral for soldiers, eh, whatever, that doesn’t bother me. I think it’s childish and they certainly aren’t doing anything to bring about the love of God.

If we would ignore them, they would go away. But the MSM has to always paint Christianity as something to be hated, so…WBC gives them what they want. Unfortunately.
 
They’re basically Christianity’s version of Taliban/Wahabbist fundamentalist Islam. Christianity, like Islam, makes an exclusivist claim to truth. There is only one way to God, and anyone who says otherwise is in error. If they persist in that error, they are evil. Normally, this instinct is tempered by a bit of humility and more nuanced teachings as it is translated to action in both Christianity and Islam. However, if you don’t have that sort of spiritual temperance and fancy yourself as God’s own enforcer of righteousness, then anything you feel like doing becomes right because you’re just, after all, enforcing God’s will. That’s the formula for making a Westboro Baptist or a Taliban suicide bomber.
 
kenofken said:
They’re basically Christianity’s version of Taliban/Wahabbist fundamentalist Islam. Christianity, like Islam, makes an exclusivist claim to truth. There is only one way to God, and anyone who says otherwise is in error. If they persist in that error, they are evil. Normally, this instinct is tempered by a bit of humility and more nuanced teachings as it is translated to action in both Christianity and Islam. However, if you don’t have that sort of spiritual temperance and fancy yourself as God’s own enforcer of righteousness, then anything you feel like doing becomes right because you’re just, after all, enforcing God’s will. That’s the formula for making a Westboro Baptist or a Taliban suicide bomber.
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Not quite. The WBC is just a few families and aren’t into violent action.

If there must be comparissons between groups, they are closest to Britain’s New Atheist movement, except that movement is bigger and not inbred.
 
You might want to check Fox News Channel to learn more about them. Fox News is the only mainstream news outlet to have given them an outlet, on today’s (3/6) ‘Fox News Sunday.’ I’m still just… wow. Unbelievable.
 
In my opinion, more of a cult formed around the senior Pastor whose extended family is the largest membership. I believe this core family has 5 members who are attorneys, so they can defend themselves without incurring the heavy legal expenses and one of the daughters was the attorney who argued their case before the supreme court. After the Kansas news media stopped filming their antics, they upgraded to the national level. Also my opinion, that once the national media stop’s giving them a platform, they will move on and find another venue to get their message of hate out.
 
They came to our town demonstrating and protested against the local university, the Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church, and the Lutheran Church. There were perhaps eight people who came, and four were children. I don’t mean teenagers, but subteens.

We have a lawn and sidewalk in front of our church, and we did not have to deal with the demonstrators face-to-face. The choir of the Episcopal church assembles on the sidewalk, so they were right there with the demonstrators. Since the Episcopalians acted like Christians (imagine that) there were no confrontations. The Catholic Church has a large campus along one of the main thoroughfares. It is on a hill and the speed limit is 35. Since the church has an elementary school, there is a fence along the road. The demonstrators had to walk a narrow sloping verge along the road to picket the church. This is not safe to do for adults, much less children carrying signs.

All I can say is that this group is so infused with hate, it would kill its own children to be able to express it.
 
They essentially think that all of America’s current ills, including principally the recent war efforts going badly, are God’s judgment for America…I don’t know, allowing homosexuality, shall we say? The thing is, since gays cannot legally marry right now in the US, cannot obtain immigrant status for their spouse’s from another country, and are generally unable to make legal decisions such as life and death, healthcare, or other similar decisions that normally are the purview of a spouse to decide on, I’m not quite sure what it is they want the US to do about gays. Burn them at the stake? Banish them from the country? Does anyone know what exactly it is they want to be done about gays?

I also don’t know why it is that no grieving family members haven’t physically attacked them yet at one of these funerals and beaten some of them within an inch of their lives. Is it because they are essentially a couple of elderly men, women, and young children? That’s usually the members of this church I see on news reports about them.
 
paul11b said:
Hello, I have a question about the westboro baptist church. I don’t understand them and as an army veteran they make me very angry. I am a Catholic (and I know they’re not too fond of Catholics either) so I know that the right thing to do is to pray for them. But I was wondering if anyone knew why they think the way they do and why their views are so messed up. Does anyone know any of their history or teachings that would cause them to be so hateful towards people? I mean I don’t agree with gay marriage but I certainly do not HATE gay people, and I definately know that God does not hate ANYONE. Well I seem to be venting a little bit, but if anyone could write on this subject I would appreciate it. God bless you all.
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The folk at the Westboro Church, practice what is known as Hyper Calvinism. I dont call them Baptist, because even our Baptist friends dont know what to make of them. Its a sad situation either way you look at it. I feel bad for the Children and Grand children of the founder. There is a lot of talent in their group, and it will never be shared, because they are so closed in. Peace and prayers for you my brother. HOOAH form Iraq! 👍
 
Blacksword said:
I also don’t know why it is that no grieving family members haven’t physically attacked them yet at one of these funerals and beaten some of them within an inch of their lives. Is it because they are essentially a couple of elderly men, women, and young children? That’s usually the members of this church I see on news reports about them.
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I read a story of a funeral they picketed recently. It was in a small town and while they were picketing someone took the time to slash one of their tires. When the “church” group called for a tow truck no one would come help, they eventually had to drive, with one tire missing, to a Wal-Mart for help.
 
Seems a rather passive-aggressive response. I’m not advocating violence. I’m just saying that if I had a son who was killed in Iraq and those bigots showed up at the funeral…well, I’m not at all sure that I would be able to contain myself. I want to believe I would pray for them and love them, but I’m not sure that’s what I would actually do.
 
Blacksword said:
Seems a rather passive-aggressive response. I’m not advocating violence. I’m just saying that if I had a son who was killed in Iraq and those bigots showed up at the funeral…well, I’m not at all sure that I would be able to contain myself. I want to believe I would pray for them and love them, but I’m not sure that’s what I would actually do.
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No, I know you aren’t - either am I, just saying that people have retaliated against them for their protests.
 
Phelps is a disbarred lawyer who doesn’t limit his hatred.

He not long ago thanked God for the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords.

He refers to Rev. Billy Graham as a “lying whore.”

He has similar comments about The Catholic Church, mainstream Protestant churches, the president, etc.

Since he is 81, his tenure at his church will likely end in the not too distant future.

Unfortunately, I fear he has created a monster using his extended family.

Peace.

Seeker
 
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