On a friend's blog I discovered a link that ran a news story forcing me to capture a slur of swear words on the tip of my tongue. I thought my dislike for Pat Robertson could never be matched, but ever since following some of the news with the Westboro Baptist Church, I find myself somewhat more comfortable with the man. Westboro Baptist Church, led by pastor Fred Phelps, is once again shaming the name of Christ and using religion as a platform for their racism and prejudice. When anything bad happens in America, they attribute it to the wrath of God, and they plan on protesting the funerals of those killed at Virginia Tech. The students at Virginia Tech, they proclaim, died as God's punishment for not being true Christians. Phelps said, "The evidence is they were not Christian. God does not do that to his servants." Has he not read the countless stories of the prophets? Has he not read Hebrews 11?
Here is a photograph of one of the protests that the members of Westboro Baptist Church recently led:
Here is a photograph of one of the protests that the members of Westboro Baptist Church recently led:
The signs of hate the protesters carry include such slogans as "God Hates You," "God Hates Your Tears," "God Is Your Enemy," "Thank God For 9/11," "Thank God for the Tsunami," "Thank God For Katrina," "Thank God For IEDs," "Thank God For Dead Soldiers," "God Hates Fags," and "Thank God For AIDS." Pastor Fred Phelps is quoted as saying, "It's a sin to pray for America," "Hurricane Rita is an answer to the prayers of the suffering saints of Westboro Baptist Church," and "The Lord God Almighty killed [the people who died on 9/11], looked at them in the face, laughed and mocked at each one of them as He cast each one of them into hell."
One of the regal undertones of their "ministry" is "everyone must one day stand before God in judgment." I firmly believe they will one day choke on their own words. The writers of the New Testament tell us that there will come in the "last days" (i.e., the days leading up to the appearance of Christ) many false teachers and false prophets who twist and abuse the gospel message to fit their own agendas. This is what those at Westboro Baptist are doing: they are twisting and abusing the gospel message to validate their own hatred and prejudice against those unlike them. This group is no different than the Nazis, the K.K.K., or the Black Panthers. One day they will stand before God, and I have a good feeling that they will not like what happens. The scriptures tell us that false teachers/false prophets are the only ones who are tortured in hell for all eternity. I am not going to rain judgment upon them, for I am not God, but I do know this: they will be judged for distorting God's truth, for shaming the name of Christ, and for not loving their neighbors as God commands them to do so--and thus not loving God, for those who do not love other people do not love God. I know that God is not in support of their actions, despite their illusions. "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God," writes one of the New Testament authors. May God have mercy on them.
I am pondering, "How should I, as a Christian, respond to them?" Indignation yet compassion burn within me. I am indignant, because I am furious at how these people wear the badge of "Christian" to advance their own agenda, all the while shaming Christ's name and giving Christianity bad media (as if that's something new!). At the same time, I am compassionate, for I know that many of those--indeed, most of those--who are a part of this church have not been allowed outside its confines: they have been restricted to its teachings and culture and have been brainwashed and indoctrinated to believe that everything different from them is evil and that whatever their superiors say is true. As a Christian, I believe, I must speak up against their atrocities, but at the same time I must pray that they will come to understand the truth of the gospel and change their ways: from hating others to loving others, from shaming Christ to following him.
One of the regal undertones of their "ministry" is "everyone must one day stand before God in judgment." I firmly believe they will one day choke on their own words. The writers of the New Testament tell us that there will come in the "last days" (i.e., the days leading up to the appearance of Christ) many false teachers and false prophets who twist and abuse the gospel message to fit their own agendas. This is what those at Westboro Baptist are doing: they are twisting and abusing the gospel message to validate their own hatred and prejudice against those unlike them. This group is no different than the Nazis, the K.K.K., or the Black Panthers. One day they will stand before God, and I have a good feeling that they will not like what happens. The scriptures tell us that false teachers/false prophets are the only ones who are tortured in hell for all eternity. I am not going to rain judgment upon them, for I am not God, but I do know this: they will be judged for distorting God's truth, for shaming the name of Christ, and for not loving their neighbors as God commands them to do so--and thus not loving God, for those who do not love other people do not love God. I know that God is not in support of their actions, despite their illusions. "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God," writes one of the New Testament authors. May God have mercy on them.
I am pondering, "How should I, as a Christian, respond to them?" Indignation yet compassion burn within me. I am indignant, because I am furious at how these people wear the badge of "Christian" to advance their own agenda, all the while shaming Christ's name and giving Christianity bad media (as if that's something new!). At the same time, I am compassionate, for I know that many of those--indeed, most of those--who are a part of this church have not been allowed outside its confines: they have been restricted to its teachings and culture and have been brainwashed and indoctrinated to believe that everything different from them is evil and that whatever their superiors say is true. As a Christian, I believe, I must speak up against their atrocities, but at the same time I must pray that they will come to understand the truth of the gospel and change their ways: from hating others to loving others, from shaming Christ to following him.
1 comment:
Nice new look to the site.
the issue with the phelpsies, as i like to call them, is that they firmly believe that they ARE loving their neighbors by telling them of the wrath of God and impending doom. There is a fine line between showing people the consequence of sin and attributing every violent, horrific event as an act of God.
In some ways, every hateful act that takes place is a result of sin, not necessarily the sin of those afflicted by the event, but sin of humanity.
God never intended pain, disease, suffering, oppression, poverty, or suffering to exist. But they exist because humanity is given a gift of being able to choose to worship and follow God or to worship and follow our own desires. All pain comes from the fact that we live in a world that has taken authority from God. That is all to say this: Matthew 25:34-40 makes it very clear that Jesus is concerned about those who suffer. He does not say that they suffer because they have sinned or worse yet, that they suffer because God hates them. This would be antithetical to the nature of God.
The WBC are domestic terrorists, using their version of the gospel as a weapon of hatred.
Post a Comment