Westboro Baptist Church

[Tracy]

So.......I saw today that the Westboro Baptist Church would be protesting at Elizabeth Edwards Funeral. 

These are the people who frequently protest at funerals of dead soldiers and make anti gay speeches that have nothing to do with the soldiers. 

Today apparently they sent out flyers promoting their protest and they spoke of the Edwards 16 year old son who died and they said:

 

"When they were visited from the Most High God with the death of their 16-year-old son, they did not humble themselves before His mighty hand. They reared up in rage, decided they would show God who is boss, and meddled in matters of the womb, resulting in 2 more children -- now motherless."

 

The church goes on to claim that she is now a "resident of hell, where her rebellion and rage will take full flower."

  Apparently their signs said, "Thank God for Breast Cancer."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/09/elizabeth-edwards-funeral-westboro-baptist-church_n_794333.html

I give up. Can anyone tell me why Jesus would be so bent out of shape as to compel these people do to do this?  I don't tthink this way but THEY certainly believe they are called to do it. 

[~Boudicca~]

These people aren't Christian.

[Tracy]

No kidding but that might be my opinion and your opinion...but they think they are.  and they think they are doing god's work.   and they probably can quote scriptures and make their case...and at the end of the day and this is really tough...but maybe they believe it and so it is so?    sigh

[bluebackpacks]

I would love to see a throng of 'counter-protesters' who arrive before the WBC crowd and form a loving barrier between grief and hate.  They needn't have signs or slogans... just a quiet, reassuring presence.  If I had one wish today...

[elanorh]

If you look on youtube, there are quite a few videos of people countering Westboro .... I think my favorite is the technique which raises money for some of Phelps' most hated causes (NAACP, Human Rights Campaign, etc.). 

People have been peaceful, often ironic or humorous, etc.  I have read that in at least one smaller city, the taxi drivers all agreed ahead of time not to provide transportation to them.  They couldn't get to their 'rally' without transportation. 

There would be no way to convince me that what their 'church' preaches is in any way situated in true Biblical Christian teachings.  The hate and vitriol -- horrific.  They follow a distorted, twisted, sick version (if we even want to call it a version).  And it gives the rest of us a bad name. 

[Smokering]

Wowzers. Seriously, is there something in the Westboro water? (And what's with the "meddling in the affairs of the womb" - did she do IVF or something?) I admit I hadn't even heard of Elizabeth Edwards until people mentioned her death on message boards, so I googled her and didn't find anything in her brief bio that even made a blip on my Christian radar - I mean, other than the fact that her husband cheated on her, which obviously wasn't her fault. It sounds like these people are just trying to get the publicity attached to a big name, without any particular regard for what the woman actually did or said during her lifetime. (Plus, the article mentions that she said she didn't ask God for a cure for cancer... which the Westboro guys clearly interpreted as an anti-God statement, but I don't see why. Plenty of Christians don't believe God breaks His natural laws for the average Christian, or that He's obliged to save Christians from cancer; some even see acceptance as the more godly attitude. In and of itself, it's a perfectly neutral statement.)

Honestly, it'd be nice to believe this group were a hoax made up by people trying to give Christians a bad name. They're certainly doing everything possible to make people associate the name of Christ with insensitivity, vitriol, rage, scary mob tactics...

[merpk]

http://www.stoppingthehate.com/News-Article1302_Nate_Phelps_Estranged_Son_Of_Fred_Phelps_Speaks_Out_Publicly.htm

Here's the reality of it, worth the read, of the son who removed himself from it all.  Can you imagine how hard it is to escape from a lifetime of brainwashing? 

Here's his website http://natephelps.com/9101.html.  Particularly enlightening is the link "postcards from home," where he leaves posts that members of his family have left in his guestbook along with his replies.  

It's a fascinating story, and he is a very strong person to have remade his life.  It'll make you feel better about it all, reading about his escape.

[CherryBomb]

I can't even feel disgust or anger towards the WBC anymore.  Those people are so brainwashed and broken that it hurts me.  I can't even imagine what it's like to grow up in that horrible place. 

[PoppyMama]

Don't even try to understand them.  They are just nuts and make no sense.  I used to live close to their headquarters and they would come to my town and have children parading around holding signs with stick figure porn.  I've decided it's best to ignore them or raise money using their numbers.  Giving them direct attention just makes them happy.

[Smokering]

children parading around holding signs with stick figure porn.

....What? Why? Wouldn't they be the first people to organise a protest march if any other group did that?

[PoppyMama]

It was gay stick figure porn.  Showing how wrong it is...you know :crazy

[cappuccinosmom]

eh.  Jesus isn't compelling them. 

WBC is a teeny-tiny mostly-family cult.  Not just cultish, but classic, all-points, flat out cult.  What they say they believe makes no sense from a Christian standpoint, even from the conservative Christian standpoint.

For example, in a documentary their leader compared himself to Jonah--who warned the people of Ninevah and was downright gleeful about their coming destruction.  So gleeful that he found himself a prime spot to sit and watch.

What this man forgot to do is continue reading.  God condemned Jonah for taking pleasure at the thought of the destruction of Ninevah.  WBC says there is no hope, no possibility of repentance or salvation.  That's not even the conclusion of the story of Jonah, much less the teaching of Christ.  Furthermore, there is nothing in the teachings of Christ or the rest of the New Testament that would encourage or justify the way they go about publicizing their message--using the stick figure porn, using children etc.

[bluebackpacks]

I patiently await the day the media calls a spade a spade.  As others have mentioned, WBC is a cult-- a very well represented (legally, that is) cult.  

Who knew cult heads made such fine lawyers...  

[Tracy]

just to be clear I wasn't saying Jesus was compelling them. I was saying they believe Jesus is compelling them.

i think their behavior is crazy. 

The media can call them cult, other churches can call them cult, we can call them a cult....but it doesn't appear to stop them.  sigh.

[scottishmommy]

Honestly, I think the only way to get them to stop is to completely ignore them. Anyone who comes across them in anyway should act as if they aren't there. No eye contact, no acknowledgement of their existence. They would just shrivel up after a while. They feed off of our anger and outrage.

[Smokering]

It was gay stick figure porn.  Showing how wrong it is...you know :crazy

Because heterosexual stick figure porn is so wholesome.

Is the media really not calling them a cult? Everyone I've mentioned them to seems to take it as a given.

[PoppyMama]

Originally Posted by scottishmommy 

Honestly, I think the only way to get them to stop is to completely ignore them. Anyone who comes across them in anyway should act as if they aren't there. No eye contact, no acknowledgement of their existence. They would just shrivel up after a while. They feed off of our anger and outrage.

I think ignoring them is the ticket but I don't think it will make them stop.  I think we're pretty much stuck with them until they, hopefully, die out.  It's a whole family of lawyers that runs it and they show no sign of backing off.  From what I've seen they are viewed as a very mean, very extreme, christian church.  Their whole point seems to be that we are all going to hell and Westboro is glad.  Weird, shock tactics are their go to method.  I remember the daughter had a myspace that I never could figure out.  

[AFWife]

I also think that ignoring them is the best bet. If nothing else it will cut down on their publicity. Nothing will stop them, really...and there will eventually bed another group in their place.

Personally, I believe that it's Satan working in these people. What better way to turn people away from Christ then to have hate groups use His words?

Maybe their Bibles leave this Scripture out?

1 John 3:15 (New International Version, ©2010)

¹⁵ Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

[Smokering]

Ignoring them is all very well as long as they don't turn up at your kid's funeral. I don't see that the families involved in active persecution should be expected just t turn a blind eye, though. What exactly have they sued people for?

[Shami]

I read that one of the soldier's family sued them and won a fairly large settlement.  This may be the only way to shut them down is for the families to sue the pants off of them.  Maybe a class action suit?? 

I didn't know they were suing people.  For what??

We had a fallen soldier's funeral in our city a couple of weeks ago and our streets were lined with people and flags ready to block them out!  Apparently they never showed up, but if this happens in every city, hopefully they will tire of this hatred and find a new occupation.   How much negative energy can these people have??  I guess Satan never tires, accusing day and night.

I cannot imagine living that lifestyle and all of the little children being exposed it. 

Edited by Shami - 12/16/10 at 7:34pm