I saw this posted at another forum and thought this would be a good place to post here. Here is a perfect example of religious extremism. A (family) member of Rev. (?) Phellps church discusses why they protest at the funerals of soldiers. Even Sean Hannity was freaked out!:
rab, I lived near this creature for a brief period, so was exposed to his toxic rants way too many times on the news. I can remember seeing them picketing various things, wondering—seriously—how they could even live inside thier own bodies with thoughts like this poisioning them 24/7. How can they??? Are there adults who can be seduced into this sort of hate cult, or does it have to be impressed as children? They are literally breeding monsters.
If you’ve never seen inside a beast, have a look. According to the counter on the site, over 5,000,000 already have. Scary to wonder how many of those visitors might agree with him, isn’t it?
Because the Bible preaches hate. For every one verse about God’s mercy, love, compassion, etc., there are two verses about His vengeance, hatred, wrath, etc. The maudlin, kissy-pooh, feel-good, touchy-feely preachers of today’s society are damning this nation and this world to hell…
What you need to hear is that God hates people, and that your chances of going to heaven are nonexistent, unless you repent. What you need to hear is a little fire and brimstone preaching, like Jesus preached. What you don’t need to hear is that you’re okay just the way you are, and God accepts everyone without exception. Don’t listen to the money-grubbing heretic who stands at the front of your church. Listen to God. If you are one of His elect, you’ll hear.
Beware that site, though. My stomach was doing flips after only about three minutes :(. What a bloody train wreck of a human being. I’m shocked and amazed he’s managed to stay alive this long. Prima facie evidence of no benevolent overlord.
I went to their site out of curiousity as I’m sure most people do. No way that many people believe like they do! As you could see by the video clip, even right-wingers like Hannity are appauled.
At the time I went to the site (I’ll never go there again), a young man named Mathew Sheppard had been murdered in a hate crime. Sheppard was gay and the creeps who killed him tied him to a fence and beat him unmercifully. On the front page of the Phellps site, They had their slogan “God Hates Fags” with Sheppards’ picture underneath with hell flames surrounding it. The caption read: Mathew Sheppard is in Hell.
Me and my sister went to the site just out of curiousity, as something to poke fun and laugh at. As soon as we saw the Sheppard pic, my sister says, “That’s it, I’ve seen enough.” I had to agree. Neither of us were laughing.
It was one of the most disturbing things Ive ever seen on the web.
It’s almost comical how little people understand. Sexual orientation is one thing which no one can change. Why would you be born gay? This would be due to… well… you. Some people are born certain ways, with certain traits, and they cannot be changed. Those who are killed for their homosexuality are dead because of who they are, and those who kill them truly don’t understand life. They will get theirs, but not through violence. They live with a dead “soul” until they’re end comes. Then, oh my goodness, no more ignorance can save them. It’s just…. over…. cool, huh?
“What can I say… I do enjoy a good seat… ya know… right hand o’ god n’ all….”
The scariest thing of all is the Phelps clan basis their hatred on the bible. She said “God hates.”
I hate to say this, but they are the “true believers” that Sam Harris talked about in his book. They are the christian version of the Taliban. The bible is filled with hate. Anyone out there who doesn’t believe it, check this out:
Just think what it is like to know that this Klan of Morons lives in your own state, right in your very own capital city! These people are the perfect example of what the First Amendment was designed to protect. The funny thing is, when they were just protesting gay funerals, nobody gave a damn. When they started protesting veteran’s funerals, then everyone became outraged. Apparently, they are right-nobody gives a damn about gay people, just our Sacred Fallen Soldiers.
I would only say that, if the Bible is meant to be taken literally, that God does indeed hate fags (like me), and that Fred Phelps and his gang of loons are at the very least, up front about that. There’s probably a whole lot of Chrisitans who actually believe what Phelps is saying is true, but they fear the social stigma of being as reviled as Phelps is.
Again, I say that until they started protesting military funerals, nobody gave a damn about them. They shouted invective at the funerals of gay people, children who died of AIDS (contracted from non-sexual means), straight adults who had been gay-rights supporters, etc. NO state legislature introduced or passed a law to restrict them, NO law enforcement agency was ordered to make them move, NO television media did stories critical of them, UNTIL THEY STARTED PROTESTING MILITARY FUNERALS. It was only then, when they began holding up signs saying Got Hates America, and Thank God For IEDs, things like that, did people become indignant.
I feel that this basically confirms for the group their correctness. Nobody gave a damn when they attacked gays; only when they attacked soldiers did they get resistance. They would be justified in saying to themselves that they are basically right, that they are supported in their hatred of gays. What does this say about America that we give the Phelps’ a pass when they trash gays, but come down on them when they trash soldiers?
I do recall there was an outpouring of support for Sheppard’s parents and outrage at, not only the guys who killed him, but to the Phelps clan for their protests.
But you’re right about the bias. Right wing pundits didn’t say too much during those earlier days, but it wasn’t until the Phelps began to protest at military funerals that the outcries from conservative commentators and military families, the government stepped in to curb their activities.
But in regards to your post title and to play the devils advocate. Its the same reason that god killed millions of innocent children in the story of moses and the exodus. Piss off god and the innocent are fair game.
4 So Moses said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. 5 Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the slave girl, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. 6 There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. 7 But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any man or animal.’ Then you will know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. 8 All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will leave.” Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh.
29 At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well. 30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.
So poor Akhen Q. Public who worked dilligently in the fields just to provide for his family had his son struck dead, and his cow too.
But in regards to your post title and to play the devils advocate. Its the same reason that god killed millions of innocent children in the story of moses and the exodus. Piss off god and the innocent are fair game.
4 So Moses said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. 5 Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the slave girl, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. 6 There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. 7 But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any man or animal.’ Then you will know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. 8 All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that I will leave.” Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh.
29 At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well. 30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.
So poor Akhen Q. Public who worked dilligently in the fields just to provide for his family had his son struck dead, and his cow too.
This is a perfect example of picking something out of the Bible and twisting it to fit your argument. Do you even understand why God did this? The Egyptians had kept the Israelites in slavery for years. The great pyramids along with many other Egyptian structures were built upon the backs of these slaves, by the blood and sweat of their brow. God told Pharoah numerous times to release the slaves, but he refused. Pharoah brought judgement upon his own people in the form of the 10 plagues that struck the people of Egypt, killing their livestock and their first born children. Many times, the innocent die as a result of the guilty party’s actions. Also, note that it was GOD who delivered the judgement, not a group of people. God was the one who took the lives of those children.
But beyond this - as a believer, I am APPALLED at these people who are picketing at the soldiers funerals. The Bible does NOT teach that this kind of behavior is acceptable. It is God and God alone whom can deliver judgement on a man or woman, or people group (your example above). These Westboro Baptist types are no better than the Pharisees that Jesus called “white washed tombstones” and “brood of vipers”. While I do not support the lifestyle of homosexuals, I will no less love a person because they are. These others, I do not call them Christians - they do not uphold the teachings of Christ at all.
And as for those soldiers that died - homosexual or not - I salute them for their service to our country. They will not be forgotten.
This is a perfect example of picking something out of the Bible and twisting it to fit your argument. Do you even understand why God did this? The Egyptians had kept the Israelites in slavery for years. The great pyramids along with many other Egyptian structures were built upon the backs of these slaves, by the blood and sweat of their brow. God told Pharoah numerous times to release the slaves, but he refused. Pharoah brought judgement upon his own people in the form of the 10 plagues that struck the people of Egypt, killing their livestock and their first born children. Many times, the innocent die as a result of the guilty party’s actions. Also, note that it was GOD who delivered the judgement, not a group of people. God was the one who took the lives of those children.
Ah…Well of course now you’ve explained it, one cannot help but see how perfectly fair, reasonable and compassionate it is that children should be killed as a punishment for the actions of their national leaders. If only this sort of thinking had been around after the Second World War we could have got rid of all those awful German, Italian and Japanese children.
Perhaps we could get this reintroduced as part of a new Geneva Convention-type moratorium on morality? “Kill the Kids! If it’s good enough for Jehovah…”
Seriously. What a loathesome specimen of humanity you are.
But beyond this - as a believer, I am APPALLED at these people who are picketing at the soldiers funerals. The Bible does NOT teach that this kind of behavior is acceptable. It is God and God alone whom can deliver judgement on a man or woman, or people group (your example above). These Westboro Baptist types are no better than the Pharisees that Jesus called “white washed tombstones” and “brood of vipers”. While I do not support the lifestyle of homosexuals, I will no less love a person because they are. These others, I do not call them Christians - they do not uphold the teachings of Christ at all.
And as for those soldiers that died - homosexual or not - I salute them for their service to our country. They will not be forgotten.
Oh, BS, you don’t care for your precious soldiers any more than you care for gays. You forgot them the minute you sent them to kill and die in your name. What’s appalling is the hypocrisy of those greedy xenophobic hate mongers who claim to care for the “troops” while they waste their lives and use them to trash any real moral integrity we had in this country.
Purple is right, Phelps was just another fine upstanding christian until he started picketing soldiers funerals. Rab is right, Phelps just represents the tip of the iceberg wrt the christian taliban. Phelps is just putting an honest face on modern american patriotic christianity, post Iraq invasion and occupation.
All of your salutes, claims to never forget, flag waving, cross kneeling, yellow ribbons and similar protestations of faux sincerity and soldier worship, especially dead soldier worship, are just sanctimonious, self justifying motions you go through to deny your guilt, your culpability and your plain hypocrisy.
I call BS on all this christian dissimulation and patriotic posturing. Much of what we are seeing in the US today is a country in the throes of cognitive dissonance. We’d like to think we are a moral people, especially the christians - the fact is, we are not and we don’t want to recognize that fact.
