Thoughts on the last days of Fred Phelps

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acceptance, america's most hated family, Christianity, christians, church, cults, death, fall from grace, forgiveness, fred phelps, funerals, gays, hate, hate speech, homophobes, homophobia, kansas, love, phelps family, picketing, picketing funerals, protests, racism, religion, signs, topeka, WBC, westboro, Westboro Baptist Church

Warning: This post may contain some language offensive to gays, lesbians, and others, but is only used in an informative manner – not as a personal insult from me, as I would never use that language myself. This post is about Fred Phelps, leader of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church. If you are familiar with him and his church, then you know what I’m talking about. 

As many have heard, Fred Phelps, the leader and founder of Westboro Baptist Church, is on his deathbed awaiting his last breath. Many people are currently rejoicing and happy that he will finally be gone and will no longer be able to spread hate towards those who are not part of his church. But I’m not one of them. Now, I’ve said before that I absolutely abhor his church and his teachings and that the Phelps family is the most hateful family I’ve ever seen in my life. But I don’t feel right being “happy” that he’s dying. Let me explain why.

Does Fred deserve to be loved? Personally, I don’t think so. Does he deserve forgiveness? No. Does he deserve a second chance? No. Does he deserve to not have a funeral held by his family? Maybe. But if I hate him the way he has hated me and everyone else in this country (and on this planet), then how would that make me any better than him? Why would I want to stoop down to his level?

Fred Phelps has raised a family to hate any and everyone who isn’t just like them. He’s raised his children, and they’ve raised their children, to hate gay people. They have little children already calling gays “fags.” The official URL for their church website is godhatesfags.com. They picket the funerals of gays. They picket the funerals of veterans. They tried to picket the funerals of the Sandy Hood children for crying out loud. They constantly threaten to picket the funerals of people who aren’t just like them.

They carry signs saying that God hates America, that God hates gays, that God is the enemy (of anyone not in their church, I’m assuming), that America deserves everything it’s getting, etc. Their signs say thank God for cancer, thank God for 9/11 (yes, I’m serious), thank God for dead babies, etc. They think that anyone who loses their child deserves it they were obviously committing some sort of sin that they deserved to be punished for.

In fact, take a look at some of their protest signs for yourself (which may be disturbing to some to read):

    Those poor children…being raised with such hate. It’s heartbreaking.

Have an idea now? If not, look them up for yourself and see. Watch their many documentaries: Fall From Grace (which is on Netflix), The Most Hated Family in America, America’s Most Hated Family in Crisis, etc. Simply look up “Westboro Baptist Church” in Google Images, and you’ll those very pictures from above plus hundreds of others.

I’ve read comments from people saying that they want to picket Fred’s funeral, but what good would that do? None – which leads me back to what I saying earlier. I’m not stooping down to his level by hating him. I have a few reasons for this. For one, that would be giving him exactly what he wants. They like to get reactions out of people. They know that the things that they do and say will be made public and covered by the media, and that everyone will grow to hate them even more. I’ve heard them say in interviews that if people hate them, then they’re doing their job right. They know that “Christians” will be persecuted and hated, and they expect that. From what I’ve heard them say, it makes them feel proud. I’m not going to give them what they want.

Second, I do my best not to hate anyone, no matter how much they may deserve it, because that’s not what a Christian should do. Over the last few years, the Phelps family and the Westboro Baptist Church have gotten so crazy and out of hand with their bullying, preaching, picketing, and so on, that they’ve made me ashamed and embarrassed to call myself a Christian – because I don’t want to be associated with them and that type of behavior. They make us Christians look so incredibly bad and hateful.

I know Christians haven’t exactly had the best rep, but WBC makes it so much worse. It’s people like that who make Christians look bad. Most of us aren’t like that. But the few who decide to be hateful towards others are the ones who represent us, but they get the most attention – the bad usually outweighs in the good when it comes to media coverage and stories. People remember the bad more than they remember the good, unfortunately. But I will not be like them. I will be how a Christian should be: loving. We’re supposed to love and accept others, not hate them or exclude them for being different.

That leads me into my third reason. Many of us have heard the saying that those who deserve love the least are the ones who need it the most. It’s so easy for us to jump to hating someone who has done us wrong. It’s so easy to get mad and tell them off and give them what they deserve. It’s hard to love them and forgive them, to show them compassion. But that’s the right thing to do. So I’m not going to give Fred Phelps what he deserves – I think he’ll get that on his own. I’m going to give him what he doesn’t deserve: love. It’s taking every ounce of strength I have not to hate him after all the hate he’s spread over the last 6 decades – yes, he founded that church almost 60 years ago. It’s taking every ounce of strength I have not to rejoice that he won’t be around to hate anymore. It’s taking every ounce of strength I have to love him and to forgive him.

I’ve never been a vengeful person. Okay that’s not true. Sometimes I can be, if I get angry enough. But I’m not the type of person to actually carry that vengeance out – it’s more mental for me. The way I see it, it really does take more effort to hate someone than it does to love him/her. Think about it. When you’re constantly around someone who’s negative and pessimistic, it drains you. It’s exhausting. Pessimism, negativity, hate, even depression – they’re all exhausting. But how do you feel when you’re around someone who’s loving and happy? (Not an overly happy person, as that can be exhausting too, but a generally happy person.) How do you feel when you’re around someone whom you love and who makes you feel good? You feel happy. You feel energetic and upbeat. It’s the same thing when it comes to hating someone versus loving someone. It takes more effort and energy to hate them than it does to love them.

So that’s what I’m going to do. I’m not going waste my time and energy hating someone who wants to be hated. I’m not going to give Fred Phelps what he deserves. I’m going to give him what he doesn’t deserve. I’m going to love him. I’m going to forgive him. I’m going to pray for him and show compassion, because he has clearly been misled by someone at some point in his life, to the point where he misled an entire family about what it means to be a Christian.

I spent a long time, years in fact, trying to figure out what I should do about the anger that they have caused me and the pain that they have caused so many people in this country. When I found out that Fred is on his deathbed, that’s when I knew. I need to love him and forgive him, and just hope and pray that he opens his eyes and realizes that he’s been awful to people, and that he comes to terms with that and apologizes for his actions and his hateful words.

I don’t know if that will happen or not. But I hope it does.

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My stance on equality…

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bible, bible verses, Christianity, debates, facebook, freedom, gay rights, homosexuality, human rights, judgment, laws, marriage equality, morals, religion

Hey all, so sorry I’ve been MIA lately. School is overwhelmingly hectic right now. I’m finally taking a little much-needed break from reading.

Lately, all I’ve been hearing about everywhere I turn is the debate on marriage equality. This past week, Tuesday I think, it went before the Supreme Court. Many people, myself included, uploaded a picture of an equal sign in red on Facebook in support of marriage equality. Some made it their profile picture, but I just put it on my timeline. And others put up a picture of a cross in red to oppose marriage equality. Someone even started commenting on my equal sign picture with Bible verses to preach at me about how wrong my views are. I’m not gonna lie, that upset me. Despite how much I wanted to debate with that person, I just deleted the comment and left it alone. Some of the people who put up the cross picture also put up statuses saying things like, “Praying for our nation today…” or stating how sinful homosexuality is and that they will be judged accordingly someday by God.

What I don’t understand is how people think that it’s okay for them to force their beliefs on others and make them live accordingly. People protesting marriage equality because it goes against their religious or Christian beliefs upsets me. Tell me this, if two people of the same sex marry each other, how will that interfere with your daily life? Yes it may gross you out, but how will it interfere with your life? With your ability to function? With your ability to go to work, go to school, have children, sleep, eat, shower, etc.? It won’t. It’s their life, not yours. So leave it alone. You can’t make other people live by  life, not yours. So leave it alone. You can’t make other people live by YOUR morals. Everyone has their own set of morals. Every Christian is different.

There are plenty of things that are legal in America that the Bible deems to be sinful. So why not make divorce illegal? It’s sinful, according to the Bible. (1) “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate” – Mark 10:9. (2) “And He said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; and if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.” – Mark 10:11-12. (3) “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.” – Luke 16:18. (4) “But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” – Matthew 5:32. That last one seems to say that unless infidelity is involved, divorce is a sin.

Why not make getting drunk illegal? “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” – Galatians 5:19-21

Premarital sex? Countless verses against that. (1) “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins people commit are outside their bodies, but those who sin sexually sin against their own bodies. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” – 1 Corinthians 6:18-20. (2) “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God” – 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5. (3) See Galatians 5:19-21 above. And so on.

Round haircuts? “You shall not round off the side-growth of your heads nor harm the edges of your beard” – Leviticus 19:27. Tattoos? “You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the Lord.” – Leviticus 19:28.

Wearing expensive clothes or jewelry? I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments.” – 1 Timothy 2:9

Cursing? “But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.” – Colossians 3:8

And others that I don’t have time to get into. The point is, there are many things that are considered sinful in the Bible but are legal in America. So why are people picking on marriage equality? Seriously, just because you have your own set of morals, that doesn’t mean that everyone else on the planet has to live by that same set. You shouldn’t tell people that they can’t live their lives a certain way just because you don’t agree with it. They’re not hurting anyone, killing anyone, putting anyone in danger, etc. They’re just trying to spend their lives with the people that they love. You love who you love. Simple as that. Get over it and stay out of it. It’s none of your business. How about showing some love instead of hate and judgment?

I know many will disagree with me. In fact, I’d say 90% of the people in my life (maybe even more) will disagree with me. But that’s just how I personally see it and feel about it.

Red State leads to red faces

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action film, Catholics, Christianity, church, gays, hate, hate church, hate groups, homosexuality, horror film, Jews, judgment, red state, religion, thrillers, westboro, Westboro Baptist Church

The other night, I watched a film called “Red State” with my boyfriend. It’s about a group of teen boys who are lured through the Internet to an older woman’s house, who turns out to be a member of a hate church. It’s a setup, basically. She roofies the boys and then other members of the church help her kidnap them, where they take the boys to the church and hold them captive. The boys basically have to try to get away alive. The church condemns pretty much everyone who exists outside the church, including gays, people of other races, people who have premarital sex, and so on – but gays more than anyone…they believe that gays are the worst people on the planet. They believe in murdering those who are different from them. It results in the ATF getting involved, ending with a shootout between the church members and the ATF. I’ll leave the rest for you to see if you’re interested. Anyway, it was a really disturbing story, but a really good film in my opinion. It’s not your typical horror film. It’s more drama, action, thriller, and horror mixed in one.

It’s based partly off of Westboro Baptist Church, which an infamously known hate group or hate church. The members of that church have been known to picket funerals of gays, veterans, and even some celebrities, among other groups of people. Most recently, they announced that they would be picketing the funerals of the Sandy Hook victims. Yeah, I know, awful and sick. They were part of the influence for the film, and no film has ever made me feel the way that one did.

Now I will clear up a thought you may have if you’ve never heard of Westboro: they don’t resort to violence like the church in the movie does. At least that’s what they say…nothing’s been reported so far. But either way, they are purely hateful. They call Catholic priests “vampires” (yes, seriously). They think that God hates the troops (I know, it’s getting plain ridiculous). They believe Jews and gays are the real Nazi’s, rather than the actual Nazi’s being the Nazi’s. They believe God hates gays more than any other group of people, that they’re the worst sinners of them all. They believe homosexuality is to blame for every tragedy, even 9/11. They’re happy 9/11 happened. And get this: they believe that gays should receive the death penalty. I have no respect for that church whatsoever…most people don’t. I’m sure the only ones who do are the members. To them, anyone who is different is hell-bound and of the devil, basically.

That is why that film is so disturbing…what it’s about. The fact that people out there are willing to kill others who don’t believe the same things or who live differently is just mind-blowing and sick to me. But more than anything, it’s heartbreaking. They make all Baptists look bad, but they also make all Christians look bad. Most of us are NOT that extreme…I’d say most of us aren’t extreme at all. They’re as extreme as it gets, without getting violent anyway.

I believe that everyone should be free to believe what they want to believe and to be with whoever they want to be with. Being a Christian is supposed to be about love and forgiveness, not hate and judgment. So, to anyone who hasn’t heard much about Christianity and ends up hearing about that church…I apologize…heavily. They are hateful and judgmental, and most Christians are not like that…least the ones I know aren’t. That’s never ok.

This film is sad and heartbreaking, and it will probably anger you, but I think it’s worth a watch. It shows you how hateful people can be, and how people don’t deserve that hate simply because of their differences. Can you imagine someone wanting to kill you just because you’re different? It’s sad and angering, but maybe it can help others become a bit more open-minded and more loving towards others.

End of the world? More like, end of sanity.

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bible verses, Christ, Christianity, december 21, end of the world, God, mayan calendar, mayans, NASA, religion, science, scripture

So tomorrow is the famously (and for some, fearfully) anticipated December 21, 2012…the day the world is supposed to end. Ha okay. I wasn’t gonna write about this because I’m sure many others are, but what the heck. Honestly, I think people who believe the world is ending tomorrow are out of their minds. Cuckoo. Bonkers. I could go on. No one person, or even a group of people, could predict when the world is going to end. No one even knows exactly when it started, so how can they know when it will end? The Mayan Calendar simply ends tomorrow, not the world. The calendar for them ends tomorrow, but it will start over, just like ours does every year. Even Mayan scholars (and Mayans themselves!), are saying it’s all crap. Wake up, people. Don’t lose your sanity.

NASA has also stated that tomorrow will not be the end of the world. Check it out on NASA’s website here: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html

I’m also a Christian and a believer in the Word…call me crazy if you want, call me religious if you want (though I don’t think I am), call me whatever you want. It’s your opinion. Just like this is all my opinion, though my opinion is influenced by science and common sense…but also by the Word. The Word says in both Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32 say that only God knows when the world will end. Angels don’t know. Not even Christ Himself knows. So how could man know? He can’t. We can’t. We don’t. We never will, not until it actually happens.