Westboro Baptist "Church"

Cult: A relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister.

Westboro Baptist Church claims a lot of things, but one thing they don't claim is they they are a cult. However, according to the above definition, it is easily seen that a cult is exactly what they are. In fact, they fit that definition so well that we could just as easily put this in the dictionary:

Cult: Westboro Baptist Church

and no other explanation would be needed. If anyone wanted more detail, all they would have to do is look up said cult.

Why am I writing on Westboro Baptist, you may be wondering. No, I haven't seen any recent news on them but that doesn't change the fact that I HATE THEIR SLIMY GUTS! Okay, maybe I shouldn't be so harsh, but they are a hard group of people to love.

 If you've never heard of these people then lucky you. Life is better when you don't know they exist. You would be happier if you didn't finish reading this post....but I can't stop you. All I can do is warn you.

I don't remember how I first heard about this cult but I think it was on YouTube. I was watching some sort of video and they happened to start talking about this church. The things they said about the church were awful and horrifying. They slammed the church and the things they claimed the church did and said. I figured if the church was truly all they were saying then the church deserved this. I looked up the church. I watched their videos and read their website and to my horror they were ten times more horrible than the video had claimed. The people in the video hadn't been harsh enough!

Now you're probably wondering (if you're unfamiliar with them) what they could possibly do that is so terrible. Don't worry, I'm about to tell you. Brace yourself.

The church is relatively small made up of seventy-something or eighty-something people. Not surprisingly, most of them are related in some way. So it's basically a church made up of one big family.

This cult is the most hateful group of people I have ever heard of and they don't hide their hatred. They make their hatred very public. They hate everyone on the planet except themselves. Everyone, except them, is going to hell. Or so they believe.

The church regularly travels around the country "warning" people of God's wrath and how we are all headed to hell. They picket everything. Funerals, concerts, parades, the President, people, everything. They picket everything good and have the audacity to hold up hand made signs thanking God for the 9/11 terrorist attacks. But that's not all. They thank God for dead soldiers, for earthquakes, for school shootings. They picketed what was a Sandy Hook memorial or funeral thanking God for the shooter that came and killed elementary school children. It's horrible. It's hard to believe, but see for yourself:

This is just one of the many signs they parade around with in public, thanking God for the heroes who die defending our country. What's funny is that they are very careful to make sure they do nothing illegal and their right to free speech and peaceful protestation (or picketing) is protected by the constitution. Yet, they thank God when people die for defending their right to picket. And I don't mean funny as in "laugh out loud" funny. I mean funny as in sick and twisted.

Here is a photo of one of their horrible signs thanking God for a tragic terrorist attack along with a sweet little reminder that God hates us, while treading on the American flag.

I can only imagine that this is a reference to the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting. I know that they picketed it because they never fail to make their schedule public. They LOVE it when people know where they are going to be. They love being in the spotlight because it helps to spread God's "message."

 

A tweet from Shirley Phelps-Roper (daughter of the pastor and in charge of all church publicity) saying they will picket the elementary school. Picket the victims of the shooting. Not the shooter.

Why all this hate? Why do they believe God hates everyone and everything? Why do they think all bad things that happen are judgements from God and why do they believe we are being judged so harshly? Well, ladies and gentlemen, after everything I've learned about the church, what I find it all comes down to is this:

Yes, my friends. According to Westboro Baptist Church, God is our enemy (that phrase is on several of their signs) because of homosexuals. Although, as you can see by these signs held by Fred Phelps (their pastor who they basically believe to be second in command to God himself) they prefer to use a more vulgar word to refer to this group of people. And it is the only word they use to refer to them.

Apparently, God hates us and is punishing us so harshly because we live in a country that tolerates homosexuality. It doesn't matter how you personally feel about homosexuality or gay marriage. If you live in the United States and don't belong to their church, then God hates you because, as they say, you are one of the

This is how they refer to every straight person outside of their cult. If you're not gay, no matter your personal views, you're automatically an enabler. All it takes is living in the United States. Speaking as an enabler, this label is much less offensive and distressing than they intended it to be. They use the most vile and disgusting language and images (if you browse their various signs) to try and speak for God, but what they don't realize is that I will proudly bear any name that means I am not one of them. They don't understand that they are being counterproductive. Are they achieving what they want to achieve? They think they are warning us about our "impending doom" but they are just dishonoring God. Nothing more.

One of the saddest things about this horrible church is how they involve the young children. As you can see in the picture, they are taught these awful things young in life. They will take five-year-old children on pickets (even though people often get violently angry with them). These young kids hold up these signs and don't even know that they mean. I know this to be true because I watched a Louie Theroux documentary on them (The Most Hated Family in America) and he asked a little girl if she knew what the sign she was holding meant and the girl shook her head no. Shirley Phelps-Roper then tried to explain it to the child but she might as well have been talking to herself. There was no way the girl could have understood the complexity of the language she used. It's very sad the way they brainwash these children into believing lies about God.

I don't know why these people want to believe that God is some hateful, judgmental being sitting in heaven and torturing us with every tragedy he can think of, but that's not the impression I get when I read the Bible. Rather, I find him to be a loving, merciful and forgiving God that died for the whole entire world that we all might go to heaven; not just Westboro.

It sickens me that they twist the verses in the Bible and take them out of context to fit their distorted belief. It's awful to know that they genuinely believe that God delights in our misfortunes. They seemed to have skipped the numerous verses in the Bible that disprove everything they say is true.

I don't know why they like to think that everything bad is a judgment of God. That God does the bad things and none of the good things. They think God sent the planes into the world trade center and pentagon on September 11 of 2001 when I don't believe God had anything to do with it. They don't understand that God gave everyone free will. Even terrorists. If someone does something bad to someone else, they think God did it. They don't think the person sinned.

If someone is murdered, they don't believe it was the murderer making his own choice to do something bad to another person, though the Bible clearly states we are not to murder each other. No, the murderer is carrying out God's wishes. It is the unfortunate victim that is the sinful one.

Do they just flat out ignore verses like these?

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.  - Jeremiah 29:11

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.- John 3:16

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.- 1 John 4:8

For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him. - Psalm 22:24

Just from these few verses, although there are many more like this, I don't see how they can call God hateful. The verse from Psalms contradicts their whole belief system in one sentence. They just don't get it.

They think everything that happens is a judgment of God and has nothing to do with our free will, unless, of course, that thing is homosexuality. Or being a soldier. Or not being part of their church. Their ignorance is astounding.

There is a book I highly recommend if you find yourself as interested in this cult as I am (not interested as in you would like to join them, interested on an intellectual standpoint). It is called Banished: Surviving my Years in the Westboro Baptist Church. I finished it in a total of two days, but I could have finished it in one. I literally had to make myself put it down so I could do things like sleep. Anyway, it's written by a young lady who grew up as a member of the church but was eventually banished. Banishing, by the way, is what they do to people who become smart enough to think by themselves and start to ask questions that contradict the church's doctrine. They banish you when they become afraid that you will prove them wrong.

If you're very interested in them, they have several websites that you are free to look through. They copyright all their material but allow anyone to use any of it for free for any reason. I'm not going to list their websites or anything, but if you google the church they will pop right up. They welcome you to write them emails if you have any questions about anything. They ask for "intelligent" questions. Of course, what is or is not intelligent is completely up to them. If they don't have an answer for your question, that's usually when it's deemed unintelligent and you'll be called stupid.

One last note before I end this post, if you are in the least bit anxious about the things Westboro says and think that maybe God does hate you, Westboro is wrong. You are wrong. God loves you. He loves me. He loves everyone. He created you. He didn't just snap his fingers and add another human being to the world, he specifically molded you into exactly what you are because he has a purpose and plan for your life. He didn't create you to hate you. You're his child and he loves you more than anything. The sooner Westboro understands that, the better. They don't speak for God. They have no possible way of knowing who goes to hell and who doesn't. They are disobeying God just by judging everyone. God clearly says not to judge others several times. He also says men look at the outside and he looks at the heart. Westboro missed that completely. They are also a perfect example. They harshly judge you by your outside, but God does not. He sees your heart and that is the only thing that truly matters.

All I have left to say is that, when I die, I sincerely hope that Westboro Baptist Church pickets my funeral. It will mean I did something in my life that I should be proud of.