Westboro Baptist Church Will Protest The Funerals of Slain VT Students

Jonathan -- Right on. These folks quote the Bible, but they don't really seem to be living it.

I'm a Christian.

I believe that our president is very, very wrong and is out of control. I know that our country is way messed up. I know that our world is way messed up.

But I certainly don't feel joyful when something terrible happens because it is "God's judgement". I would rather see our president come back under the rule of law, be removed from power in a peaceful manner that complies with our laws, and see our country and world be restored through love and real concern for our fellow humans.

It is the responsibility of all members of the visible church to criticize the fallible humans that belong to it when it is clear that they are not following the teachings of Christ. All good christians should protest WBC.

Protest yes, but beyond that, within the Baptist denomination there is not much more that can be done. Unlike Catholic, and some other groups, each Baptist church is independent from another, and acts on its own accord (up to a point though, when it comes to Biblical teachings and beliefs.) This is why there are so many splintered Baptist offshoots.

If their loony bus goes off a cliff,...is it God's will?

uh.. dunno about that. but I don't know that I'd be to choked up if that happened...

I think we should stand up to them and rebuke them...

I'm assuming (hoping, really), that rebuking involves a severe beat-down.

I'd like to bring my can of Wrath-of-Other-Gods to open up.

The closest parallel I can think of to these loonies is the Lyndon La Rouche cult, which started out as far leftist during the Viet Nam era, then swung hard right to virulent anti-Communism in the Reagan era, and now seems to have gone back to Marx, with a swing by musicology along the way to advocate for establishing the A above middle C at 440 hz. No matter what they're spouting, you can recognize them by the pitch of their voices, the contorted, rage-filled faces, and the ad hominems they're screaming against anyone who happens to oppose their cause du jour.

The WBC started out tormenting families who had lost relatives to AIDS or gay-bashing, but now that AIDS drugs are more effective and the disease is a chronic health problem rather than a death sentence, they've felt a lack of victims, and so have targeted the U.S. military, for fighting for a country that doesn't condemn gays venomously enough, and now the families of the massacre victims. It should be obvious by now that what they really want isn't universal heterosexuality, or a victory in the culture wars, however they may define that, or even the establishment of a theocratic government in this country, but an excuse to hurt vulnerable people and try to provoke fights. Sooner or later, they will get what they asked for, and more of it than they expected.

I agree completely

You just said you hate people that hate people. I hate people that do that.

Where?

No, I despise them. I don't hate them. There is a difference.

Too bad it's illegal to find out.

It's only illegal if you're caught, right?

Unfortunately, "religions" of this kind have a wonderfully hypocritical system in place to handle that system. The slain, who, since they were a member of the correct church, were obviously righteous people, and they then become martyrs, held up as an example, and the situation only gets worse. Violence only begets more violence.

Or if a loud crowd of liberals showed up to one of their member's funerals and laughed it up.

Ah, temptation!

Exactly. They're clearly perverting religion to simply spread hate. Unfortunately, that seems to be the M.O. of a lot of hate groups these days.

cruel idiots who hide behind the cloak of religion

Medieval times come to mind...

Assuming you're talking extremist Conservatives and Muslims - you can add extremist Catholics and probably every other religion here as well - we're moving right back to the Medieval times - scary thought!

Having said that, has the world ever experienced the consequences of extremist Democrats? It probably won't be pretty either, but what exactly would it be?

(your comment just showed up in my tracker - I guess better slow than never :))

However, if the families can someone somehow ignore these assualts, they can take solace in the fact that the WBC is in reality a fairly insignificant organization.

Proofreading FTW!

Oh, how could i be so callous as to forget those 5 Amish schoolgirls who were killed last October. Yep, WBC says they're in hell, too.

doesn't seen to be any more consistent with Christianity than, say, Osama Bin Laden's message is with Islam.

Really good point.

"I guess you'd have to consider them to be Christians"

Do we now? If their actions basically contradict the teachings of Jesus, do we have to group them with other Christians?

If their actions basically contradict the teachings of Jesus, do we have to group them with other Christians?

That's a great observation/question, e_nygma. I'm no expert on Christianity, just as I'm not an expert on Islam. If Osama Bin Laden is considered to be a Muslim even though, to borrow a phrase, his actions basically contradict the tenets of his religion, wouldn't these people have to be considered Christians? I mean, they say they're Christians, and they claim to be following their interpretation of the Bible. I suspect that they would probably interpret Christ's teachings in a different way than most Christians - who decides whether someone is Christian or not? Who decides whether someone is Muslim or not?

Me, obviously. ;)

However, you make a fair point. I think it might be unfair to use Bin Laden : Islam :: WBC : Christianity comparison, but I cannot find a good counter.

And no, this post is not an excuse to create one of those fun analogies from the old SAT tests. Not at all. ;)

I think it might be unfair to use Bin Laden : Islam :: WBC : Christianity comparison, but I cannot find a good counter.

It might be. I don't think the WBC guys are likely to start planning violent acts of terrorism anytime soon, but you never know - I suspect that Bin Laden and Al Qaeda probably had a phase at some point when their actions were no more dangerous than Phelps and WBC are now. You know, back when they first noticed how "dangerous" western influence was on Muslim culture, but before they decided that the best way to prevent that influence from "ruining their religion" was to violently force westerners out of the region. If the WBC were to follow the same path, it might just be a matter of time before we start talking more about "violent Christian extremist groups."

Im a buddhist. Im 13 when i went to the temple i saw them protesting. that was when i was scared of them.They where so mean to me everybody there even me was also chinese so they where protesting. I wanted to kill them because i saw a fire axe next to me but i couldnt go to jail so i just sat there. If Westboro church is reading this. @!$%# YOU westborobaptist church.westborochurch are complete @!$%#s

I know that, but these people are certainly not following the teachings of Christianity. Unfortunately all you have to do is say that you're a Christian and it reflects on the entire religion.

The craziest part is that Jesus taught so firmly against hypocrisy. It's all over the bible.

Don't pray in public.
Don't be a wolf in sheeps clothing.
Before you can take the speck out of your neighbor's eye, you must take it out of your own.

It goes on and on. I very much respect the authentic message of Christianity, but human beings are fallible. This is not justification, it is simply the truth.

Rejecting something due to the hypocrisy of its followers is, in my opinion, a silly reason. I'm willing to bet that 99.99% of those who reject Christianity b/c of hypocrisy in the church are also guilty of being a hypocrite at some point in their lives.

Christianity, as it was intended, is not a following of Christians, but rather a following of Jesus Christ.

Hey, don't let the certifiably insane ones throw you. If there's someone with a single grain of truth out there, it's worth pursuing.

Munzilla- you are correct. It saddens me that people cheapen such a beautiful way of life by the vile course in which they live theirs.

D.M. Walters- Agreed.

DamianKD- You are correct. The validity of Christianity has nothing to do with its followers, and everything to do with who you are to follow (Jesus Christ).

The stories you will not hear from this tragedy are the ones of the droves of devout Christians who were there to counsel, comfort, and grieve with the victims of this event. Sadly, the careless words of a few drown out the loving deeds of others.

This is why people reject Christianity. The hypocrisy of its followers.

These people are no more the followers of Christianity than are those who behead westerners in the name of Islam.

These people are no more the followers of Christianity than are those who behead westerners in the name of Islam.

These people are no more the followers of Christianity than those who behead westerners in the name of Islam are Muslims.

It's possible for any group, be it Westboro Baptist Church or Al Qaeda, to twist the teachings of religion to justify hateful and misguided behavior. We in the west are pretty good at differentiating the people who pervert Christianity, and pretty quick to understand that a few kooks don't necessarily speak for an entire religion, but we often seem to be less capable of recognizing the same phenomenon when it occurs in other religions.

The thought of these sick fs protesting at the funerals of innocent souls slaughtered in cold blood by a psychopath makes me physically ill. They are NOT true Christians in any way, shape or form. They are just as sick and twisted as that murderer, but even more dangerous. Invoke the name of God and throw in a grain of truth in the middle of the madness, and you'll fool alot of stupid people. Evil does exist and it comes in many disguises. Too bad Cho didn't open fire on these scum.

See if i was their reverend, i would have done it naked.. still get the news and people dont quite hate you as much..

Have you seen him? I think that would actually cause people to hate him more. :-)

There's a good chance God is thinking the same thing.

Here you go, Sbutki

The bikers are the Patriot Guard Riders

Thanks, Jux.

I think the American Legion would hire you the best lawyers in the country to defend you. I agree 100%.

Sorry, I obviously hadn't read all the way to the bottom of the comments before posting above.

Belarius...they've already won it.

updraft419: As much as I hate to say it, they haven't yet. While I generally have faith in the overall goodness of humankind, I suspect we'll find someone or some other group in the next seven and a half months that can give these guys a run for their money.

Belarius...they've already won it.

Well, it is only April. But they do make a very strong candidate.

Like, Daniel Day Lewis vs. Keanu Reeve for an Oscar strong.

I nominate Jack Thompson.

Also a strong candidate, but there isn't a whole clan of him.

I hope.