Fred Phelps is Not a Reverend
Let me just say that it offends me that Fred Phelps (I refuse to dignify him with the honorific "Reverend") identifies himself as a Christian just as I do. And let me say that it also offends me that his Westboro Baptist "God Hates Fags" Church carries the same Baptist tag as the churches in which I grew up. They devoutly wish to be seen tithing their mint, dill, and cummin as they laugh off the weightier matters of justice and mercy and faithfulness (Matt 23:23).
How dare they insult grieving families by picketing funerals of soldiers, announcing that these young men and women deserved to die for serving a country soft on homosexuality? Their website proudly proclaims the number of days Matthew Shepard has spent in hell, and they boast of having announced his entry there by picketing his funeral. Now, it is not up to me to say who is and is not in hell, and thank God it is not up to Phelps, either, but even assuming that his pronouncement is true concerning Shepard's eternal destiny, I should think that it would be a matter of great sorrow, not celebration nor gleeful provocation. Their bragging seems to me to be little different than that of a KKK mob proud of having lynched a lone unarmed black man.
I'm pretty sure Christ had people like Fred in mind when he foretold of responding to boasts of faithfulness with a disgusted "I never knew you." (Matt 7:22-23)
Mind you, I am not in any sense being soft on homosexuality. I am against gay marriage and believe that true matrimony involves one man and one woman -- although I think that the frivolous treatment of marriage and divorce by multitudes of heterosexuals has to be at least as detrimental to its sanctity as is the desire of some gay couples to legitimize an already long-term monogamous relationship. But that's for another blog.
I'm not being soft on homosexuality; I'm being critical of those who view it with a magnifier that minimizes any other form of sinfulness. But Phelps is an easy target. He and his ilk seem to try hard to be noticed for being mean.
This may seem an odd thing to say for someone who has long associated himself with the Religious Right -- and will continue to do so -- but there are a number of people whose message is really just a more subtle form of Phelps' venom. And I fear that they do more harm than benefit to the cause of reaching people for Christ. (That is supposed to be the objective, isn't it?)
When Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell had their infamous conversation on the 700 Club about the causes and meanings of the September 11th attacks, I just cringed and thought "Why did they have to say that?" Their statements served no purpose other than to get their names into the mix as having made a pronouncement about the attacks.
The statements were certainly premature. But to say that the attacks were the result of homosexuality and abortion was really irresponsible. When God punished a people for sin in the Bible, it was usually pretty clear Who the punishment came from and why. If the attacks destroyed a major abortion clinic or a gay pride headquarters, the statements might have had a little more credibility. But as it is, they were insulting to the memory of thousands that died that day only because they had gone to work.
How dare they insult grieving families by picketing funerals of soldiers, announcing that these young men and women deserved to die for serving a country soft on homosexuality? Their website proudly proclaims the number of days Matthew Shepard has spent in hell, and they boast of having announced his entry there by picketing his funeral. Now, it is not up to me to say who is and is not in hell, and thank God it is not up to Phelps, either, but even assuming that his pronouncement is true concerning Shepard's eternal destiny, I should think that it would be a matter of great sorrow, not celebration nor gleeful provocation. Their bragging seems to me to be little different than that of a KKK mob proud of having lynched a lone unarmed black man.
I'm pretty sure Christ had people like Fred in mind when he foretold of responding to boasts of faithfulness with a disgusted "I never knew you." (Matt 7:22-23)
Mind you, I am not in any sense being soft on homosexuality. I am against gay marriage and believe that true matrimony involves one man and one woman -- although I think that the frivolous treatment of marriage and divorce by multitudes of heterosexuals has to be at least as detrimental to its sanctity as is the desire of some gay couples to legitimize an already long-term monogamous relationship. But that's for another blog.
I'm not being soft on homosexuality; I'm being critical of those who view it with a magnifier that minimizes any other form of sinfulness. But Phelps is an easy target. He and his ilk seem to try hard to be noticed for being mean.
This may seem an odd thing to say for someone who has long associated himself with the Religious Right -- and will continue to do so -- but there are a number of people whose message is really just a more subtle form of Phelps' venom. And I fear that they do more harm than benefit to the cause of reaching people for Christ. (That is supposed to be the objective, isn't it?)
When Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell had their infamous conversation on the 700 Club about the causes and meanings of the September 11th attacks, I just cringed and thought "Why did they have to say that?" Their statements served no purpose other than to get their names into the mix as having made a pronouncement about the attacks.
The statements were certainly premature. But to say that the attacks were the result of homosexuality and abortion was really irresponsible. When God punished a people for sin in the Bible, it was usually pretty clear Who the punishment came from and why. If the attacks destroyed a major abortion clinic or a gay pride headquarters, the statements might have had a little more credibility. But as it is, they were insulting to the memory of thousands that died that day only because they had gone to work.
Labels: Christianity
posted by Steve | 8:13 AM
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