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Westboro Baptist Church
By Ben WilliamsonFounder: Fred W. Phelps, Sr.Founding Date: 1955Location: Topeka, KS
Organization Structure: The Westboro Baptist Church is led by Pastor Fred Phelps. Thechurch consists mostly of Phelps’ family. Sunday attendance is estimated around 70,mostly family members of Fred Phelps himself.1
Unique Activities: Protesting pro-homosexual events; picketing at dead soldiers’ funerals andother funerals of prominent personalities or tragedies; declaring judgment on nations andreligions including particularly Protestantism, Catholicism, and Judaism.
Unique Slogans: God hates America, God hates ****, Thank God for Dead Soldiers, Thank Godfor 9/11, Thank God for IEDs, Pray for More Dead Soldiers.
HISTORY
While Madalyn Murray O'Hair was called, “the most hated woman in America,” Fred Phelpsand his family have been dubbed “the most hated family in America.”2 The Westboro BaptistChurch3 (hereafter, WBC) is the product of Fred W. Phelps, Sr. According to the WBC website,
Fred Phelps was born Nov. 13, 1929, in Meridian, Mississippi...The summer followinggraduation, he had a profound religious experience, gave up West Point, enrolled insteadfor Bible/ministerial training at Bob Jones College, Cleveland, Tennessee (later movingwith them as they transitioned to Bob Jones University, Greenville, South Carolina).Ordained by the Southern Baptists Sept. 8, 1947. Met his wife, Margie M. Phelps, in 1951while preaching at the Arizona Bible Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. Their marriage May 15,1952 has been blessed of God with 13 children, 54 grandchildren (to date) and 7 great-grandchildren (to date). Has served as Pastor of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka,Kansas, since Nov. 1955. WBC has engaged in daily picketing demonstrations acrossAmerica and some foreign countries since 1991 -- aimed at showing Americans theirtransgression (Isa. 58:1) and causing America to know her abominations. Ezek. 16:2.4
Not only has Phelps served as pastor but also a career as an attorney. Phelps began thelaw firm Phelps-Charted in 1964. Today, that same law firm continues under four of hischildren.5
Early in Phelps’ career as a lawyer, he worked as civil rights leader. According to thePhelps-Chartered website,
During the 1960's, Mr. Phelps gained a reputation for handling cases that no otherattorney in the area would take. Most notably, he was the only white lawyer to represent agroup of African-American students...During his career, Mr. Phelps handled numerouscivil rights/discrimination cases. In addition to these matters, he was active in criminaldefense, consumer protection, and employment discrimination matters.6
Critics, however, have attempted to link Phelps to notorious racists such as Rev. PetePeters of La Porte, Colorado and the Christian Identity movement which teaches that, “thewhite race is God’s true Chosen People...Jews are animal souls...[and] Blacks are ‘mud people’who also possess animal souls-meaning they are not immortal and cannot go to heaven.”7Though Peters agrees with Phelps position on homosexuality, he has distanced himself from Phelps’ protesting activities by saying the WBC “push people towards tolerance [of] homosexualperverts.”8
Phelps has also had a political career. He has run as a Democrat for several Kansas races andwas even a supporter of Al Gore in the 1988 presidential run.
By the 1980s, Gage Park near Phelps’ home in Topeka, Kansas, had become a well-knownmeeting spot for homosexuals and alleged sexual encounters. In 1991, Phelps began picketingagainst homosexuality when he claims city officials did not respond to public complaints to policethe park.9
From those early days, Phelps and the WBC’s demonstrations have grown to picketing atvarious places including churches, and funerals of dead soldiers, celebrities, and victims oftragedies often because of some perceived connection to homosexuality.
WESTBORO BAPTIST BELIEFS
The WBC is an independent,10 primitive11 Baptist Church and is strongly hyper-Calvinist12.Their unusual application of their version of hyper-Calvinism gives them a basis for their hatred.This amounts to outright hatred of any person or group that is not a part of their church. Their logicis as follows: WBC is part of the elect. Only the elect will be saved. God loves only the elect. Godhates the non-elect. WBC also hates the non-elect. Therefore, WBC hates everybody else, especiallyhomosexuals and those somehow connected to homosexuals.
The WBC is best known for their protests on anything pro-gay. Homosexuality, however, is justone of several things that WBC focuses on. Some individuals that have been targeted by WBC areDick Cheney, Jerry Falwell, Billy Graham, Fred Rogers, Ronald Reagan and others. Oftenindividuals, organizations, or nations are targeted by WBC because of some supposed ties orconnections to homosexuality. WBC believes, “All nations must immediately outlaw sodomy(homosexuality) and impose the death penalty!”13
The tragedies that happen in the world today are supposedly God’s punishment. For instance,the tragic 2006 shooting of Amish schoolchildren in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania is said to bethe result of God punishing America. Shirley Phelps-Roper,14 daughter of Fred Phelps andspokesperson for WBC, claimed on Hannity & Colmes that the Amish girls deserved to die becausePennsylvania’s governor Ed Rendell had made unfavorable comments about the WBC. Therefore,God punished Rendell by the deaths of five Amish schoolgirls.15 One has to wonder, if it was Rendellthat had upset God, why did the schoolchildren have to die?
A more recent example is the 2011 shooting of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords and 21others by alleged gunman Jared Lee Loughner.16 WBC thanked God for the tragedy. On a videoposting on the WBC’s website, Fred Phelps states: “Westboro Baptist Church prays for moreshooters, more violent veterans, and more dead.”17 Arizona legislation preventing any picketingwithin 300 feet of a funeral was passed quickly after the WBC announced they would picket thefunerals associated with this tragedy.
WBC makes it clear that God hates America. This is clear from signs such as, “Thank God for9-11,” “Thank God for Dead Soldiers,” displaying the American flag upside down and trampling it onthe ground.
WBC also targets the Jews. On their website, jewskilledjesus.com, they state, “The Jews killedJesus. That fact will never change. They have never repented, and they try to bully into silenceanyone who states that fact.” WBC questions the number of Jews that died in the holocaust.18Concerning the future of the Jews, the same website states:
Your history is nearly complete Israel. Your doom is coming, and is bound up in the finaldestruction of all things (see 2 Peter 3). If you have a hear (sic) to know God, come out fromamong doomed Israel and OBEY. Forget about the land and your perceived persecution; FEARAND OBEY GOD. That is your only hope.19
It is important to note that WBC is not evangelistic in any traditional sense of the word. Theyare primarily not out to convert or make new disciples. Their ministry is one of picketing andproclaiming damnation on the world. When asked, “Do you ever pray for the salvation of those whoyou feel are condemned?” they respond, “Of course not! For, if we follow (as we ought) the exampleof our Saviour and the clear commandment of God, we would not dare to do so.”20
WBC sees themselves as the only ones doing God’s work. In the Hannity & Colmes interview,Alan Colmes asked, “Who serves God besides people in your church?” to which Phelps-Roperreplied, “Well, you tell me. I don't see anyone on the landscape in America.” 21 Also, under “How maywe know that we are God’s elect?,” they respond that only the elect are “Understanding and joyfullyembracing Calvinism” and “The elect are hated of all men and mercilessly persecuted.”22 Apparently,as evidence of their election, the saved must also be mercilessly persecuting the non-elect asdemonstrate by WBC.
CHRISTIAN RESPONSE
While the Bible does teach that homosexuality is a sin (Rom. 1:26-2723), the Bible also teachesthat it is not the only sin. For instance, in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, one of several “vice lists” in theBible, homosexuality is listed along side of sexual immorality, idolatry, greed, drunkenness andother sins. The faithful proclaimer of God’s Word must “not shrink from declaring...the wholepurpose of God” (Acts 20:27). This would include preaching against all sins, not justhomosexuality.24 It would also include offering the Good News gift of forgiveness of sin and eternallife through the atonement of Christ to all sinners (Luke 24:46) – including homosexual sinners.
WBC is guilty of committing the fallacy of false cause. That is, Phelps argues that Americansoldiers are dying because of America’s increasing acceptance of homosexuality. Yet, how does heexplain the death of soldiers from Muslim countries? Islamic nations are far less tolerant ofhomosexuality than America and yet their soldiers are dying too. It is ironic that the very nationPhelps denounces (America) is the very nation that gives him the very freedom to carry on hisactivities.
It is wrong to ascribe any and every disaster to God’s judgment and anger because of a nation’ssin. Not every good circumstance is proof of God’s approval nor is every bad event proof of God’sdivine judgment. Blessings (common grace) and tragedies fall on both “the evil and the good” on“the just and on the unjust” (Matt. 5:45). It is true in some cases such as Sodom, Gomorrah, andthe Canaanite cities (see Gen. 19:1-29; Lev. 18:21-30; Deut. 20:16) that God destroyed whole citiesand ordered their obliteration as a result of their wickedness. Because of special revelation providedin God’s word, we know these to be examples of divine judgment. These biblical examples are not,however, proof that all destruction comes as a result of God’s anger with sin nor does this give God’speople a license to destroy sinning cities today or an excuse to hate those who have sinned.25
Concerning the charge that it was the Jews who killed Jesus, the Bible teaches that it was notjust the Jews but the Romans also. Acts 4:27 places the blame on both Jews and Gentiles. In fact,verse 28 teaches that ultimately it was God who is responsible! Furthermore, Paul had a special lovefor his Jewish brethren and even wished to be accursed if that meant salvation for them! (Rom. 9:3).
Fred Phelps and the WBC do the exact opposite of the apostle Paul’s instructions in Ephesians4:15. There, we are told to be “speaking the truth in love.” While some of what WBC says is true (i.e.that homosexuality is a sin), WBC fails to love the sinner while hating the sin. Christians areexhorted to maintain the balance between truth and love. 1 Peter 3:15 exhorts us to “always beingprepared to make a defense...yet do it with gentleness and respect.” WBC rejoices when tragedystrikes and others die but Scripture says to “not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not yourheart be glad when he stumbles” (Prov. 24:17).
Concerning the love of God, while it is true that God has a special love for His own, this doesnot mean that God has no love towards those who are not Christians . After Jesus confronted theman who claimed to have followed all the commandments, the Bible says that Jesus “loved” him(Mark 10:21). There is no biblical evidence that this man turned to Christ and yet Christ still lovedhim. While WBC seems to glory when some tragedy occurs, even thanking God for the killer, Godtells us that He gets “no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his wayand live” (Ezek. 33:11).
Christians should always have a reasoned and Christ-like response to issues likehomosexuality.26 While Christians have utilized picketing as a way to express their concerns (i.e. atabortion clinics) and this certainly may be appropriate in some situations, the primary duty of theChurch is evangelism and discipleship (Matt. 28:19-20). When Jesus met the Samaritan woman atthe well, He knew that she was a sinner oppressed by sexual immorality. Rather than picketing heror hating her, Jesus offered her the “living water” of eternal life (John 4:1-26).
Philip Johnson, “A Primer on Hyper-Calvinism,” 1998; http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/articles/hypercal.htm, (accessed March 1,2011).
13 Westboro Baptist Church, December 3, 2002, http://www.godhatesfags.com/fliers/archive/20021203_outlaw-sodomy.pdf.
14 Shirley Phelps-Roper’s position as spokesperson for the WBC seemsout of place. While there is a running debate within the Church onthe place of women in ministry, independent primitive Baptistchurches generally would not place women in a place of churchleadership over men.
15 The program aired October 3, 2006. A partial transcript titled“Radical Westboro Baptist Church Claims Amish Community WasPunished by and Angry God,” Fox News, October 5, 2006 can befound at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933, 217975,00.html(accessed March 1 2011).
16 Again, similar to the logic concerning a supposed connection betweenEd Rendell and the Pennsylvania Amish shooting, one has to wonderin the 2011 Tucson shooting tragedy, if God is mad at U.S.Representative Gabrielle Giffords, why has she survived the shootingbut others did not?
17 Video link found at: http://www.godhatesfags.com/# entitled “VideoNews: God Sent The Shooter to Arizona!” In exchange for air time onThe Steve Sanchez Show out of Phoenix, the WBC called off theprotest.
18 They write, “You Jews wouldn’t heed any of these warnings –including those of the Lord Jesus Christ – and you ended up beingslaughtered by the (however many there really were) millions by theNazis from 1939-1945. God did that to you!” http://www.jewskilledjesus.com/antisemitismfraud/index.htm.
19 “The Last 100 Years,” WBC, http://www.jewskilledjesus.com/antisemitismfraud/last100years.html (accessed Feb.16, 2011).
20 “FAQ,” WBC, http://www.godhatesfags. com/faq.html#Condemned(accessed Feb. 22, 2011).
21 Ibid.
22 WBC,August27,2006,http://www.godhatesfags.com/sermons/outlines/Sermon_20060827.pdf.
23 For a response against the pro-homosexual interpretation of this andother passages relating to homosexuality, see White, James R. andJeffrey D. Niell. The Same-Sex Controversy. [COLOR=rgb(20.000000%, 20.000000%, 20.000000%)]Minneapolis: BethanyHouse, 2002.[/COLOR]
24 To be fare, WBC does speak out against other sins. Homosexualityjust happens to be their greatest focus.
25 Recognizing that “natural disasters are judgments” from God, ErwinLutzer cautions us from connecting a “natural disaster” to certainsins. He writes,
So we are correct in saying natural disasters are judgments, butmistaken when we go beyond this and say that they target onlyone religion, one race, or even one particular kind of sinner. Yes,it may be true that the countries hit by the [2004] tsunami, suchas Thailand and Sri Lanka, were judged because of theirexploitation of children. But we must also ask, why was Bangkokspared, when it is the hub of the sex trade industry? Was NewOrleans a more sinful city than Las Vegas? Only God knows forsure if the tsunami and Katrina were targeted judgments forspecific sins.
Erwin W. Lutzer, Where Was God? Answers to Tough Questions aboutGod and Natural Disasters. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale, 2006, 64-65.Elsewhere the same author writes, “Let’s agree to never make suchpredictions [of when America will fall] because we cannot presume toknow God’s mind.” Erwin W. Lutzer, Is God on America’s Side?Chicago: Moody, 2008, 67.
26 See the works of Joe Dallas including The Complete Christian Guideto Understanding Homosexuality: A Biblical and CompassionateResponse to Same-Sex Attraction. (with Nancy Heche) Eugene, OR:Harvest House, 2010; The Gay Gospel?: How Pro-Gay AdvocatesMisread the Bible. Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2007; and A StrongDelusion: Confronting the “Gay Christian” Movement. Eugene, OR:Harvest House, 1996.
Notes
Profile is a regular publication of Watchman Fellowship, Inc. Readers are encouraged to begin their ownreligious research notebooks using these articles. Profiles are published by Watchman Fellowshipapproximately 6 times per year, covering subjects such as new religious movements, counterfeitChristianity, the occult, New Age Spirituality, and related doctrines and practices. Complete ProfileNotebooks containing all Profiles published to date are available. Please contact Watchman Fellowshipfor current pricing and availability. Copyright © 2011 by Watchman Fellowship. All rights reserved.
By Ben WilliamsonFounder: Fred W. Phelps, Sr.Founding Date: 1955Location: Topeka, KS
Organization Structure: The Westboro Baptist Church is led by Pastor Fred Phelps. Thechurch consists mostly of Phelps’ family. Sunday attendance is estimated around 70,mostly family members of Fred Phelps himself.1
Unique Activities: Protesting pro-homosexual events; picketing at dead soldiers’ funerals andother funerals of prominent personalities or tragedies; declaring judgment on nations andreligions including particularly Protestantism, Catholicism, and Judaism.
Unique Slogans: God hates America, God hates ****, Thank God for Dead Soldiers, Thank Godfor 9/11, Thank God for IEDs, Pray for More Dead Soldiers.
HISTORY
While Madalyn Murray O'Hair was called, “the most hated woman in America,” Fred Phelpsand his family have been dubbed “the most hated family in America.”2 The Westboro BaptistChurch3 (hereafter, WBC) is the product of Fred W. Phelps, Sr. According to the WBC website,
Fred Phelps was born Nov. 13, 1929, in Meridian, Mississippi...The summer followinggraduation, he had a profound religious experience, gave up West Point, enrolled insteadfor Bible/ministerial training at Bob Jones College, Cleveland, Tennessee (later movingwith them as they transitioned to Bob Jones University, Greenville, South Carolina).Ordained by the Southern Baptists Sept. 8, 1947. Met his wife, Margie M. Phelps, in 1951while preaching at the Arizona Bible Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. Their marriage May 15,1952 has been blessed of God with 13 children, 54 grandchildren (to date) and 7 great-grandchildren (to date). Has served as Pastor of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka,Kansas, since Nov. 1955. WBC has engaged in daily picketing demonstrations acrossAmerica and some foreign countries since 1991 -- aimed at showing Americans theirtransgression (Isa. 58:1) and causing America to know her abominations. Ezek. 16:2.4
Not only has Phelps served as pastor but also a career as an attorney. Phelps began thelaw firm Phelps-Charted in 1964. Today, that same law firm continues under four of hischildren.5
Early in Phelps’ career as a lawyer, he worked as civil rights leader. According to thePhelps-Chartered website,
During the 1960's, Mr. Phelps gained a reputation for handling cases that no otherattorney in the area would take. Most notably, he was the only white lawyer to represent agroup of African-American students...During his career, Mr. Phelps handled numerouscivil rights/discrimination cases. In addition to these matters, he was active in criminaldefense, consumer protection, and employment discrimination matters.6
Critics, however, have attempted to link Phelps to notorious racists such as Rev. PetePeters of La Porte, Colorado and the Christian Identity movement which teaches that, “thewhite race is God’s true Chosen People...Jews are animal souls...[and] Blacks are ‘mud people’who also possess animal souls-meaning they are not immortal and cannot go to heaven.”7Though Peters agrees with Phelps position on homosexuality, he has distanced himself from Phelps’ protesting activities by saying the WBC “push people towards tolerance [of] homosexualperverts.”8
Phelps has also had a political career. He has run as a Democrat for several Kansas races andwas even a supporter of Al Gore in the 1988 presidential run.
By the 1980s, Gage Park near Phelps’ home in Topeka, Kansas, had become a well-knownmeeting spot for homosexuals and alleged sexual encounters. In 1991, Phelps began picketingagainst homosexuality when he claims city officials did not respond to public complaints to policethe park.9
From those early days, Phelps and the WBC’s demonstrations have grown to picketing atvarious places including churches, and funerals of dead soldiers, celebrities, and victims oftragedies often because of some perceived connection to homosexuality.
WESTBORO BAPTIST BELIEFS
The WBC is an independent,10 primitive11 Baptist Church and is strongly hyper-Calvinist12.Their unusual application of their version of hyper-Calvinism gives them a basis for their hatred.This amounts to outright hatred of any person or group that is not a part of their church. Their logicis as follows: WBC is part of the elect. Only the elect will be saved. God loves only the elect. Godhates the non-elect. WBC also hates the non-elect. Therefore, WBC hates everybody else, especiallyhomosexuals and those somehow connected to homosexuals.
The WBC is best known for their protests on anything pro-gay. Homosexuality, however, is justone of several things that WBC focuses on. Some individuals that have been targeted by WBC areDick Cheney, Jerry Falwell, Billy Graham, Fred Rogers, Ronald Reagan and others. Oftenindividuals, organizations, or nations are targeted by WBC because of some supposed ties orconnections to homosexuality. WBC believes, “All nations must immediately outlaw sodomy(homosexuality) and impose the death penalty!”13
The tragedies that happen in the world today are supposedly God’s punishment. For instance,the tragic 2006 shooting of Amish schoolchildren in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania is said to bethe result of God punishing America. Shirley Phelps-Roper,14 daughter of Fred Phelps andspokesperson for WBC, claimed on Hannity & Colmes that the Amish girls deserved to die becausePennsylvania’s governor Ed Rendell had made unfavorable comments about the WBC. Therefore,God punished Rendell by the deaths of five Amish schoolgirls.15 One has to wonder, if it was Rendellthat had upset God, why did the schoolchildren have to die?
A more recent example is the 2011 shooting of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords and 21others by alleged gunman Jared Lee Loughner.16 WBC thanked God for the tragedy. On a videoposting on the WBC’s website, Fred Phelps states: “Westboro Baptist Church prays for moreshooters, more violent veterans, and more dead.”17 Arizona legislation preventing any picketingwithin 300 feet of a funeral was passed quickly after the WBC announced they would picket thefunerals associated with this tragedy.
WBC makes it clear that God hates America. This is clear from signs such as, “Thank God for9-11,” “Thank God for Dead Soldiers,” displaying the American flag upside down and trampling it onthe ground.
WBC also targets the Jews. On their website, jewskilledjesus.com, they state, “The Jews killedJesus. That fact will never change. They have never repented, and they try to bully into silenceanyone who states that fact.” WBC questions the number of Jews that died in the holocaust.18Concerning the future of the Jews, the same website states:
Your history is nearly complete Israel. Your doom is coming, and is bound up in the finaldestruction of all things (see 2 Peter 3). If you have a hear (sic) to know God, come out fromamong doomed Israel and OBEY. Forget about the land and your perceived persecution; FEARAND OBEY GOD. That is your only hope.19
It is important to note that WBC is not evangelistic in any traditional sense of the word. Theyare primarily not out to convert or make new disciples. Their ministry is one of picketing andproclaiming damnation on the world. When asked, “Do you ever pray for the salvation of those whoyou feel are condemned?” they respond, “Of course not! For, if we follow (as we ought) the exampleof our Saviour and the clear commandment of God, we would not dare to do so.”20
WBC sees themselves as the only ones doing God’s work. In the Hannity & Colmes interview,Alan Colmes asked, “Who serves God besides people in your church?” to which Phelps-Roperreplied, “Well, you tell me. I don't see anyone on the landscape in America.” 21 Also, under “How maywe know that we are God’s elect?,” they respond that only the elect are “Understanding and joyfullyembracing Calvinism” and “The elect are hated of all men and mercilessly persecuted.”22 Apparently,as evidence of their election, the saved must also be mercilessly persecuting the non-elect asdemonstrate by WBC.
CHRISTIAN RESPONSE
While the Bible does teach that homosexuality is a sin (Rom. 1:26-2723), the Bible also teachesthat it is not the only sin. For instance, in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, one of several “vice lists” in theBible, homosexuality is listed along side of sexual immorality, idolatry, greed, drunkenness andother sins. The faithful proclaimer of God’s Word must “not shrink from declaring...the wholepurpose of God” (Acts 20:27). This would include preaching against all sins, not justhomosexuality.24 It would also include offering the Good News gift of forgiveness of sin and eternallife through the atonement of Christ to all sinners (Luke 24:46) – including homosexual sinners.
WBC is guilty of committing the fallacy of false cause. That is, Phelps argues that Americansoldiers are dying because of America’s increasing acceptance of homosexuality. Yet, how does heexplain the death of soldiers from Muslim countries? Islamic nations are far less tolerant ofhomosexuality than America and yet their soldiers are dying too. It is ironic that the very nationPhelps denounces (America) is the very nation that gives him the very freedom to carry on hisactivities.
It is wrong to ascribe any and every disaster to God’s judgment and anger because of a nation’ssin. Not every good circumstance is proof of God’s approval nor is every bad event proof of God’sdivine judgment. Blessings (common grace) and tragedies fall on both “the evil and the good” on“the just and on the unjust” (Matt. 5:45). It is true in some cases such as Sodom, Gomorrah, andthe Canaanite cities (see Gen. 19:1-29; Lev. 18:21-30; Deut. 20:16) that God destroyed whole citiesand ordered their obliteration as a result of their wickedness. Because of special revelation providedin God’s word, we know these to be examples of divine judgment. These biblical examples are not,however, proof that all destruction comes as a result of God’s anger with sin nor does this give God’speople a license to destroy sinning cities today or an excuse to hate those who have sinned.25
Concerning the charge that it was the Jews who killed Jesus, the Bible teaches that it was notjust the Jews but the Romans also. Acts 4:27 places the blame on both Jews and Gentiles. In fact,verse 28 teaches that ultimately it was God who is responsible! Furthermore, Paul had a special lovefor his Jewish brethren and even wished to be accursed if that meant salvation for them! (Rom. 9:3).
Fred Phelps and the WBC do the exact opposite of the apostle Paul’s instructions in Ephesians4:15. There, we are told to be “speaking the truth in love.” While some of what WBC says is true (i.e.that homosexuality is a sin), WBC fails to love the sinner while hating the sin. Christians areexhorted to maintain the balance between truth and love. 1 Peter 3:15 exhorts us to “always beingprepared to make a defense...yet do it with gentleness and respect.” WBC rejoices when tragedystrikes and others die but Scripture says to “not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not yourheart be glad when he stumbles” (Prov. 24:17).
Concerning the love of God, while it is true that God has a special love for His own, this doesnot mean that God has no love towards those who are not Christians . After Jesus confronted theman who claimed to have followed all the commandments, the Bible says that Jesus “loved” him(Mark 10:21). There is no biblical evidence that this man turned to Christ and yet Christ still lovedhim. While WBC seems to glory when some tragedy occurs, even thanking God for the killer, Godtells us that He gets “no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his wayand live” (Ezek. 33:11).
Christians should always have a reasoned and Christ-like response to issues likehomosexuality.26 While Christians have utilized picketing as a way to express their concerns (i.e. atabortion clinics) and this certainly may be appropriate in some situations, the primary duty of theChurch is evangelism and discipleship (Matt. 28:19-20). When Jesus met the Samaritan woman atthe well, He knew that she was a sinner oppressed by sexual immorality. Rather than picketing heror hating her, Jesus offered her the “living water” of eternal life (John 4:1-26).
1 Some family members have left the fold, having nothing to do withthe father or the WBC, including four of his thirteen children. Oneexample is Fred’s son, Nathan, a professed atheist. On thedocumentary The Most Hated Family in America, reporter LouisTheroux asked Phelps how many children he has to which Phelpsrefuses to answer.
- 2 The phrase, “the most hated family in America,” comes from a BBCdocumentary of the same name done in 2007 that highlighted thePhelps family.
- 3 This Profile is not a criticism of all Baptist churches. Instead, itsfocus is on the history and theology of one particulargroup/individual that uses the name “Baptist.”
- 4 “Brief Bio of Pastor Fred Phelps,” WBC, Brief Biography of Westboro Baptist Church Pastor Fred Phelps (accessed Feb. 22, 2011).
- 5 Many of Phelps’ children hold law degrees.
- 6 Phelps-Chartered, http://www.phelpschartered.com/FirmHistory.htm (accessed Feb. 7, 2011).
- 7 Gay activists and critics of Phelps have staged counter-demonstrations with a “Million *** March” held annually at GagePark since 2008 as a “peaceful protest against the Westboro BaptistChurch.” See The 7th Annual Million "***" March - May 4th, 2014 (accessed March 1, 2011).
- 8 Archived Broadcasts, Scriptures for America, June 7, 2006,404 Not Found (accessed March 2011).
- 9 “Addicted to Hate,” Chapter 6. This text file is purported to be part ofa sealed court document dated June 2, 1994. The document alsoattempts to link Phelps to leaders in the Posse Comitatus and the KuKlux Klan. The file names a reporter, Jon Michael Bell, as one of theauthors. A copy of this document is archived on the website ofCarnegie Mellon School of Computer Science:http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/scotts/bulgarians/phelps-article.txt. A separate 4-page Profile has beenpublished on Christian Identity: Phillip Arnn and Rob Bowman,“Christian Identity,” Profile Notebook (Arlington, Texas: WatchmanFellowship, Inc. 1994-2011). A complete Profile Notebook (400-pages)is available at www.watchman.org/notebook.htm.
- 10 Independent churches are called as such because they areindependent of any denominational accountability. That is, they arenot “under” any overseer like bishop, convention, etc.
- 11 There is a disclaimer on the website “Primitive Baptist Online,”written by David Montgomery, Sept. 9, 2008 that says Fred Phelpsnor the WBC is recognized by the Primitive Baptist Church.Montgomery states, “We find the actions of these people to bedeplorable and against the very Scriptures they claim to believe.http://primitivebaptist.info/mambo/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=1434 (accessed March 1, 2011). PrimitiveBaptists arose as a reaction against the Southern BaptistConvention’s “denominational structure.” Noll writes,
For their resistance to the idea of outside, denominationalcontrol, these Baptists became known as ‘Primitive,’ ‘Old School,’‘Regular,’ ‘Hard Shell,’ or ‘Anti-Mission.’ These groups tended tobe determinedly Calvinistic, and they frowned on coordinatedmissionary or educational activity that took funds or personnelout of the control of individual churches.
Mark A. Noll, A History of Christianity in the United States andCanada. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992, 180.
- 12 Calvinism is based on the theology of the sixteenth-century SwissReformer John Calvin and is most often associated with “Reformed”and Presbyterian churches. Calvinism emphasizes the sovereignty ofGod, the condemned and helpless state of mankind because of sin,God’s efficacious work in drawing sinners to Himself, the power ofChrist’s atonement to guarantee salvation for eternity, and the scopeof Christ’s atonement as applicable only to God’s people (the elect),whom He has chosen before the foundation of the world. PhilipJohnson defines Hyper-Calvinism as a theological system that:
1. Denies that the gospel call applies to all who hear, OR
2. Denies that faith is the duty of every sinner, OR
3. Denies that the gospel makes any “offer” of Christ, salvation, or
mercy to the non-elect (or denies that the offer of divine mercy is
free and universal), OR
4. Denies that there is such a thing as “common grace,” OR5. Denies that God has any sort of love for the non-elect.
Philip Johnson, “A Primer on Hyper-Calvinism,” 1998; http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/articles/hypercal.htm, (accessed March 1,2011).
13 Westboro Baptist Church, December 3, 2002, http://www.godhatesfags.com/fliers/archive/20021203_outlaw-sodomy.pdf.
14 Shirley Phelps-Roper’s position as spokesperson for the WBC seemsout of place. While there is a running debate within the Church onthe place of women in ministry, independent primitive Baptistchurches generally would not place women in a place of churchleadership over men.
15 The program aired October 3, 2006. A partial transcript titled“Radical Westboro Baptist Church Claims Amish Community WasPunished by and Angry God,” Fox News, October 5, 2006 can befound at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933, 217975,00.html(accessed March 1 2011).
16 Again, similar to the logic concerning a supposed connection betweenEd Rendell and the Pennsylvania Amish shooting, one has to wonderin the 2011 Tucson shooting tragedy, if God is mad at U.S.Representative Gabrielle Giffords, why has she survived the shootingbut others did not?
17 Video link found at: http://www.godhatesfags.com/# entitled “VideoNews: God Sent The Shooter to Arizona!” In exchange for air time onThe Steve Sanchez Show out of Phoenix, the WBC called off theprotest.
18 They write, “You Jews wouldn’t heed any of these warnings –including those of the Lord Jesus Christ – and you ended up beingslaughtered by the (however many there really were) millions by theNazis from 1939-1945. God did that to you!” http://www.jewskilledjesus.com/antisemitismfraud/index.htm.
19 “The Last 100 Years,” WBC, http://www.jewskilledjesus.com/antisemitismfraud/last100years.html (accessed Feb.16, 2011).
20 “FAQ,” WBC, http://www.godhatesfags. com/faq.html#Condemned(accessed Feb. 22, 2011).
21 Ibid.
22 WBC,August27,2006,http://www.godhatesfags.com/sermons/outlines/Sermon_20060827.pdf.
23 For a response against the pro-homosexual interpretation of this andother passages relating to homosexuality, see White, James R. andJeffrey D. Niell. The Same-Sex Controversy. [COLOR=rgb(20.000000%, 20.000000%, 20.000000%)]Minneapolis: BethanyHouse, 2002.[/COLOR]
24 To be fare, WBC does speak out against other sins. Homosexualityjust happens to be their greatest focus.
25 Recognizing that “natural disasters are judgments” from God, ErwinLutzer cautions us from connecting a “natural disaster” to certainsins. He writes,
So we are correct in saying natural disasters are judgments, butmistaken when we go beyond this and say that they target onlyone religion, one race, or even one particular kind of sinner. Yes,it may be true that the countries hit by the [2004] tsunami, suchas Thailand and Sri Lanka, were judged because of theirexploitation of children. But we must also ask, why was Bangkokspared, when it is the hub of the sex trade industry? Was NewOrleans a more sinful city than Las Vegas? Only God knows forsure if the tsunami and Katrina were targeted judgments forspecific sins.
Erwin W. Lutzer, Where Was God? Answers to Tough Questions aboutGod and Natural Disasters. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale, 2006, 64-65.Elsewhere the same author writes, “Let’s agree to never make suchpredictions [of when America will fall] because we cannot presume toknow God’s mind.” Erwin W. Lutzer, Is God on America’s Side?Chicago: Moody, 2008, 67.
26 See the works of Joe Dallas including The Complete Christian Guideto Understanding Homosexuality: A Biblical and CompassionateResponse to Same-Sex Attraction. (with Nancy Heche) Eugene, OR:Harvest House, 2010; The Gay Gospel?: How Pro-Gay AdvocatesMisread the Bible. Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2007; and A StrongDelusion: Confronting the “Gay Christian” Movement. Eugene, OR:Harvest House, 1996.
Notes
Profile is a regular publication of Watchman Fellowship, Inc. Readers are encouraged to begin their ownreligious research notebooks using these articles. Profiles are published by Watchman Fellowshipapproximately 6 times per year, covering subjects such as new religious movements, counterfeitChristianity, the occult, New Age Spirituality, and related doctrines and practices. Complete ProfileNotebooks containing all Profiles published to date are available. Please contact Watchman Fellowshipfor current pricing and availability. Copyright © 2011 by Watchman Fellowship. All rights reserved.
