I read online today that the Westboro Baptist Church will be protesting a military funeral in my area. In case you aren’t familiar with the church:

The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is an independent Baptist church known for its stance against homosexuality and its protest activities, which include picketing funerals and desecrating the American flag. The church is widely described as a hate group and is monitored as such by the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center. It is headed by Fred Phelps and consists mostly of members of his large family; in 2007, it had 71 members.

After reading about their protest I felt the need to quickly post this response. I feel this need mostly because I am offended that they would even consider calling themselves Christian. The Westboro Baptist Church spreads a gospel of bigotry and hatred. They peddle an image of God that is anything like the one that we find in Scripture. They use fear to try and scare people into believing, but in the end they only come off as ignorant and pathetic.

The God that they claim to represent is not the same God that I serve. They act as if God is sitting just waiting to pronounce judgment on anyone who errs. This is not what we read in Scripture. Romans 5:7-9 tells us: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

It is because of people like Fred Phelps and his followers that the message of Christianity has become tarnished. It is also because of people like Fred Phelps and his followers that those who profess faith in Christ, those who are trying to follow Christ’s example, must be even more diligent in how they profess their own faith. As followers of Christ we must practice his example of loving others as He loved us and following the command Jesus gave us in Matthew 22:37-39: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

I’d be remiss as I close to not point out that it is often judgmental people like Fred Phelps who are the greatest hypocrites of all. They preach a gospel of hatred and point their fingers at others all because they are secretly hoping that no one will notice the planks in their own eyes.