On Wednesday, a jury in Baltimore awarded nearly $11 Million to the father of a fallen Marine whose funeral was protested by the fundamentalist folks of the Westboro Baptist Church. If you aren’t familiar with Westboro or their ringleader Fred Phelps, check out the wikipedia article here. In short, they are a religious hate group claiming to be a church who take an ‘anti’ stance on just about everything from homosexuality to Sweden. This group has even been to Asheville in the past, picketing outside several local churches.
I am frustrated and heartbroken over groups like this, because their message has nothing to do with Jesus, or his gospel and yet, sometimes I think that I am painted with the same broad brush as these people when the words ‘Christian’ or ‘Church’ come up. I desperatly want to see the people of my city come to faith in Christ, but it feels like with every step forward, we take two steps back because of messages like theirs that make front page news. How can the message of the gospel become so twisted and misaligned? How is it that people can be deceived into believing that God’s message to the world is, “I hate you”?
I live in a city where the homosexual population is over 100% higher than the national average. The cohabitation rate is high. Liberal politics are in. Everyone is spiritual, but no one knows who God is. Do these people need Jesus? Absolutely! How will they hear the message of Jesus? Picketing, protesting, and street preaching? Probably not.
Don’t get me wrong. The message of the cross can be, will be an offense to some. People do not want to hear that they are sinners, that God’s wrath is upon them, that they must repent. But that is all of us, and it is only half the story. The good news is that God is merciful, and sent himself in the flesh, Jesus, to absorb God’s wrath, take away our guilt and shame, and make a way for us to be redeemed. That is where our hope is, in the glorious gospel!
The Scriptures are clear that the cross will be a stumbling block to some. But let the cross be a stumbling block, not the church. I pray that people would not stumble over Jesus because of people like Fred Phelps. I pray that this man and his church would repent of their outright biggotry and hatred, and I pray that the message of Jesus would go forth powerfully in my own city.
I have the same concerns about how people will view Christianity because of this madman’s actions. I actually just blogged about this over at my site, http://www.angelawd.wordpress.com.
I agree with you that we as Christians should never be stumbling blocks for the unbelievers – let the cross do its work. Thanks for sharing your view.
By: angelawd on November 1, 2007
at 4:53 pm
Please. People are not going to reject Christianity because of this man’s actions. People reject Christianity because they want to live in sin. Seriously, who doesn’t know that the Bible condemns homosexuality? For that matter, who doesn’t know that the Bible condemns usury, mistreatment of the poor, and even idle gossip? So the real story here isn’t the false doctrine of Westboro Baptist Church. If that was the case there are plenty of so – called Christians that preach false doctrines without having $11 million judgments against them because they manage not to offend anyone in the public square in the course of doing so. Instead, this was about people making constitutionally protected religious and political speech in a legal manner (despite what folks would like you to believe, they did not commit harassment, stalking, threatenings, invasion of privacy, or even so much as trespass, for if they had you certainly know that they would have been convicted and given the harshest possible punishments, do not pretend otherwise) receiving an $11 million judgment against them because people did not hear what they have to say. An $11 million judgment against them today, prison for you when the state doesn’t want to hear what you have to say tomorrow. No, I am not just talking about “social conservative” stuff like homosexuality and abortion either. The government also does not want to hear what the Bible has to say about unjust wars, an economic and criminal justice policy that unfairly treats the poor, globalism, and allowing a general state of lawlessness to pervade our society. Both parties have a hand in these things, and would be very anxious to shut anyone who opposes them up. This court decision just made it a lot easier for them to do so in the future. So while you are pondering the possibility that some fellow will use the actions of a single church of 75 parishioners, almost all of whom are members of the same extended family, as an excuse to remain in sin, take a break from it and consider what the outcome of this case may mean for those who want to speak righteousness on any issue.
http://healtheland.wordpress.com/2007/11/01/so-the-war-between-church-and-state-begins-with-fred-phelps/
By: healtheland on November 1, 2007
at 5:28 pm
Sorry to keep disagreeing with you, Health, but many people do in fact look extremist acts and make judgements about an entire religion as a result.
I hear your concerns about what this means for free speech, and like you, I think that we should be very cautious in how we proceed with free speech issues. As Christians we have a lot to protect.
By: angelawd on November 1, 2007
at 5:57 pm
i saw a member of that church on the news the other night….i could only shake my head.
For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” -Romans 2:24
grace and peace
By: Daniel on November 1, 2007
at 6:15 pm
I wish these people would emasculate themselves!
By: NikatNight on November 10, 2007
at 1:17 am
nice meeting you at misseo last sunday brian
brent
By: revolu on November 15, 2007
at 9:02 am
yes our freedom of speech is protected, but it is still against the law to commit libel ( the publication of blasphemous, treasonable, seditious, or obscene writings or pictures ) did you catch that? “Blasphemous” and “Obsene writings or pictures” they do those things every time they show their faces with those terrible signs. i have a young son, and i wouldnt want him to say any of the things these people have said because it is vulgar, OBSENE, and one blaspheme after another… these people should be sued until they go bankrupt and have nothing left but the spam in their cupboards and filthy rags on their backs.
By: angela on January 27, 2008
at 1:21 pm