Westboro Baptist Church is not affiliated, as far as I know, with any type of Baptist church, Southern Baptist or otherwise. I'll expand upon this later in this writeup.
Aside from opponents and others listed in the aforementioned writeups, Fred Phelps also employs the detestable practice of picketing funerals. He's picketed the funerals of AIDS victims, those who worked for gay rights, politicians and the families of politicians (He picketed the funeral of Bill Clinton's mother) and gained national media attention by picketing the funeral of Matthew Shepard, who was beaten and left for dead because he was gay.
On a side note, Matthew Shepard eventually died of his injuries after days on life support. A bit of bitter irony here is that while Shepard had nobody to protect his life when it was in danger, Fred Phelps and his cult of hate had a barricade as well as police protection so that he could spread his message of hate without harm coming to him or his followers.
As well as picketing the funeral of Matthew Shepard, Phelps maintains "a Gospel memorial to poor Matthew Shepard" at http://www.godhatesfags.com/memorial.html which includes:
Matthew Shepard has been in hell for X days. Eternity - X days = Eternity
(X, FYI representing a number generated some type of server script)
On the death of Matthew Shepard and the Westboro Baptist Church picket of Shepard's funeral, Phelps has this to say on the "memorial" page listed above:
When Matthew Shepard died on October 12, 1998, every pervert in this country (from Bill Clinton on down) used his death as a soap box to promote so-called "gay rights." In religious protest of this, WBC picketed the funeral of Matthew Shepard, to inject a little truth and sanity into the irrational orgy of lies consuming this world.
Thanks to Wharfinger for poiting out to me that truly warped bit of irony. Quoth the Wharfinger: "Sanity? SANITY?!"
As for his picketing of churches, I've seen his group picket a church once, though Fred Phelps himself was conspicuous in his absence. This was the picket of the Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Ames, Iowa. He was picketing because Rev. Steve Sabin was homosexual, and the Southeastern Iowa Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) was considering action against Rev. Steve Sabin and the Lord of Life Lutheran Church because of Steve Sabin's homosexual relationship with Karl von Uhl. A minister of a Baptist Church in Ames (I don't recall the affiliation, but I know it was a mainstream Baptist church, unlike the Westboro Baptist Church) wrote a letter to Fred Phelps stating that while he agreed that homosexuality was a sin, he did not think the actions of Phelps were in "the spirit of Christ". Phelps didn't hesitate to then call this conservative preacher a "sodomite".
The following are a few examples of the signs that Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church uses in it's pickets (some of them seen in the photo at http://www.godhatesfags.com/images/acf.jpg):
Incidentally, Fred Phelps uses the labels "fag" and "sodomite" interchangeably for pretty much anyone who doesn't agree with him wholeheartedly.
For some of the details about the Iowa Synod, the ELCA, and the proceedings, I used the following website: http://www.execpc.com/~deaven/Opinions/proof.html
Fred Phelps is the minister of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas and an arch-homophobe. He is also the owner of the www.godhatesfags.com web site.
He likes to travel the country "protesting". Recently we had him here in College Park, Maryland. This was taken from a flyer at UMCP "WBC to picket fag-infested Univ. of Maryland at the football game vs. North Carolina State, The Laramie Project fag play, and 5 queer-friendly pseudo churches -- Nov. 8-10 schedule below -- in religious protest & warning: 'God is not mocked!' God Hates Fags! and Fag-Enablers! Ergo, God hates Pres. C.D. Mote, Jr., his administration, staff, faculty, alumni, and student body!"
Well, my son does stage crew and this did not fly with him so we/me (I'm the internet researcher in the house) did some digging to try to come up with counter slogans to the "God sent AIDS to Kill Fags" genre of posters. So sad, we were really looking for some awful tragedy to mock but it seems the worst that God has done to Topeka is cause droughts and floods, killer winter storms and killer summer heat...."God sent hot and cold to kill your corn and soy beans" just didn't have the right ring. Topeka has more emergency preparedness information but less emergencies than I could have imagined. We are sorry Topeka, we were not good people that day. We couldn't find a catchy counter slogan, this is probably a good thing.
We talked to a friend in Kansas City, Kansas. Peggy says Phelps goes everywhere protesting and the people in Kansas hate his actions. He even protests at funerals - that of a doctor in Kansas City who worked with the poor and that of Matthew Shepard were two examples she gave us. She said the Kansas police who are familiar with Phelps and Friends make them hold the line but when they go places where they are not known they frequently push past the legal physical line that protestors are not supposed to cross. It may help to for your police to know this ahead of time if Phelps and Friends come to your town.
Some other URLs found in our search: www.godhatesfigs.com and www.godhatesfredphelps.com and www.godhatesfundies.com all satires...which are well and good when one needs the humor to defuse the anger but when one needs a bit of sustenance there is also www.godlovesfags.com (Thanks to cbustapeck for pointing out this overwhelmingly positive website.)
and www.blank.org/addict/orig.addict.html "Addicted to Hate" chronicling the life and times of a Fred Phelps lawsuit - amazingly icky stuff.
But all are not so evil as the "Rev" Phelps: In a reference to www.godhatesfags.com another minister said. "If you want hate, you will find it there. These self proclaimed "Christians" stand and condemn homosexuals, not accepting that they are children of God, loved by God as each and every one of us are. Rev. Phelps says, "It's too late to rescue Matthew Shepard from the life of sin and shame to which he was lured by the perverted, depraved and decadent American society into which he was born. All who say, `It's o.k. to be gay.', have the blood of Matthew and millions more on their hands." Rev. Phelps is the one who organized members of his congregation to go by bus from Topeka, Kansas to Laramie, Wyoming to protest at Matthew Shepard's funeral, to condemn him and all gays. Rev. Phelps said Matthew Shepard's blood is on our hands if we show any understanding or acceptance or love for those who are gay." This was a part of the Children's Sabbath sermon preached by the Rev. Walter Boris on 10/18/1998 as he encouraged his congregation to become "open and affirming"; "a congregation that welcomes gays and lesbians, bi-sexual and transgendered people, as children of God, deserving of their love" www.kccucc.org/sermons/1998/1998-10-18.htm
I am happy to say I just peeked at the web page and the Kirkland Congregational Church now proclaims themselves to be an Open and Affirming Church on their splash page of http://www.kccucc.org/. This came from Rev. Boris's rejection of Fred Phelps! Good from evil...you know...look at the bright side and all.
We never did find a counter slogan we liked but it is over here, Phelps has left Maryland. Beware, he may hit your town next. /msg me if you come up with something catchy to share (but not so mean to the innocent people of Kansas. We were mad and spiteful that day).
unperson says I wanted to do something against Phelps, but in the end I decided ignoring him was probably the best course. He seems to feed on conflict, and since at the university his view is clearly not prevalent, I decided it was best to emphasize how irrelevant and uninteresting it is. I think the best ideas against it, though, were the ones that used his protests to raise money for gay advocacy groups. I also found the godhatesfigs website, and I really wanted to print the pamphlets they had and go stage a mock protest complete with anti-fig signs. The thing is that he has no real rational arguments or coherent message, just irrational hate. There is no rational counterpoint to that, but you can show how ridiculous it is.
Jet-Poop says Y'all could try what's been used against the KKK a few times: Collect pledges for every minute that the protest goes on, with all contributions going to anti-hate organizations, AIDS charities, gay rights organizations, etc. If someone pledges a dollar per minute, and Phelps goes on for a half-hour, that's $30 in the bag. And it's important to set up a large clock where he can see it, so he'll know y'all are keeping track of how long he's going and how much his efforts are benefiting his opponents. Also, the guy thrives on other people hating him, so it's best if he sees either lots of smiling faces or, perhaps better, no one paying real attention to him at all...
But Lady Midnight says "Interestingly, the idea that Jet-Poop poses that you have at the end of your Fred Phelps w/u is now mentioned/detailed on the godhatesfags.com site. http://www.godhatesfags.com/main/millions.html
I checked this out and it is indeed correct. See: http://www.godhatesfags.com/fliers/may2001/Knight_Ridder_Letter_5-13-2001.pdf
and http://www.godhatesfags.com/main/millions.html
cbustapeck says I find the best solution is to just be happy around such people.... they just don't get it.
Radar says re Fred Phelps - It's an old joke, but I might have an anti-Phelps poster slogan for you. "Q: What's the difference between Fred Phelps and God? A: God doesn't think he's Fred Phelps".
12/24/02 I was also told the Associated Press had " something about Fred Phelps the other day that said that he always has people videotaping his protests, so if anyone touches him, he can sue them. So Freddy should always be treated as 'hands-off'."
Jan.'06 Poor God, with such a "representative" http://www.godhatesfags.com/fliers/jan2006/20060104_twelve-dead-miners.pdf
In addition to his profane statements about gay people, Phelps has taken up a new object of hatred: America.
Fred has started a sister site, creatively titled www.godhatesamerica.com. On Sept. 11th, 2001, Fred and his merry band of followers were seen trotting about his hometown of Topeka, KA, carrying signs that read "FDNY (the New York Fire Department) IN HELL". Fred also posted the following message on his web site:
"The Rod of God hath smitten fag America! ... At left is the filthy face of fag evil. (Hijacked American Airlines pilot) David Charlebois. One of the hundreds of fags and dykes and fag-/dyke-enablers working for American Airlines... . If the fags have a secret funeral for David Charlebois -- in order to frustrate WBC's plan to picket his funeral -- WBC will picket his house... . The multitudes slain Sept. 11, 2001, are in Hell -- forever!" (1)
In the months following 9/11, Fred also claimed that murdered New York Times reporter Daniel Pearl, the seven astronauts who died in the space shuttle Columbia disaster, and even children's television show host Fred Rogers ("Mister Rogers' Neighborhood") were suffering similar fates. For even though these people had not been gay, they had not been preaching Fred's message of a Biblical Reconstructionist America where gay people are executed for being gay. Therefore, they were all labeled "fag-enablers", and confined to the same fate as gays.
I will put it as simply as this: Fred Phelps is, by no means, a man of God. He is a man who picks and chooses from the Bible to further his own malicious ranting. I try not to be judgmental, but I truly believe that Fred will be first against the wall when Jesus comes again.
Footnotes (1) Southern Poverty Law Center. "Reaping the Whirlwind". Winter 2001. http://www.splcenter.org/cgi-bin/goframe.pl?dirname=/.&pagename=sitemap.html
2ND UPDATE
It is not enough that Fred has damned Matthew Shepherd to Hell, picketed his funeral with signs that read "AIDS CURES FAGS" and other cheerful bon mots, and placed a ticker on his website (godhatesfags.com) that illustrates how long Matthew Shepherd has "been in Hell." Now, he's taking his hatred to Matthew Shepherd's hometown, Capser, Wyoming.
365gay.com reports that Phelps has petitioned for a "memorial" to Matthew Shepherd that would be erected in downtown Casper. The monument would be 5 to 6 feet high, made of marble or granite, and bear a plaque:
"MATTHEW SHEPARD, Entered Hell October 12, 1998, in Defiance of God's Warning: 'Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind; it is abomination.' Leviticus 18:22."
Sadly, it appears that there is nothing that would prevent Phelps from erecting such a monument. This is due to the fact that, in 1965, the city of Casper erected a monument depicting the Ten Commandments in the same park where Phelps plans to erect the statue. Phelps is arguing that if one part of Scripture is represented on public property, then any other part of Scripture can be represented on that selfsame property. He has also made it known that if he does not get his way, he will sue the city of Casper.
My only interaction with the infamous Mr. Phelps was five years ago in Boise, Idaho. I had recently been spit forth from a much beleaguered cross-country Greyhound bus and was ambling my lonely way around with no particular aim; I crossed State St. to 27th and headed south into town. A beautiful day in late June I had my head in the clouds as I rounded a bend in the road. On the other side, kitty-corner to me, were two groups of demonstrators separated by a side street. The crowd closest to me were shaking signs and shouting loudly while the further group sang and danced around in an apparent parody of their competing protestors.
My squinting myopia kept the signs blurred and the general throng of noise was unintelligible until I was far too close. "Thank God for 9-11" and "Fags Die and God Laughs" signs were turning towards me and the jeering becoming pointed in my direction. The slogans and frothing hate are familiar to anyone not raised in a deep cave and certainly not to someone of my... persuasions. I became familiar years ago with the hate filled ranting of Mr. Phelps as he brought his family out from the dark underbelly of religion into the limelight by picketing Matthew Shepard's funeral. The bilious feelings this man and his ignorant hate mongering rises in me are beyond rational words but I never conceived that I would, one day, stare him down. I realized that even from a distance I looked the part of his hated female fag with short hair, combat boots. Their nasty crowd began taunting me (about my forthwith decent into hell and the sins of my perceived homosexuality) and crossing the street to where I stood-jaw agape at the reality of what I was seeing. I didn't want to ignore them and walk/run faster but acknowledge that there is no rationalizing with them.
While pondering my quickly approaching problem I was suddenly surrounded by no less than a half dozen drag queens dressed in billowing white gowns replete with long wings and glistening silver halos. They circled me and ran, diagonally, to a fenced in building across from Phelps's screaming mob. I was served cold tea, met the folks who fled, selflessly, to my salvation and was invited to the protests after party. In short, I can thank Mr. Phelps for handing me over to some of the finest, gayest, most upstanding and community oriented people in Boise.
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