For years I’ve heard about the ignorant little church Westboro Baptist. They are the ones who picket military funerals. I’ve always assumed they were closed minded idiots but it wasn’t until I visited their web page that I really started to consider their vile form of insanity.
Their official web page is www.godhatesfags.com.
But gay folk are not their only targets. Apparently, according to Westboro God also hates Muslims, Jews, Whores, The Media, Sluts, Liars, The Adulterous, the Divorced…well…just about all of us, for one reason or another. ( I should warn my children now they will probably show up at my funeral too.)
They call the Pope the “Godfather of Pedophiles.” They claim the United States of America bombed their church to make them stop screaming about gay people. The don’t capitalize America because they think God hates us. (this of course begs the question “Why do you live here, than?”) They call Catholic churches Catholic Whore Houses and female politicians who opposed their picketing soldiers funerals are called whores too. And God hates whores.
It gets even better…or worse…depending on your sense of humor. They have a world map on the website. You can click on any country and a detailed explanation as to why God hates that country will pop up. The reasons are astonishing, countries get on God’s list for everything from idolatry to tattoo popularity. According to the map God hates Poland because of Aaron Katz – Poland’s first openly gay female rabbi. According to Westboro God hates the whole wide world, you and me and everyone else.
(Question in my head. If he hates me why did he give me such wonderful children?)
As far as I can see, the Westboro God only hates…nothing else. Their views are so bleak and horrendous they don’t really make me mad, just sad, because they believe God is so ugly and hateful.
By most accounts Westboro only has approximately 50 members. So I looked up some stats on the American population. This might be bad news for Westboro.
1. 3.4-5.0 percent of Americans identify themselves as Gay. That means Westboro probably has one or two gay folk hiding in the closet.
2. Roughly eight percent of Americans struggle with alcoholism so they probably have at least four drunks stumbling around in their ranks and “God Hates drunks”.
3. Roughly nine percent of Americans use some for of illegal drug on a regular basis. So there might very well be four or five stoners or pill poppers marching around with their “God Hates America” signs.
4. Fifty percent of American marriages end in divorce and according to Westboro God hates those people too. I’m sure there are divorcees posing as Christians at Westboro. Does Pastor Fred know?
5. And finally sixty to seventy percent of married Americans commit adultery at some point during their marriage. If Wesboro has just fifteen married couples half of them have probably stepped out for a little “strange” at some point. do they still get to hold the hateful picket signs?
What a sorry lot of Christians that Westboro seems to be. We are all a sorry lot, flawed from day one, mired in our sin and ignorance. Still, I know God loves us. And I know He doesn’t want us to hate one another.
In Matthew 22:37 Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38:This is the first and greatest commandment. And in verse 39 He went on to say “And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
Love your neighbor as yourself….humm….even the Gay, Jewish, Catholic, Drunk Whores. yeah, I think so.
This very same sentiment and commandment is repeated several times in the bible. So that’s what I’m going to go with. No maps of hate, no pathetic picket signs or ugly words.
I have to wonder, how can Westboro possibly know what God is saying, thinking or feeling? They never seem to shut-up long enough to listen to Him.