That there are homophobes out there -- real, virulent gay haters -- is not news. And I've already detailed my disdain in particular for those who gay-hate in the name of God.
Nor is it news that everyone's got an opinion about what's going on with our soldiers in Iraq.
But can you imagine someone actually conflating their disdain for gays with the deaths of American soldiers?
You could play that horrid game of mental Twister if you'd heard of the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas. Fred Phelps, the pastor of this so-called church, and his... -- his flock? His lemmings? -- believe that all soldiers' deaths are divine retribution for America's tolerance of homosexuals.
Just to sum up: God is killing service men and women because America is sooooo unbelievably tolerant of gays.
And if you really want to believe that, fine. Go sit in a corner and believe while intelligent people try to actually deal with the war and its human cost.
Problem is, this Westboro bunch chooses to not sit in some corner. They actively seek to inflict emotional pain in perhaps the most deranged manner possible; traveling the country showing up at the funerals of fallen soldiers - not gay soldiers, or soldiers who openly advocated inclusion. Just soldiers who gave their lives for their country. The group then heckles the families of the fallen at their supreme hour of grief. Throwing out lines and holding up posters like: "Thank God for Dead Soldiers," and "God Hates Fags."
Pithy.
The conduct of these..."people" is not just depraved. It's illegal. Well, to a point.
The parents of one soldier whose funeral the Westboro flock berated sued the church. The church was found liable and hit up with an eleven million dollar verdict.
The verdict may be overturned on issues of free speech. As a believer in the freedom of speech to a degree I would accept that.
But I also accept that not all speech is protected. The family sued the church for emotional distress and invasion of privacy, and some states disregard "free speech" under such circumstances.
Time will tell how this suit ultimately tumbles.
Certainly hitting the Westboro bunch up for all the money in the world won't make them understand that God loves rather than hates. There are those who believe punitive damages are exactly the wrong way to punish such mongers. But at least this judgment is one step toward truly putting their broke behinds in a corner where they can huddle alone with nothing but their own hate to keep them warm.
Until they end up someplace that's, well, hot as hell.
Amarnath Amarasingam: The Westboro Baptist Church's Search for the Jewish 'Elect'
Unless these people do as Jesus said they should do, they are not Christians and are guilty of false advertising. Perhaps we could say that they belong to the "Hateful People's Organization."
Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press...
However, that DOESN'T limit an individual's right to seek recourse against another individual for intentional infliction of emotional distress, which is exactly what these guys did. The First Amendment is all about government restriction of speech, not private speech. Why isn't that front and center here?
Seek Solitude in nature and spend hours contemplating life, death, eternity, existence, the meaning of everything, God's purpose in creation, etc etc etc
And be sure to leave your headphones/cellphone/Ipod whatever,
somewhere else. (important)
It requires no church, pastor, priest or pundit----Just YOU, nature (forest, field, mountain, stream, beach, sand dune, etc), and NO OTHER PEOPLE AROUND (or at least nearby).
For all those who do this honestly,
It gets results, I promise.
Obviously, some people will be afraid,
or skeptical.
But this process led the Transcendentalists to insightful and very moral conclusions such as: Slavery is wrong;Men & Women are equal;Nature is precious and must be preserved and protected; Technological "progress" has a dark, freedom-limiting aspect, etc etc etc etc
Meanwhile, many organized churches of the time (1840s/50s/60s) actively supported slavery and the inferiority of women, and commonly used the Bible to back it up!
The Bible & organized religion----Often polluted by human priorities like greed and power-lust.
Nature and a person alone with themselves and their "inner voice"----A much surer and trustable route to spirituality.
And you don't have to build a cabin by a pond like Thoreau---You can do it in your own backyard watching the hummingbirds
amidst the flowers!!
Ohg.
http://thefireside.wordpress.com/2007/11/01/thank-god-for-dead-soldiers/
Makes it that much easier to do such terrible things in the name of God.
This is a case in point: how could a just God, a loving God, a tolerant God, allow this kind of sickening behavior to be carried out in his name? At the very least their tour bus, or trailer or whatever, should be carried away by some natural disaster, if not struck by lightning. Some sort of old testament, divine retribution should be levied here. But I guess we'll just have to settle for the court decision to take all their money.
At least we can take comfort in the fact that Fred Phelps and his flock of festering freaks will burn in Hell for eternity for their sins against humanity.
Until then, ignore them the best you can
Robertson has just endorsed Giuliani... See?