Westboro Baptist Church coming to school

[Davidizer13]

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, the Fred Phelps Family Phun-bus is coming to my very own [insert hometown name here]! They're doing a whirlwind tour of some local colleges, the local Bible college (...yeah), a couple high schools and a synagogue.

Yeah, they're the [s]church[/s] [s]cult[/s] family that believes that God is punishing the world for accepting homosexuality, and that He hates pretty much everyone on Earth. Except if you're in their church, in which case that makes you OK. Oh, and forget all that stuff you heard about the infinite grace of God, because that time has passed, apparently. Also, get rid of all your English translations of the Bible. All of them, because they were translated by evil gay people - even the King James, because in Romans 9:22, it says "What if God, willing to shew his wrath..." when it should say "God is willing to..." because it's not like Paul's talking about a hypothetical situation or anything.

...I could go on, but...yeah, these people are pretty much nuts. I mean, I oppose gay rights, but I'm not trying to redefine God's word and simultaneously ignoring what it actually says. But on the other hand, they have the right to protest, and someone I heard made the statement that the (US Constitution's) First Amendment was made to protect people who are on the fringe, making the most outrageous statements - nobody has to protect my right to say that I love puppies, after all, because almost everyone agrees with that, but if I say something that nearly nobody agrees with, then that's when I need the right to say it. Something like that.

Anyway, it sounds like someone I know is going to the counter-protest and just praying; it's a lot better than my idea of making an "Ezekiel 23:20" sign and trying to make a mockery of the whole thing - Lord knows plenty of people have that planned already. I guess the whole point of this thing is to pray for the protesters and their church, that they would be shown the love of God, and that I can do what I can to show that not all Christians are filled with hatred like them, and that some actually try to love people in spite of their sins (after all, without Jesus' redemption, I'm no better off than anyone else in that regard, and even then, I'm still a sinner) instead of simply condemning them.

[Atria35]

Well, praying for you and the people they encounter. I'm not a fan of them myself, but your friend is right about the first amendment and what it protects. But..... They're just so angry. It's very saddening. So I'm praying that they also see the kindness and love that others can have.

[Lynna]

Wow. Scary. I'll definaitly be praying

[Yamamaya]

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, the Fred Phelps Family Phun-bus is coming to my very own [insert hometown name here]! They're doing a whirlwind tour of some local colleges, the local Bible college (...yeah), a couple high schools and a synagogue.

Yeah, they're the [s]church[/s] [s]cult[/s] family that believes that God is punishing the world for accepting homosexuality, and that He hates pretty much everyone on Earth. Except if you're in their church, in which case that makes you OK. Oh, and forget all that stuff you heard about the infinite grace of God, because that time has passed, apparently. Also, get rid of all your English translations of the Bible. All of them, because they were translated by evil gay people - even the King James, because in Romans 9:22, it says "What if God, willing to shew his wrath..." when it should say "God is willing to..." because it's not like Paul's talking about a hypothetical situation or anything.

...I could go on, but...yeah, these people are pretty much nuts. I mean, I oppose gay rights,

I'm going to try to avoid a political conversation but let me just say to choose your words carefully. When you say, "I oppose gay rights" that almost sounds like you disagree with them receiving basic human rights such as freedom of privacy, speech, etc. I understand what you're trying to say, but just be careful.

but I'm not trying to redefine God's word and simultaneously ignoring what it actually says. But on the other hand, they have the right to protest, and someone I heard made the statement that the (US Constitution's) First Amendment was made to protect people who are on the fringe, making the most outrageous statements - nobody has to protect my right to say that I love puppies, after all, because almost everyone agrees with that, but if I say something that nearly nobody agrees with, then that's when I need the right to say it. Something like that.

.

I completely agree. The best thing to do at the moment is pray for the WBC. Arguing with them seems to accomplish nothing. Respond to their hatred with love.

[TWWK]

I saw a part of a documentary on them online...the teenagers are terribly brainwashed. It's sad, because they're normal, nice, energetic young teens, except with this horribly twisted theology.

[Radical Dreamer]

First of all, I want to say that I will definitely be praying! This kind of thing is really ridiculous, and in fact, my school just had a "Christian" group come to campus today to protest and shout to students about how they're all going to hell in a handbasket. XD The good news is, an event like this has the potential to allow a lot of communication and healthy discussion amongst the crowd, and most certainly can be turned within the crowd to share Christ, instead of besmearing His name in His name. The thing is, groups like these absolutely thrive on the responses they get, whether they're good or bad (and a big guess from me says they want the bad responses so they can claim they're being "persecuted" in the name of Jesus). Something I learned today is that engaging with people like this in an attempt to change their minds is pretty much a fruitless endeavor, but engaging them so that others can hear the Truth? Totally worth it. XD

Anyways, item #2, let's keep this thread to mostly praying for the situation, and not bashing on WBC. I think we have a pretty universal opinion on them, and I also think we need to remember that as horrible as their methods are, we are still supposed to love them as Jesus would.

[mechana2015]

First of all, I want to say that I will definitely be praying! This kind of thing is really ridiculous, and in fact, my school just had a "Christian" group come to campus today to protest and shout to students about how they're all going to hell in a handbasket. XD The good news is, an event like this has the potential to allow a lot of communication and healthy discussion amongst the crowd, and most certainly can be turned within the crowd to share Christ, instead of besmearing His name in His name. The thing is, groups like these absolutely thrive on the responses they get, whether they're good or bad (and a big guess from me says they want the bad responses so they can claim they're being "persecuted" in the name of Jesus). Something I learned today is that engaging with people like this in an attempt to change their minds is pretty much a fruitless endeavor, but engaging them so that others can hear the Truth? Totally worth it. XD

I've never seen this happen. I've just seen all the christians on campus presumed to be associated with the 'protesting group' and of the same type of beliefs.

[Radical Dreamer]

I've never seen this happen. I've just seen all the christians on campus presumed to be associated with the 'protesting group' and of the same type of beliefs.

Yeah, I only say that because it's what happened at my school today. XD In fact, one of the students actually grabbed an empty stool and started preaching the Truth, and preaching against their wrongheaded approach to evangelism. XD It was pretty cool!

[Atria35]

I've never seen this happen. I've just seen all the christians on campus presumed to be associated with the 'protesting group' and of the same type of beliefs.

The same thing actually happened to me a few weeks ago. It's really cool that RD saw a girl stand up against those types of evangelicals, but I didn't at my campus, and that was rather sad.

[Davidizer13]

So it turns out that I'm not going to be on campus when the WBC shows up at my college. Ah well, I wasn't going to show up at the protest anyway (more on that later).

Well, praying for you and the people they encounter. I'm not a fan of them myself, but your friend is right about the first amendment and what it protects.

Actually, that was someone on NPR who said that,discussing a court case the church has been involved with. They did their usual show at a soldier's funeral, whose father sued and won, but it got overturned on the appeal, and now the Supreme Court is dealing with it on the second appeal.

I'm going to try to avoid a political conversation but let me just say to choose your words carefully. When you say, "I oppose gay rights" that almost sounds like you disagree with them receiving basic human rights such as freedom of privacy, speech, etc. I understand what you're trying to say, but just be careful.

Got it, I should have made that clearer. Of course I believe that they shouldn't be denied basic human rights]. The thing is, groups like these absolutely thrive on the responses they get, whether they're good or bad (and a big guess from me says they want the bad responses so they can claim they're being "persecuted" in the name of Jesus). Something I learned today is that engaging with people like this in an attempt to change their minds is pretty much a fruitless endeavor, but engaging them so that others can hear the Truth? Totally worth it. XD[/QUOTE]

Right, right; they're basically just real-life Internet trolls. If nobody was to come to the protests and respond to them, I don't think they'd be protesting. However, there's already going to be a counter-protest tailing them at every stop, and they're protesting to snarky, disaffected college students, so there'll be some people around to egg them on.

Anyways, item #2, let's keep this thread to mostly praying for the situation, and not bashing on WBC. I think we have a pretty universal opinion on them, and I also think we need to remember that as horrible as their methods are, we are still supposed to love them as Jesus would.

You're right; I can't hate them, because if I did, I'd be bringing myself down to their level. Their theology and actions are despicable and disturbing, but, in the eyes of God, I am no better than the sinners they condemn, save for God's grace, and I have no right to hate them or anyone else. It's a "love the sinner, hate the sin" thing - something the WBC seems not to understand, this distinction between loving a person, yet disagreeing with their actions.