Westboro Church Protest Mega-thread

[Springroll]

The bonus, Patrolman, is that most of us with at least half a brain know that those you spoke of, are part of a very small minority.

 

[Trinity]

The bonus, Patrolman, is that most of us with at least half a brain know that those you spoke of, are part of a very small minority.

The problem is Springroll, the percentage of people with at least half a brain is few!

 

[Pea]

The problem is Springroll, the percentage of people with at least half a brain is few!

+1 to that Trinity...

 

[COBRA-6]

Crazier than a shit-house rat... anyone else feel like slaping that stupid grin of her face??

What they put those grieving families through is unforgivable...    I truly hope the bikers that are now guarding the soldiers funerals give her and her group a world class monkey stomping!

 

[IN HOC SIGNO]

Yep...crazy knows no boundaries. My sympathys to the families as well. Terrible what some people will do thinking that they are doing good isn't it?

 

[Pearson]

Must not comment....must.......not...............comment.......

 

[Conquistador]

The wikipedia article on Fred Phelps (the leader of the church) is a good read - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps

I think this is another one of his scams, the church (mostly his family, who almost are all lawyers) picks two totally controversial topics, gays and the war and Iraq, and exploits them, pissing off as many people as they can, then sue the crap out of anyone who pisses them off.

 

[nULL]

I don't think the interviwers were unprofessional, they were giving this lady what she deserved. Questioning her, her church, their beliefs and their methods. Say what you will about the CBC, when the interviewer isn't totally clueless (watch an interview about anything military or political) or biased (Liberal mouthpiece that they are) or just plain dumb.

And look, I asked to keep this thread nice and look what I go and do.  :

I could care less what the subject does to "deserve" the host's scorn; I resent the fact that MY position is symbolized by the interviewer acting like a preachy piece of gutter trash. The lady's position was sufficiently low that the host did not need to meet her halfway.

As to the CBC being Liberal mouthpieces or clueless...you've taken Western society for granted if you think The Passionate Eye is akin to government propaganda.

 

[Trinity]

That's way too much information to ever surf (wiki on Phelps)

I cut out a few interesting parts from the article. 

Fred's position at Eastside was shortlived; as some congregants would recall years later, he was a "reverend from Hell." Almost immediately his sermons exhibited the hate-filled spirit which would later characterize his ministry. For example, as a means of encouraging the wives and children to "submit to the father's authority in the home," Phelps began encouraging his congregants to beat them if necessary; he was once forced to bail one of his parishioners out of jail after counseling the man to punch his wife in the face until she became "subjugated." Parishioners of Eastside recall one of Phelps' sermons in particular (which ironically references his high-school boxing talent):
A good left hook makes for a right fine wife. Brethren, they can lock us up, but we'll still do what the Bible tells us to do. Either our wives are going to obey, or we're going to beat them! [22]


Several congregants chose to stand by Phelps and left Eastside with him. However, following an incident in which Phelps shotgunned to death a German Shepherd that had wandered into his unfenced yard [25], the majority of Phelps' initial supporters left and returned to Eastside.
Those who remained with Phelps included George Stutzman, the Davis family and the Hockenbarger family, the patriarch of which, Charles William (called Bill by fellow congregants), was a member of the Christian Identity sect of the Ku Klux Klan and a long-time friend of Phelps; these would become the founding members of Westboro Baptist Church in 1955.

Sometime following his graduation from Washburn, Phelps became addicted to amphetamines and barbiturates, which he often combined with large quantities of alcohol. [26] One of his sons claims that his first memory in life was that of the drunk, stoned Phelps shooting a dog for defecating on the lawn (see above) [27][28], the incident which led to the majority of Phelps' supporters leaving him and returning to Eastside. The owner sued Phelps, but Phelps defended himself in court and won. In the middle of the night, for the next several weeks, his ex-congregants snuck into the front yard of Westboro and placed signs reading: Anyone who'd stoop to killing a dog someday will mistake a child for a dog. [29


During this time the family's only income came from what Phelps called "The Children's Crusade," a money-making scheme disguised as evangelical witnessing and a church fundraiser, which consisted of the Phelps children going door-to-door selling candy. Phelps assigned the children quotas, and those who didn't meet the quotas were beaten with a mattock handle, a farming tool possessing twice the density of a baseball bat. [31] The sales often found the children in dangerous areas of town, including the "bad part of Kansas City," where a teenage Jon Phelps and eight-year-old Rebecca Phelps were assaulted by a transgender woman after Jon Phelps "held forth with the latest 'fag' joke making the rounds at his junior high." The transgender woman pulled a switchblade and chased the children; they ran into an alley, were trapped, and, as sister Margie recalls, "Jonathon Phelps got 'bitch-slapped' by a guy in a dress to teach him a lesson." [32]


In 1968, Phelps tried to commit suicide while high on methamphetamines, attempting to shoot himself in the head with a shotgun; he was so inebriated, however, that he ended up missing his head completely and striking a roll of insulation. [41] Shortly thereafter, Phelps overdosed on a cocktail of alcohol and amphetamines. [42] He slipped into a coma and was rushed to the hospital, where he remained comatose for a week. Upon his return home he put himself on a detoxification diet, drinking only water and eating no solid food for several weeks. [43] There is no evidence that Phelps has since relapsed.

Phelps then decided that his children should be as fanatical about dieting as he was, and began to deny them food and force them to run ten miles a day; the marathons included all of his children, the youngest of whom were six and eight. If anyone beat Phelps in the race, they were beaten. [44]
At the same time, even though he had gone back to being an attorney, Phelps continued to force the children to sell candy. They would do this from 4:00 p.m. until they had either met their quotas or until it was too late to sell, return home, and then run their ten miles; upon returning home, they were then allowed to do their homework and, if Phelps allowed, eat. They usually went to bed at 1:00 a.m.; Phelps would then awaken them at 5:00 a.m. for a run before school. Phelps' fanatical dedication to running earned him articles in Runner's World magazine, in the November, 1970 issue and again in November, 1988. [45]


Phelps' law career saw an abundance of fraud and extortion. He sold expensive baby carriages on a layaway plan to poor, young couples, and then immediately filed lawsuits against them when they were so much as a day late. [51] In another scam, Phelps would go to friends of his customers asking them to sign a paper attesting to their friends' good credit. The paper contained a vague clause that, when translated, obliged the signing party to buy a baby carriage from Phelps; those who Phelps targeted were often blacks who were either illiterate or had poor education. When the person inevitably refused to buy the carriage, Phelps would sue them for breach of contract.[52]



The children's claim is partially backed up by B.H. McAllister, the Baptist minister who ordained Phelps. McAllister said in a 1993 interview that Phelps developed a delusion wherein he was one of the only people on Earth worthy of God's grace and that everyone else in the world was going to Hell, and that salvation or damnation could be directly obtained by either aligning with or opposing Phelps. Phelps maintains this belief to this day. [65]

That's litereally a small highlight of the information.  Its amazing how messed up this guy is.

 

[winchable]

She's neat...but I know Christians and that ain't Christian.

Hannity and Colmbs (colmes?) are mouthpieces at times and my only issue with him is that he's called this woman on the air to berate her, I mean...what's the point??? She alludes that they've spoken before, he has to know what he's getting here, how can they qualify it as news or debate...or anything above Jerry Springer like entertainment.
He says at one point "You're popular" or something to that effect, but I mean..clearly...Come on even she didn't think they were popular.

I've always, always, always, always had a problem with people saying they know God's will, I don't understand how they're not conflicted by that!!! There are Clerics who support horrible things who do the same thing "I know what God wants....but that's not blasphemy."

 

[Steel Badger]

What have the Christians ever done for us anyway?

 

[Trinity]

What have the Christians ever done for us anyway?

Knowing that you're not a troll....

would you care to elaborate?

Religion has done many excellent things as well as many horrible things.
Is there something specific you are referring too?

 

[Centurian1985]

Ooh, ooh, let me, let me !!! ...

Other than the concepts of distribution of wealth, social order and structure, refinement of language, propogation of written knowledge, development of modern politics, the propogation of western culture that resulted in discoveries of new continents, the belief in equality, development of legal rights, concepts of logical debate, basic human rights, the concept of global order, systems of public education, plus contributions to the sciences, music, the arts, other concepts of individuality, expression of thought, refinement of the arts, religious tolerance, supremacy of the mind over the body, traditions of public service, negotiation and compromise betwen warring parties, common values, materialism, capitolism, humanitarianism, a basic groundwork of ethics, a basis of morality, a hard work ethic, and monotheism, ...

...what has Christianity ever done for us?

 

[Kat Stevens]

sure, but what has it done for us LATELY?

 

[Trinity]

sure, but what has it done for us LATELY?

Well, they give me money. Who cares what they do for you....  ;D

 

[Centurian1985]

Well, they give me money. Who cares what they do for you....  ;D

:rofl:

 

[bLUE fOX]

This is just as an aside, but have you ever looked at any of the stuff god wants? according to the bellow listed site there's a lot of stuff we're missing out, but no body wants to protest that. stupid not being allowed to be polyamourous.
http://www.thebricktestament.com/

 

[Steel Badger]

LOL

Glad someone picked up on that!

 

[mainerjohnthomas]

I really hate to do this, but I have to back Trinity on this one.  As a heathen, I have had my fill of intolerant Christians, but this chick is something else entirely.  I guess every lunatic has the right to choose their own label, and this one happened to choose Christian.  She could call herself Mary Queen of Scots, or the Tooth Fairy, and it wouldn't make her any more worth listening to.  That these people should choose to disrupt a military funeral with their garbage is unconscionable.  Now that these people have drawn public attention, perhaps their "church" could use a close examination of its finances and operations for irregularities.  I've never known a flake yet that could survive an audit, and shining a light on cockroaches like this has a tendance to make them run back under their rocks. :-*

 

[Trinity]

I really hate to do this, but I have to back Trinity on this one.

That's it... young padawan...

Come to the darkside. 

besides, we have punch and pie!!!