In Case You Gave Church A Miss This Sunday

Some else actually didn't give church in Kansas a miss! Vince Gill discovered that some things don't seem to change.
 

Petition Concerning Westboro Baptist Church

Lately, it seems that there has been a morbid and rabid fascination for Westboro Baptist Church, that bunch of obnoxious Christians from Topeka, Kansas, who think that God hates minorities, and think that they should drive to funerals of soldiers and famous people and let us all know how the Christian god of antiquity feels about all of us. There is even a petition asking that they be "identitifed", somehow, as an hate group, to which I will link you here. I did not link to the church's official website above, but rather the Wikipedia description of them, as the church already garners enough attention.

It's well and good to sign a petition concerning this matter, as a "feel good" measure, but all of us who have been within earshot of any active member of Westboro Baptist Church are already quite aware that they are hateful. Law enforcement, everywhere the church goes, has them pegged as hateful and unkind as well. England has even taken the unusual step of banning a couple of the church's members from visiting their country. The FBI is also aware of them, and regards them as problematic, not only because of what they do, but because of the potential for adverse reactions of others. Speaking of adverse reactions of others, this is one of the two things that the members of Westboro Baptist Church want the most. They not only desire adverse reactions on the parts of bystanders and nearby property owners; they want to be arrested, assaulted, and harrassed. Their whole game revolves around gaining negative attention and reactions from others, escalating the same into unlawful or combative reactions, then litigating against those who became offended and reacted. They generally do not bother to file suit unless they know, beyond the shadow of any doubt, that they can win in court. This is how they pay the bills at their church, everyone.

The other thing this merry band of attention whoring Christians want is publicity. That's why the funerals of soldiers are used as the church's platform, and also the funerals of others who are well known or famous, or the funerals of people who died in events that have been heavily publicized, such as the school shooting in Connecticut on December 14. The petition counts as publicity, too. The more Westboro Baptist Church interviews, press coverage items, facebook pages, and petitions for or against their silly-assed rhetoric find their way into our reading material, the more infamous Westboro Baptist Church becomes. It's a fact. That's why I did not bother to sign the petition concerning their behaviors. Had the press never picked up on the church's story  and run with it in 1998, most of us probably never would have heard of Westboro Baptist Church. While all of the media coverage cannot be undone, fewer pixels and less ink for this bunch is certainly worth considering.

 

Shirley Phelps, daughter of the paster of Westboro Baptist Church, and other female family members. Notice how they all look like carbon copies of each other. Inbreeding is a terrible thing.

 

Could Santa Claus Be Real?

Could Santa Claus actually be real? I had not seriously considered it until this week, but those of us who really can't stand the rhetoric of Kansas Christian congregation, Westboro Baptist Church, got a gift this year! Actually, two. The first gift is from the hackers who go by the name, Anonymous. They hacked the main website of the church and the twitter account of Shirley Phelps, one of the church's main hate mongers. The second gift was from the Patriot Guard Riders, who showed up to thwart Westboro Baptist Church's efforts to mock those attending funerals of children who lost their lives in the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary. A Big THANKYOU goes out from this blog to the Patriot Guard Riders!

Eat your heart out, Shirley Phelps! Have fun with Anonymous!

Westboro Baptist Church Says They're Picketing Sandy Hook

Yes, you read that correctly. Shirley Phelps, of Westboro Baptist Church, says she's taking the good Kansas Christians in her church on a field trip to New England, specifically, Connecticut, to picket Sandy Hook Elementary, where the school shooting took place yesterday. Okay, apparently, initiation into certain Christian circles in Kansas requires the expression of lots of ungodly hatred for others. We have all seen that. (disclaimer: Traditional Christians who do not disrespect others or carry signs are not described here; only bigots) But children? Children between the ages of five and ten years old? What could they have possibly done? 

Shirley Phelps, if you really want to be a dingaling, we all know by now that there's no stopping you. You have told almost all of us who are not part of the Phelps gene pool that "God" hates us, and we are going to "Hell". (Hell is actually a Goddess of the underworld, Shirley, you should stop taking her name in vain!) We already know your position on this matter, and you know what? We really don't care. My Ancestors do not hate me, and there are no Gods, at this moment, who appear to have anything against me either. I am quite sure that I speak, also, for the people in Connecticut who directly or indirectly experienced yesterday's violence at Sandy Hook. So if you do proceed with your silly-assed plans and visit New England during the winter, I suggest that you plan on helping, instead. Why not donate some toys or gift cards to shelters and churches who try to give needy families gifts on Christmas? Churches in that area will be overwhelmed after yesterday's shooting. Why not ease the burden, instead? Don't you think Jesus might have handled it that way?

And to the people in Connecticut, I suggest this: leave the crime scene tape up as long as you can. Do not leave the crime scene unguarded, either. Tell Shirley Phelps that while she can picket a funeral, she cannot contaminate a crime scene. Stop publicizing the names of the victims until after the funerals are over. If the Phelps's of Westboro Baptist Church do not know the identities of the deceased, they will have a harder time finding and picketing their funerals. After the families have had the funerals, you can let the media publish their names. The rest of us are very sad about this, and we will not forget any of them.

Geez, Phelpsy! Does God hate Jesus, too?