“God Hates Fags” Church Sued for $11 Million!
Can I get an “Amen!”? These guys are probably what Jesus had in mind when he said, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23).
Some excerpts:
The father of a fallen Marine was awarded nearly $11 million Wednesday in damages by a jury that found leaders of a fundamentalist church had invaded the family’s privacy and inflicted emotional distress when they picketed the Marine’s funeral.
The jury first awarded $2.9 million in compensatory damages. It returned later in the afternoon with its decision to award $6 million in punitive damages for invasion of privacy and $2 million for causing emotional distress to the Marine’s father, Albert Snyder of York, Pa….Snyder’s suit named the church, its founder the Rev. Fred Phelps and his two daughters Shirley Phelps-Roper and Rebecca Phelps-Davis, 46. The jury began deliberating Tuesday after two days of testimony.
The church members testified they are following their religious beliefs by spreading the message that the deaths of soldiers are due to the nation’s tolerance of homosexuality.Their attorneys argued in closing statements Tuesday that the burial was a public event and that even abhorrent points of view are protected by the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech and religion.Church founder Fred Phelps held a sign reading “God is your enemy,” while his daughter Shirley Phelps-Roper stood on an American flag while carrying a sign that read “God hates fag enablers.”
Members of the group sang “God Hates America,”‘ to the tune of “God Bless America.”Snyder sobbed when he heard the verdict while members of the church greeted the news with tightlipped smiles.
What these psychos are spouting is not Christianity. They are a hate group and a cult masquerading as a church. The sad thing is that out of their 80-person “congregation,” more than 75% are family. Hehe, must be in the blood…
Here are some scary videos that illustrate the point:
On Hannity and Combes (Fox News)
Fred Phelps’ Scary Teenage Granddaughters
But on the side of Australian hilarity… This is just too good…
Now…. On a serious note. What on the world would/could lead a group of people to that much hate? With so much scripture about God’s love for his people, how could the possibly believe the crap that is falling out of their mouths? Abuse? Fred Phelps’ previous career was as a CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY! Can you believe that? Unbelievable….
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They probably think they are “god’s warriors” in that sense. In idea form, it’s not that different from terrorists or even the US Armed Forces. The Phelps family (and his congregation) are defending something for which they feel very strongly, and if they had been around 200 years ago, they would have felt a lot more support.
Truly, I don’t feel it as hate. I use the word “hate,” maybe, but it’s not hate to me. It is cold, dead, ignorance. There are a lot of people who are raised to think that gay people are animals or that their actions are like those of aniamls, or that their actions are those of evil. Or sin.
Specifically, I think it is more like their actions are egregious sin.
Put that kind of differentiation and assertion that a person’s basic life is completely made up of evil or sin in the hands of a fundamentalist (hack) like Phelps, and that is a powerful concoction.
Ignorance and small-mindedness. And fear.
Amen to that! These jokers showed up in my hometown to protest a soldier’s death. I don’t know what I would have done, if I were that soldier’s mother, but at least something legal is happening to stop them. If God can only show his offense at perceived sins by killing other innocent human beings, then he is no God at all. (or perhaps the personal god of the Phelps family).
This group will picket wherever they think they can get attention. Living in Topeka, I see them around a lot. They regularly picket my church, though they are required to leave 30 minutes before services let out. I’ve been close enough to “Rev” Phelps to look in his eyes, and let me tell you, what I saw was a mixture of hatred and insanity to make anyone’s blood run cold. They have gotten a lot of press for picketing soldier’s funerals. But as revolting as that is, for me the worst thing is that they have their young children holding up large pornographic signs in all kinds of weather. Those poor kids don’t stand a chance.
sometimes the line becomes very blurry for these things. first, brad i agree totally with you about the actions of this church. with that said, it is also easy for us to then pick on those who are picking on others.
for example, a while back i remember all the bloggers were picking on ted haggard. and dont get me wrong, i think he made mistakes. but one specific blogger was making a personal attack on ted without giving him any benefit of the doubt.
i think when we become public in our speech and actions, we need to remember that we have never truly been in the other person’s shoes. thus, we need to have compassion, even on the “God hates fags” church.
peter
Peter,
9 times out of 10, I would agree with you. But Ted Haggart did not verbally assualt/insult or dishonor the service of soldiers and their families. He screwed up, but his actions never intended to offend or abuse thousands of people like these. I am not saying that they are not human or have experienced something in their life to explain their actions in some degree. However, that does not excuse their actions, and I will favor the father of the soldier who brought the suit against them any day of the week. He did nothing to deserve that kind of treatment, and neither did any other soldier who gave his life for our country.
I know I am preaching to the choir here, I mean only to assure you that I am aware of the contextual elements of this situation.
brad
exactly…i agree that there is no excuse and these people’s actions were wrong, period. i just wanted to point out that we must always try to put ourselves in others shoes, even those who are being rude and hurtful themselves. for instance, having come from a more “legalistic” background, i know how critical people can be of others because i myself was (and am still).
blessings
peter
And Ted Haggart didn’t lead a campaign of protest against a group of people based on their sexual identities. But then, such is not the case now, where Fred Phelps is finally a recognized name.
It’s interesting to me that Fred Phelps didn’t garner widespread social ire until he started leading protests on the funerals of soldiers. He’s been actively doing this since the early nineties, and there was almost no media coverage or widespread conversation about it until he started hitting the funerals of American soldiers about six years ago.
I understand why on a logical level: a church protesting the funerals of soldiers is a much easier pill to swallow than a church protesting dead GLBT people.
It is also interesting that now, at this moment, Phelps is not actually coming under fire for his utter bigotry. He is coming under fire for A) the context in which he spews his ideas and B) the bizarre connection he has made between homosexuality and the deaths of American soldiers.
this is like the reverse of Harvey Milk. Instead of the twinkie defense, it’s the soldier offense.
Kyle,
In Re: to the outrage over GLBT discrimination, you have a really good point. As a guard soldier / chaplain candidate, I often gloss over that in light of their protests at funerals, but it is equally worthy of outrage and critique.
I must have missed the part in scripture where Jesus condemned sinners without offering love and grace…
I appreciate the attention you draw to that point. This stuff is just too outrageous to have been made up.