The Legacy of Fred Phelps

At the time of this writing, Fred Phelps is in a hospital due to what his Westboro Baptist Church calls "health problems," though rumors are that he may be near death.

Some people are rejoicing in this. For my own part, let me clarify I don't glory in anyone's death, be it Osama bin Laden or Jim Henson. Fred Phelps' family need our prayers - not only for the grief they will no doubt go through, but so that they will eventually repent of their warped teachings, and follow Christ and His true teachings.

I think there are two obvious things that need to be said:

First, Fred Phelps group was what amounted to a cult. They were centered around his teachings and beliefs, and centered their understanding of reality and the Bible around the thinking of Fred Phelps. It was not Christ speaking out of the mouths of those people at those protests, but Fred Phelps and the top leaders of the Westboro cult.

Second, there can be no doubt that Fred Phelps caused irrevocable damage for other Christians hoping to witness to homosexuals, and he set back the ability to witness to homosexuals and speak to even non-homosexuals on the matter by perhaps about ten years. Especially in the realm of social media, anyone who has some form of contention against same sex marriage or homosexuality is often compared to a Westboro crazy. Sometimes, even when the subject wasn't homosexuality, anyone expressing strong religious beliefs was put on the same level as Fred Phelps and his ilk. They became the icon of any group - homophobic or not - that opposed same sex marriage and the sin of homosexuality. Some will contend here that those who appeal to the Westboro cult in the face of any opposition to homosexuality or same sex marriage are committing a straw man or genetic fallacy would, of course, be absolutely right - but there is no denying that Fred Phelps did much damage to those who would witness to their homosexual friends and acquaintances out of love rather than hatred.

If he is to pass away (and I do not write this post hoping he does so), Christians will need to ask themselves how they will gradually recover in the days following. We should pray that Westboro, as an organization, eventually dies off in the wake of less charismatic or firm leadership, and that it becomes simply an embarrassing memory in the issue's history. We should likewise pray that God will open up possibilities for us to witness to those homosexuals struggling under their sin, and offer them hope in the light of the Gospel of Christ, and not the Gospel of Irrational Hatred.

The Westboro Law

There is an internet adage known as Godwin's Law, which states that the longer a debate or conversation goes on, the more likelihood something or someone will be compared to Hitler or the Nazis (this is also known as Reductio ad Hitlerum). For example:

Person A: "I believe in tighter gun control laws."
Person B: "You know who else believed that? Hitler!"

Or as an another example:

Person A: "President Obama wears pants. You know who else wore pants? The Nazis!"

OK, that one was a little exaggerated, but you get the point. Some instances of this can be just as silly. It's basically a logical fallacy of responding to something by jumping to an extreme example of that position or opinion, and when there's very little to connect the two (or at the very least, a very slim connection). It is also an attempt to make the other side look bad by striking at the audience's or reader's emotions.

Might I now propose a new law? I call it the Westboro Law. What is this new law, you ask? It's the idea that the longer a debate or conversation either over morality or religion goes on, the more likelihood someone is going to make a reference or analogy to the Westboro Baptist cult (I refuse to call them a church). For example:

Person A: "I don't believe homosexuality is an acceptable lifestyle."
Person B: "You know who else believes that? The Westboro Baptist people!"

Or even (as I once personally experienced):

Person A: "[insert religious arguments that have nothing whatsoever to do with homosexuality at all]"
Person B: "Wow! You're just like the Westboro Baptist crazies!"

Just like Godwin's Law, this seeks to jump to an extreme analogy simply to make the other side look or sound bad. Because Fred Phelps and his cronies are the poster children for how to do your religion wrong, people cling to them whenever they want to make other religious people or certain moral beliefs look bad. This, likewise, is attempting to appeal to the emotional responses of those reading or listening to the conversation or topic. It is also just as fallacious.

Now what would we call this? Reductio ad Westborum, perhaps? Latin is not my strong point...

The Errors of the Westboro Cult

It was recently brought to my attention that the cult run by Fred Phelps, which goes under the misnomer "Westboro Baptist Church," apparently declares itself to be a Calvinistic church. For those who don't know, Phelps and his family (literally, most of the church are his family) are a group of people infamous for going to the funerals of soldiers killed in war - or even famous individuals who pass away - and hold up signs that say "God hates f--" (the censored word being the slur for a homosexual) among other things. In another corner of the interweb, someone asked the curious question: "Does God hate sinners? If you say yes how can you say that Westboro Baptist is wrong?" This was directed towards Calvinists, and I offered him a reply, which I will rewrite (with some cleanup) now.

Got hates sin, just as it is written that God's wrath is against all unrighteousness of men (Rom 1:18), and it is for our sins which we are all guilty. There has been no "righteous" person who has ever lived (save Christ), and there is no "righteous" person in existence (Rom 3:9-11).

Here are the errors that the Westboro people commit:

1) They hone in on one kind of sin - that is, homosexuality. They make it their pet peeve sin and, like the prohibitionists attacked alcoholism, launch their personal crusade against it. God's Law extends far beyond homosexual acts.

2) It is not that homosexual activity is not a sin (it is), but under the eyes of God and under God's perfect Law, you and I are just as guilty as a practicing homosexual. For example, Christ outlined that anyone who looks at a woman with lust is guilty of committing adultery (Matt 5:27-28), and I don't know any straight man alive who isn't guilty of that. Likewise, the apostle James stated that he who violates one commandment of God is guilty of violating them all (Jam 2:10).

3) In their presentation of their beliefs regarding God and sin, the Westboro cult leaves out one important factor: grace. You see, the difference between how a Calvinist like George Whitefield would present the gospel and how Fred Phelps & Co. present the gospel is that any knowledgeable Christian (Calvinist or otherwise) recognizes that you establish Law to glorify Grace. That is, even while we were enemies to God, we were reconciled to Him by His Son (Rom 5:10), and we were reconciled to Him by the blood of the cross (Col 1:19-20). None of this is presented by the Westboro cult. Instead, they harp on the sin of homosexuality and condemn everyone of it. Nowhere is Christ's glory preached, nowhere is Christ's love preached, nowhere is the great Triune work of the crucifixion and resurrection talked about. They are like the Pharisees in the sense that they're great at condemning everyone but short on explaining how to do it better.

4) Finally...they're just tactless. I don't recall, in all the combats Christ had with the Pharisees, of Christ going to the funeral of a Pharisee's son and picketing it with His disciples. When the centurion came to ask Jesus to heal his servant, Christ didn't say, "I hope your servant dies you dirty pagan sodomite! God hates you!" Going to funerals and showcasing your hate is not only disrespectful to the grieving families, but shows that you basically wear your beliefs on your sleeve. It is not a very Christian way to act.

The Westboro group are not Calvinists, nor are they Christians. They are simply an example of man's depraved nature masquerading as a religious entity.