Most people have heard of the Phelps cult, a group that has become notorious for picketing the funerals of gay men, funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and pretty much any other event which they can somehow connect (no matter how weakly) to homosexuality. Today they picketed the University of Wisconsin, where three students were killed in a fire. The announcement on their website said
Thank God for three more dead students! God sent the Fires! These brats are the fruit of america [sic], and God is punishing you by cutting them off. You were blessed by God with those children, and you raised them to be bastards and whores. You taught them that God is a liar, that it is okay to be gay and He loves you anyway. You failed to teach them about the Wrath of God.
If you don’t know them, you can either (a) consider yourself lucky, or (b) check them out on their website at www.godhatesfags.com. I am not going to link to their website, lest the link increase their rating on search engines.
I first encountered the Phelps group when they were trolling on a Baptist discussion list back in 1994. When they picketed the Episcopal convention in Philadelphia a few years later, I managed to sneak through the police line that had been set up to protect them. While they were holding up their reprehensible signs, I held up mine that said, “God Loves Gays.” Unfortunately, the picture at the right is the only shot available of the event. It was taken back when digital cameras took pictures at 64 kilopixels.
A friend of my sent me a link to a site that is taking a different approach. It is similar to something I do whenever I teach Leviticus, but they have taken it to a new level. They are staging counter-protests with signs that announce God’s judgment against that other abomination: shellfish. After all, we can’t afford to pick and choose the verses we apply, and a much larger percentage of Americans eat shrimp than engage in homosexual activities (such as nude shuffleboard). These counter-protesters hold up signs that say “Stop the Shrimp-Eater’s Agenda” and “Love the Shrimper — Hate the Shrimp”. Check out their site at www.godhatesshrimp.com.
On April 10th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
That is hilarious. I blogged about this a while ago.
Phelps is out of control.
On April 11th, 2008 at 9:04 am
Oh wow, that’s pretty impressive that you managed to sneak in there. What happened when they saw you? Did they try to stone you? : )
On April 11th, 2008 at 10:14 am
No, they are very careful in their tactics not to engage in violence. They prefer to be able to claim that others attacked them, and they want to be able to say they did nothing to provoke the attack.
Ben Phelps (the grandson of the leader) had claimed on the Baptist discussion list that people always attacked them. So, I had told him if we ever met, I would greet him with a holy kiss (Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:26; 1 Peter 5:14). So, I did.
On April 11th, 2008 at 10:55 am
I’m loving the god hates shrimp site. This would be great when teaching food laws and Paul.
On April 11th, 2008 at 11:43 am
LOL Thanks for this.
On April 11th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
I can’t even imagine the kind of pain that these people are willfully inflicting on the bereaved.
o_Ó
They take psychological projection to a new level. Don’t they?
People like that almost make me wish that there was such a thing as the hell they imagine.
Ó
On April 12th, 2008 at 10:44 am
Dear Kevin,
Thank you for not linking their website.
On April 12th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
That’s the kevin we know and love.