Will the Westboro Baptist Church please go away!!

The Westboro Baptist Church from somewhere in Kansas continues to keep its name in the news headlines, even though everyone would like for them to just go away.  This so-called church is led by the Rev. Fred Phelps.  This church has made a name for itself by protesting everything you can possibly think of, blaming the ills of society on the fact that God does not like homosexuality.  I am not sure how many people are in this church, but my personal feeling is that it is the Phelps family, and that is about it.  These people even tote their kids around and have them protest also.  To me, they are no better than the KKK, using a church as their cover.

Anyway, before I go further, I must say that I believe that the Bible condemns homosexuality, and this condemnation can be found in both the Old and New Testaments.  However, people are able to be saved out of this lifestyle.  This Easter season reminds us that the death of Jesus Christ on the cross was for all the sins of all mankind, homosexuality included.  If you are a Christian, I do not believe that you can be homosexual.  God is not the author of confusion.  So if homosexuality is a sin, then He could not have made you into that lifestyle - it is a choice that one makes.

But I also believe that we are to reach out to those who do not know Christ.  By holding up signs that say "God Hates Fags" or "Thank God for Dead Soldiers", this church is not trying to help anyone know Christ.  Nor are they showing the same love that Jesus Christ showed to sinners.  Jesus died for all of the sins of all mankind - not just for certain sins and certain sinners.  If Jesus Christ showed this kind of love for sinners when He definitely did not need to do so, then why won't these people show that same sort of love for the lost?  Mankind rejected Jesus Christ, yet He still gave His life for us.  In showing them love, we do not accept their sinful behavior.  Rather, we show a genuine interest in their lost soul and the fact that they need to accept Christ as their Savior.

Getting back to the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), they have made the news here in Central PA.  They were sued by a man by the name of Albert Snyder, who lost a son in the war in Iraq.  The church decided that they would protest the funeral of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder.  Mr. Snyder sued the church over this, and won.  However, an Appeals Court ruled that Mr. Snyder must pay the legal bills for the WBC, which amount to a little over $16,000, money he does not have.  Many people, including Bill O'Reilly, are helping him with this bill.  The case is now going to the Supreme Court.  (I am not sure where the WBC gets their money to travel and protest, as they seem to only have 1 family in their church - the Phelps family.)

Here are some of my questions:

• What does the WBC plan to accomplish?
• Why do these people think that they are too good to share the Gospel with those who need it?
• Do think that they are now God, deciding who should hear the Gospel and who should not?
• Does God abhor homosexuality?  Yes.
• However, does God wish for all sinners to come to a saving knowledge of Him and spend an eternity in heaven?  Yes, He does.
• How did this church's vision for the lost become so distorted and perverted?
• How can they be so full of hatred that they fail to see that what Jesus did for them, he also did for those that this church vehemently opposes and wishes death upon?
• How can these people teach their children this kind of hatred?
• Where do they get their funding?

The Great Commission tells us to go out and teach all people and all nations.  The last time I checked, it did not say teach everyone but gay people.  We are to teach ALL nations.  By refusing to participate in this Biblical admonition, this church is just as guilty and just as sinful as those they condemn.  They have a tremendous opportunity to reach out and tell others about the Gospel.  Instead, they choose to turn their back on the Great Commission and make themselves God, condemning others to an eternity in hell without telling them how they can be saved.

While I was in college, one of the major things that Dr. Bob Jones III tried to drill into us is that "The most sobering reality in the world today is that people are dying and going to hell today."  The fact that people are dying in their sin is not something we should find joy in.  It is something that should burden us.  It should cause us to want to reach out to them even more than what we may already be doing.

The WBC is shameful and appalling.  Because they show no concerns for the souls of others, I must ask myself if they are truly saved.  Do they truly know Christ?  I doubt it,  because if they did, they would not be acting this way.