bradmeyerlive

Phelps

Tomorrow, I’ll be interviewed by a radio show on KVCO of Concordia, Kansas sometime from 5-7 PM. It might turn into a returning segment with the host. This week’s topic will be the lightning rod of controversy that is Westboro Baptist Church and the Phelps family. For those of you who have managed to avoid this group’s message, it involves a strong disdain for homosexuality and major contempt for any nations or individuals that do not condemn the LGBT community. This is escalated to the point of the church picketing events, including the funerals of American military personnel.

Most of the criticism hurled their way involves the rhetoric they use, questions about a loving God sending people to Hell, court cases involving their right to protest, and counter-protests against their protests. Nearly the entire global Christian response has been to condemn their message, but in an age of 10,000 popes, it doesn’t slow them down.

Worth noting is that Phelps was very involved in the civil rights movement in Kansas decades ago on behalf of the black community, even taking buckets of criticism for standing up for the black community.

Having had a Westboro picket event at my own church, I’ve seen the ramifications firsthand. Christians should pray for this community to grow and change and for God’s grace and mercy to reign with this interpretation of Scripture. Its a cancer that affects the global Church’s image.

As an aside, for those that like these sort of matters, Phelps and company are Hyper-Calvinists, which raises questions about why they actually care.