Hurricane_Delta wrote:
Prove it. Also, Falwell was a nut. But virtually no one in the Evangelical Community has ever denounced him for his views on 9/11. You're running out ways to dend yourself....
Defend myself from what? I'm not an evangelical, I don't support Fred Phelps, I just happen to also not like overly broad generalizing either. Even though I'm not defending myself personally, here are just a few of the links that I found to prominent Christians denouncing Fred Phelps and WBC:
From the Chaplains office at a targeted university:
http://www.skeptictank.org/mghate1.htmOberlin University wrote:
The Christian community at Oberlin views it as a special affront. Rev. Steve Hammond has this to say: I find it particularly painful that Rev. Phelps calls himself a Christian.
From another Christian group:
http://godhatespornography.com/GodHatesPornography wrote:
Dealing with Westboro Baptist Church and any such group:
1. Ignore them -- they thrive on attention; if possible, deprive them of any opportunity for attention (in some instances, newspapers refer to them only as a "group;" and most reputable news agencies no longer seek their views).
2. Shun them in all aspects of living -- have nothing to do with them personally, in the community or in business
3. Rebuke them -- this runs contrary to the first piece of advice, but as the group becomes increasingly incorrigible it may be necessary to confront them (as the Patriot Guard does)
+ Don't approach them with a nuanced argument. Their gospel is predicated upon simple proof-texts for which there is no limit.
+ Be direct: Their actions are despicable and sinful, just say it.
+ Understand their mindset. They are, in fact, sincere, only desperately led astray.
+ Speak their language. In other words, hit them where it hurts, namely...
From the horses mouth:
Southern Baptists wrote:
“The slogans that Fred Phelps and his group are promoting are unscriptural and very inappropriate,” says Dwayne Hastings, director of communications for the Southern Baptist Convention’s ethics and religious-liberty commission. “Southern Baptists stand on the word of God in believing that homosexuality is wrong and that, as the Bible says, it’s an abomination to God. But God does not hate the homosexual…. To those who are unaware of the orthodox Christian view of homosexuality, Fred Phelps presents a distorted and, in fact, perverted view of God’s word in his message of hate.”
- Condem Sin - and sinner, by Robert Stacy McCain. Insight on the News, Volume: 15. Issue: 30, August 16, 1999. Page 32
Hurricane_Delta wrote:
Edit: And prove to me that Evangelicals have denouced the hateful actions against gays. I positive you will not find any. Also, I will continue to attack the beliefs of Evangelicals until one of them apologizes for how I was treated in that hellhole called Colorado Springs.
Most evangelicals don't consider Phelps to be a true Christian, and do their best to distance themselves from him.
From The Baptist Press:
http://bpnews.org/bpnews.asp?ID=21487Baptist Press wrote:
Welch, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Daytona Beach, Fla., said Phelps and his followers “have gone far beyond reason in their efforts to use funerals of our fallen war heroes from Iraq to spotlight themselves.
“Southern Baptists have consistently condemned and officially distanced themselves from Phelps’ hate-filled activities," Welch said.
“It is incorrigible that any person for any reason would take such devastating advantage of broken hearted children, spouses, and parents, at a funeral of their loved one, to draw attention to themselves. Such an ignorant and uncaring disregard for people’s deep feelings will undoubtedly cut into raw nerves that will produce unpredictable negative results.”
And...
Baptist Press wrote:
Southern Baptist leaders have denounced Phelps’ "God hates fags" message multiple times.In 2003 Phil Roberts, president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, told Baptist Press, "Southern Baptists ought to take it as a badge of honor that he would boycott [us]. The gay and lesbian community needs to realize the difference in attitude and ministry between Southern Baptists and people like Mr. Phelps."
Roberts called Phelps' views on homosexuals "heretical."
Also in 2003, Terry Fox, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Wichita, Kan., preached a sermon in which he denounced Phelps' ministry.
"I have a conviction ... that the lifestyle of homosexuality is a lifestyle unacceptable to God," Fox said. "But I also have a conviction that somebody that is involved in homosexuality can turn away from that and come back to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ."
Phelps and his followers have picketed the SBC building in Nashville at least twice in recent years.
In 1999 messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution that didn't mention Phelps by name but did say: "[W]e publicly denounce and deplore all violent attacks upon homosexuals, and that we express our abhorrence of the teaching that God hates any person on account of an immoral lifestyle." The resolution passed months after Phelps' church picketed the funeral of Matthew Shepard, the homosexual college student murdered in Wyoming.
--30--
-- With reporting by Michael Foust
To read more about the differences between Southern Baptists and Fred Phelps, visit
http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=15606
Ten minutes with Google and I've got plenty of things I supposedly wouldn't find, I could dig up a lot more, but I wouldn't want to rub it in. I remember you now, you're the one who had a bad experience in the past and are now holding a whole group of uninvolved people responsible. My advice to you is to get over it, you're going to have to live with these kinds of people one way or the other, and holding onto some past wrong that the majority of them had nothing to do with serves no purpose at all.
_________________
Your boos mean nothing, I've seen what makes you cheer.
- Rick Sanchez
09 Dec 2008, 12:51 pm
