Westboro Baptist Church-Hate Meets Contradiction

Recently I discovered something that honestly sent chills down my spine. One of my friends had a post on her Tumblr page that honestly shocked me. After reading up on the information some more, I learned about Westboro Baptist Church, an extremist/hate group that sets out to "spread the word of God." They have very close-minded beliefs, and are determined to force them down the throats of Americans. The church was established in 1955, and belives that "God is America's Enemy" and "God hates fags." Their website, "godhatesfags.com", has a picketing schedule. They plan on protesting at many different places, including George Washington University, Midland High School, Fort Lewis College, and St. Andrew United Methodist Church. But perhaps two of the most shocking places they decided to picket are these: Woodbridge Senior High School, and Arlington National Cemetery.

First, let's look at the facts. Woodbridge Senior High school, for those of you that don't know, is a fantastic school. I graduated from Woodbridge in 2009. I can tell you from first-hand experience that what Westboro is claiming is most definitely false. From my understanding, the supporters of WBC are claiming that the teachers at WSHS hate their students, and that they do not include God in the curriculum in order to justify their own sins. They argue that parents and teachers of these students have taught their kids/students from the beginning that "God is a liar and his commandement are to be treated as suggestions if that!" Furthermore, they state :"You have failed in your duty and God will require you to give an accounting for it. There is hope, however, because God has sent His servants to your town today to tell you the truth — to warn you to flee the wrath and destruction that is coming on this nation! The children are entitled to hear the truth one time in their lives. God does NOT love everyone and it is NOT OKAY to be gay. If you give a care for your never dying soul, you will come out from among this people and OBEY TODAY! Amen!”

Let me just say this: I am not by any means extremely religious in every aspect of my life. I do not go to Church. I have never read the Bible front to back. But I have been to church before. I passed my religious education classes. I have a basic understanding of the kind of God that I believe Him to be. And know this: being gay is NOT a sin. It is not a choice. If the Bible, which these "Christians" so religiously follow, states that God loves everyone despite who they are, or what they have done, as long as they have repetance, then we are at a contradiction my friends. It is impossible for you to be such strict believers in following everything the Bible says, word for word, when you contradict yourselves in the fact that you believe that "God hates fags" and "God hates America". As you dissect every aspect of the Bible to argue that it states that homosexuality is not okay, you don't follow that same rule as far as respect goes. It's hypocracy. Your God would want you to treat everyone with respect, regardless of whether you agree with it or not. Keep it to yourself. No one's asking you to be gay. No one's asking you to support America. It doesn't involve you. Why picket and protest if the outcome will only be worse than the beginning?

It is still, perhaps, unclear to me the argument that WBC is making against America. On their picketing schedule, they argue the following: "WBC will picket the Veteran's Day Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to remind this nation that God is Doomed america's enemy and He himself fights against you. Because this nation has raised her clenched fist to God and said "We hate instruction. No! We will not obey!," He curses you by killing your young men in their prime. Instead of worshipping their dead corpses, you ought to turn and repent and worship your God. He alone has the power to tear you into pieces and cast you into Hell forever." Now, this could be taken in many ways. It is evident that they believe that Americans are self-destructive and ungrateful. That's fine. A belief is a belief and should be stood up for. But who are YOU to march into the tomb of the unknown solider? This is a place of rest, for those who werne't allowed a funeral of their own. Do you realize how many people you are upsetting? Death is tragic. Death in a war is inexplicable. It hurts to lose someone you love. As far as military personnel go, they ought to be respected, no matter what the cause of war is. Whether "God be their enemy" or not is irrelevant. Let them sleep in peace and devoid of your ignorant arguments.

As far as anyone reading this goes, I encourage you to research this group and protest against it, if that's what you believe in. I'm not encouraging any type of fighting whatsoever, especially since that would contradict my previous statements. But this has been started. I am a strong advocate for standing up for what you believe in. I'm not telling you to travel half-way across the country to protest this group. But if it affects you in any way, hurts you in any way, gets to you in the slightest, please, for "God's" sake, don't be silenced.