I read an article yesterday that made me absolutely livid. It was about the Shooting in Connecticut last Friday, but it wasn't about the shooter or his family, the school, the victims, or the survivors. It was about Westboro Baptist Church and their planned picketing of the funerals of the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting.
Now, there are a lot of things that make me sad and upset in this world, and the shooting last Friday is definitely one of them. I cannot possibly begin to understand what would possess a human being to shoot 6 and 7 year olds dead, for no reason, and right before Christmas no less. I don't get it, and it infuriates me and fills me with grief. Yet, I can still say, as I have written before, that that man needed God's love and forgiveness as much as anyone else, and I am as devastated over the fact that he took his own life as I am over the fact that he took the lives of 26 others.
When Osama bin Laden was killed I was not gleeful and joyful. I didn't celebrate his death, despite the fact that he was responsible for the deaths of thousands.
In the shooting in Aurora earlier this year, I wrote that the shooter needs forgiveness, and we need to pray for him, just as we need to pray for the victims' families.
All of these men are/were evil and committed unthinkable atrocities, and yet, I find the picketing of the funerals of these victims, these children, to be almost worse.
In response to WBC's announcement, the hacker group Anonymous launched a campaign against WBC with the intention of bringing them down and destroying them. They hacked one of their Twitter accounts, hacked their website, and posted personal information, including phone numbers, email addresses, physical addresses, and SSNs. They even successfully filed a death certificate for the "church's" spokesman, Shirley Phelps-Roper.
I have had multiple encounters with WBC over the course of many years. I was listed on their "Wall of Hypocrites" for awhile, that was fun. They are absolutely a hate group with no reason or logic or love, and while I absolutely believe that God still loves them and that they need His reforming work in their lives, I cannot honestly say that I would be at all upset if something were to happen to them as a result of their personal information being posted... Now, I am in no way advocating something happening to them. I believe that God is big enough to take care of things, and we are called to love everyone, even those who are deplorable. I am just saying that these people are so full of hate that I, as a human being, not God, cannot really find it in me to love them, and I view what they do as much worse than the killings that these other individuals have done...
Hmmm...Now, this brings up another issue. Anonymous. They have been involved in a number of things like this. They have attacked WBC before, they have posted personal information for Mexican Drug Cartels, and a lot more. Honestly, I kinda like a lot of what they do. They attack those who cause pain and suffering, in some cases, they also attack anyone that they disagree with, so I'm not like an Anonymous cheerleader here, but I do like a lot of what they do. Here's the issue. They are completely illegal. Having the information that they have, posting it, hacking sites...this is all illegal. In addition, they call themselves Legion, which I associate with Legion, the demons in the Bible that Christ sends into the pigs. I'm not really comfortable with supporting an organization that associates itself with demons (maybe that's not what they are referring to, but I get the impression that they are, or are at least familiar with the association that can be drawn). Also, Christ clearly tells us that we are to obey the laws of the land in so far as they don't violate God's law. So Anonymous is a group of criminals, even though they are doing some, almost, honorable actions...Just something to think about.
The other thing to think about is this. Where do we draw the line. There is a petition to get WBC legally classified as a hate group. You can view and sign it here: http://wh.gov/RI5h. I have. I think these people are a hate group, but again, where do you draw the line. Much of what WBC preaches is Biblical, and I do believe it. The Bible teaches that homosexuality is a sin, that God hates homosexuality, that God hates sin, that God punishes sin and sinners, that God is a righteous/wrathful judge. The problem is that that is only part of the truth, and WBC takes it very much out of context and adds their own delusions to that message to make it something deplorable and hateful. However, if they are listed as a hate group, what is the next step? There are already movements to make any anti-homosexuality language classified as hate speech. This would mean that a pastor cannot preach that the Bible teaches homosexuality is wrong without engaging in hate speech.
How much of our freedom are we willing to sacrifice for our comfort and safety? That's probably the topic for another post, but for today it's just something to think about.
Anyways, for today, if you want to sign the petition go right ahead, like I said, despite the risks, I believe that WBC is a hate group and would like to see them labeled as such. If not, don't, but I encourage you to stand up for the Truth, the WHOLE Truth, and nothing but the Truth, and remember that Christ said, "I am ... the Truth ..." Stand for Christ. Be unwavering in preaching Him and uncompromising on the Bible, but do so in LOVE, just as He commanded us to.
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