Do I even need to explain what's wrong here?

I won't be held responsible for any monitors that get punched as a reaction to this image.

 You've probably heard of Westboro Baptist Church, as it is a very controversial organization, but do you know exactly what this so-called "church" teaches?

It's hard to find an exact place to start explaining the beliefs of the Westboro Baptist Church, as they are all equally shocking and mad. Basically, WBC thinks the USA (and, according to one of their sister sites, virtually every other nation in the world) is a sinful country and that all of its citizens are headed straight for hell. Moreover, the group rejects the foundation upon which Christianity is based -- the concept that God is love itself. According to them, God kills innocent people because of the sins of others. This is why wartime casualties occur. This is why lives are lost due to AIDS and cancer. And what more effective way to express these ideas than by verbally torturing the families of the deceased and telling people God hates them?

Apparently no one ever told the WBC that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. I mean, they are free to believe whatever they choose to believe, but do they honestly expect to gain followers when they act insane? If somebody demanded that you do something because you'll go to hell if you don't do it, would you feel compelled to listen? Maybe you'd feel afraid, but acting like you agree with someone out of fear is not the same as actually agreeing. And most people think the WBC is just plain crazy. Seeing as humans were created in God's image and are therefore capable of reason, I think that if the majority finds something to be true, it probably is the truth. To deny that would be denying human dignity and therefore denying the way God created the world.

Even if you do think something like homosexuality is a sin (in which case I completely disagree with you), the goal of human beings is not to punish sinners, but to help them to change for the better. I personally think the WBC contains some of the most immoral people on earth, but if one of them died, I wouldn't protest at his funeral. That would accomplish nothing.

One of the many problems if the Westboro Baptist Church is that it focuses too much on the negative. Forget about all the good people in the world -- the billions of people who practice charity, honesty, and kindness --  they only care about damning the "bad" ones. They pay no attention to the parts of the Bible that speak of loving one's neighbors and instead spend their valuable time trying to cite every example of God's rage ever mentioned in the Old Testament. Shouldn't a truly moral Christian follow the teachings of Jesus himself and spread love rather than hate? Call me crazy, but I have a feeling Jesus would not support the WBC.

I have not spoken to a single classmate yet who supports the Westboro Baptist Church, which is good because that means I go to school with people who are not total wackos. I've heard a lot of angry reactions, which is to be expected. But you know what? While it is impossible not to feel some rage over this, let's not try too hard to actively fight the WBC. After all, if you argue with a fool, you're a fool. Instead, let's just laugh in their faces.

 

First image taken from official WBC site, second and third courtesy of Buzzfeed.com.

To learn more about the Westboro Baptist Church, go to their official website at:

www.godhatesfags.com