Westboro Baptist Church Gets In the Music Game 54
The people who picketed the funerals of dead soldiers and brought you such charming websites as "God Hates Fags" are getting into the music business with their single, "Whorish Face." The parody of the Lady Gaga hit "Poker Face" was written by Westboro Pastor Fred Phelps' granddaughter Megan Phelps-Roper. With all the trouble these people have caused already do they really want to face the fury of Weird Al?
Why? (Score:1)
Why do we give these people the time of day?
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Eh as much as I hate these people, I'm glad to see them still alive and hating. As long as they get to spread their hateful rhetoric, I can be quite sure no one is going to threaten my free speech. The oppression always comes at the fringes first.
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This is Amerika, where you are entitled to your beliefs, no matter how unenlightened they may be, as long as you don't hurt anyone else. Personally, I feel that protesting at funerals DOES hurt innocent people, and that the best way to deal with these these "latents" is to show up at their rallies and engage in every sort of Public Display of Affection allowed by law in front of them, all the while smiling and telling them "we love you, brother!"
They don't just protest. A friend of mine was driving with his sister when he came across a bunch of Westboro protesters. His sister leaned out the car window and shouted a suggestion to them (no, not that, just to "go home to mommy"). Weeks later, he got a call from a police department on the other side of town. His car had been reported as causing a hit-and-run accident. The cops investigated and found the allegation bogus. The Phelpsies had filed a false police report to get back at their "enemy",
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These guys may hang with the Lunatic Fringe, but they know what to say to get to their target audience. And the News seems to really cater to the Fringe Fans, heck, I've gone to watch a wildfire myself.
Dangerous position (Score:2)
I do hope that the Westboro people realize that they are putting themselves in a dangerous position by their protests. One of these years they may get on the bad side of people who have guns and know how to use them.
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Even though they're loaded with blanks, it would be quite amusing to see where someone getting a 21 gun salute, for the soldiers suddenly all swing and take aim at the picketers and make them piss themselves while scattering as the guards shot at them...
Why not? (Score:1)
Not the first time. (Score:2)
God hates the world? (Score:2, Interesting)
Maybe they really want Romans 12:2 "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."
I suppose they get their theology from 1 John 2... but God's asking us not to love the world. That's not the same as him
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But let's be fair, calling the WBC 'Christians' is being very loose with the term. 'Bible thumper' is more accurate, since they care only about using the Bible to further their agenda, rather than what it (or eponymously, Christ) actually says. Just like how terrorists misquote the Qur'an, even though the Islam religion is against everything they proclaim.
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Re:God hates the world? (Score:4, Insightful)
Personally, I believe God Loves Homosexuals (that's we he made so many of them!) and that Jesus, who was known for hanging out with and comforting the outcasts of society, would have had no problem with embracing someone whose sexual preferences were in the minority. Although the bible contains several proscriptions on homosexual behavior, the usual example cited (Sodom & Gomorrah) is a bad one, since these cities were destroyed for allowing the practice of homosexual rape, not mere homosexuality.
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I just quoted examples that aren't.
I won't comment on your second argument, other than to say that in order to accept it you must accept that homosexuality is a natural state, like skin color or being deaf. If you consider homosexuality a chosen behavior (like drug abuse), then it's flawed.
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If all naturally occurring behaviors are perfectly acceptable ways to behave on the basis that they are naturally occurring, please explain the documented cases of murder, cannibalism, rape, incest, etc. in non-human animals.
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Sodom and Gomorrah is, I suppose, the passage of choice for those who want to convince you that God is about to fry you for disobedience of His law, but it's by far not the only place in the Bible that addresses homosexual behavior. Read it with an open mind, and I believe it's obvious (although by no means a major theme) that homosexual behavior is outside of God's will (and therefore sin - missing the mark).
But, like I mentioned, homosexuality is not a major theme of scripture. The Bible has WAY more to s
In practise, yeah (Score:2)
Just look around you (and a little further than your comfy backyard), see what kind of world he supposedly created.
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Who then?...
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The difference may be in the definition of “world”. On the one hand, God loves the “world”, i.e. people, and we are to love our neighbours, etc. On the other hand, 1 Jn 2:15-16 says that we should not love the “world”, then goes on to clarify that it is referring to certain aspects of civilization, not the people:
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...and yet they are still somewhat detached, don't you agree?
Nothing new or unexpected really, every new cult (also those we call major religions now) is like that at the beginning.
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I've seen a little cult action up-close, and the Leadership has always tried to act VERY hip. I remember sitting down with Kristina Seher and "restoring" some old Rock Standards [Think "Weird Pat" Robertson doing The Beatles], up at Boonville. It helps to indoctrinate folks if you get 'em singing.
Real Christians? Where?! (Score:2)
For starters, being Christian would suggest following the basic teachings coming from Jesus of Nazareth. Eschewing material wealth is among the main ones. That eliminates 99% of supposed adherents.
More generally, building you church inside you as a spiritual concept and not as a wealthy organisation also seems to be one. Heck, and I can't exactly see how supporting any wars fits, too...
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Jesus was a carpenter.
This is a common misconception. In truth, Jesus was the son of a carpenter (or the foster son of a carpenter). It is not clear what his actual profession was, if he ever had one. Most likely is that he was a rabbi.
The only reference to Jesus being a carpenter in the New Testament is this:
Mark 6:2-3
And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?
Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon?
The first verse mentions teaching in the synagogue, which carpenters don't generally do. The second verse calls him a carpenter, but other translations use the phrase "Is not this the son of the carpenter, the son of Mary". Also, the Greek version uses the word "tekton", which can be translated in a number of ways, including "poet" and "author".
If he were a rabbi, a poet, or an auther, where his writings?
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Note the lack of the word “only”. That list is not comprehensive.
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Wow, you UTTERLY fail. You can’t even properly do a word search to find references to the phrase “God hates” or similar?
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For the record, you will find that God hates homosexuality but loves the people
According to whom? Certainly not according to the Bible. According to Proverbs 6:16-19, there are six things God hates, and homosexuality is not one of them:
There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
That's a really good list.
I tend to think that Leviticus shouldn't be included in Christian canon as it's largely concerned with the Jewish concept of ritual purity which is discarded in Christianity. I went to a good church as a child (although I didn't really believe back then) where the focus was on love and forgiveness and I don't think anyone ever read from Leviticus. In general, I think the idea of pinning down religion to a matter of ritual and binary compliance with a set of procedures is a bad idea
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For the record, you will find that God hates homosexuality but loves the people
According to whom? Certainly not according to the Bible. According to Proverbs 6:16-19, there are six things God hates, and homosexuality is not one of them:
There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
That's a really good list.
I tend to think that Leviticus shouldn't be included in Christian canon as it's largely concerned with the Jewish concept of ritual purity which is discarded in Christianity. I went to a good church as a child (although I didn't really believe back then) where the focus was on love and forgiveness and I don't think anyone ever read from Leviticus. In general, I think the idea of pinning down religion to a matter of ritual and binary compliance with a set of procedures is a bad idea and I see Jesus's teachings as railing against that view within the community of his time.
It's nice to see people around here talking about this civilly.
The Christians pick and choose which parts they think are canon depending on their mood. For instance they throw out the whole, kill anybody eating shellfish, but they want to keep the Ten Commandments.
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Really? You wouldn't know it seeing how many gays are in positions of leadership in xian churches.
He must also love gossips and rumour-mongers, seeing as most fundie churches are SO busy telling everyone else how they should live or they're going to hell.
What next? Condemning transsexuals as "just men in dresses"? Or that divorced people can never remarry? Or that I'll go to hell for saying that i am absolutely convinced t
It's their right to be... (Score:1)
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Calling them real Christians is like calling Al-Queda real Muslims. It's offensive to those who actually use their faith in a positive well mannered way.
No true Scotsman, eh? I love how people keep rejecting the idea that there are jerks and saints in pretty much *any* organization out there...
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No true Scotsman isn’t always a logical fallacy. Sometimes it’s a statement of fact.
For instance, no true atheist believes in god.
How Charming (Score:1)