To anyone who has been affected by a Westboro “Baptist” Church protest: As a Christ follower, please accept my sincerest personal apologies for their behavior. Their actions are 100% anti-Christian and their doctrines are completely unbiblical. God loves everybody, no matter what. His love is incomprehensible to human standards and His peace transcends all understanding. Jesus taught love, forgiveness, kindness, and mercy. He hung out with the sinners, the tax collectors, lepers, and prostitutes because He does not discriminate. My God is a god of grace and His spirit is comprised with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. The Westboro “Baptist” Church protest signs are libel and their claims are slander. When I refer to the Westboro “Baptist” Church, I put the “Baptist” part in quotes because Baptist is a denomination of Christianity. Any church calling themselves by a Christian denominational name, by their actions, cannot truthfully conduct themselves in a manner as that of the W”B”C and still call themselves followers of Christ, since Christ did not conduct himself in that manner.
Instead of screaming, “You’re going to Hell,” “God hates homosexuals,” and “Pray for dead soldiers,” at people, Christ would have talked to them, gotten to know them, served them and truly shown them love. As Christ followers, myself and the Christian church are called to go into the world and make disciples so that the world might come to know Christ. When Jesus made the Great Commission, that was his will, not for his followers to go into the world and make His people feel unloved and persecuted.
Please understand that those people are being lied to by the Great Deceiver, just like Eve was lied to by the Serpent in Eden. They have so much hatred screaming in their hearts and therefore cannot hear God’s loving whisper saying, “My children, you are terribly mistaken about my character. Please listen to Me.” But Satan’s lies are deafening fires in their ears and his claws are hooked so far into their hearts, that this church cannot hear God weeping for them. That’s how Satan, the Serpent and Great Liar, works his way into human life; through our uncertainty and vulnerabilities.
But that’s the awesome thing about God; His mercies are new everyday, He is consistent and steadfast. He will never fail, forget, or forsake those who call him Father.
Dearest reader, if you are not a follower of Christ or do not have a personal relationship with Him, PLEASE I beg you, DO NOT let the actions of the Westboro “Baptist” Church taint your perspective on Christianity or waiver your opinions about God in a negative connotation. If you are even the least bit curious about the Christian faith, I highly recommend that you read the book of Philippians. It was written as a letter by the apostle Paul to the (then) growing church in Philipi after the death of Christ describing His character, God’s nature, and how those who call themselves Christ followers should conduct their speech and behavior. It is in no way a bunch of rules restricting behavior, but rather a compilation of personal accounts (by Paul) and imitations of Christ’s behavior. In order to show Christ to people, His people should act in accordance to Christ’s actions.
Once again, if you or someone you love has been affected by a Westboro “Baptist” Church protest, I am truly sorry for how they treated you, and it is my prayer that you would forgive them, just as God forgives us all.
