................
.. ................................................................................
I came across this article online, which was the continuation of an earlier article about an incident which took place back in 2006. The new article was about the law suit filed by the soldier's father in response to the harassment of the family at his son's funeral and how Fox News' Bill O'Reilly had sided with the family in their suit against the protesters by paying some of the court costs for the soldier's family. The original article told about how parishioners from the Westboro Baptist Church had picketed the funeral carrying signs saying things like "Thank God for 9/11", "God Hates the USA" and "God Hates Fags". After reading this article, I couldn't help but wonder what god they were referring to? Not the God of the bible, not the Creator of the Universe, not the Great I Am, not the Alpha and Omega, not Our God and certainly not the Father of Christ! Because God, the Father in Heaven, is a loving God and does not hate his creations, even though they are wicked and vile enough to picket a grieving family as they lay their son to rest! Apparently the view held by this church's pastor is that the death of American soldiers is a form of God's punishment for the views held by some Americans. But not all of us Americans believe that homosexual behavior is acceptable, so why would he want to punish the rest of us?
Yes, according to the Old Testament in the Bible, God does consider homosexuality a sin, but it's not the only one. God considers many things to be sinful, such as prostitution, pornography, adultery, stealing, murder, etc., is the sin of homosexuality any greater than, say, the sin of prostitution? How do they know it's this sin and not some other? If what they say is true, why wouldn't God hate prostitutes just as much as "gays"? In Romans 3:22-24 it tells us "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ." So, since we are all sinners, why would God just kill a few G.I.s here and there, instead of taking out whole towns, states or even countries, because the USA is not the only nation that practices homosexuality?
In the book of Genesis from the Old Testament, God destroyed the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah because their sin was so great (one of their worst sins was that of homosexuality!). God is wholly and righteous therefore He hates all sin, but not those who sin. "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9) If God were a god of retaliation, we would have become extinct long ago! He wiped out mankind once before with a great flood, couldn't He do it again?
In the book of Genesis from the Old Testament, God destroyed the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah because their sin was so great (one of their worst sins was that of homosexuality!). God is wholly and righteous therefore He hates all sin, but not those who sin. "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9) If God were a god of retaliation, we would have become extinct long ago! He wiped out mankind once before with a great flood, couldn't He do it again?
Our God is the god of love, second chances, forgiveness and abundant mercy, not hate! This passage comes to mind, "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy." (Psalm 103:8) and because of His great love for us, he has promised never to flood the earth again. The bible tells us "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:16-17) "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." (1 John 4:9-10) and lastly "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) In these verses, the whole reason God sent Jesus, His son, into the world, was that he should be the final sacrifice and His blood would cover all the sins for all the people of the world.
I believe that the Rev. Fred Phelps at the Westboro Baptist Church missed an important memo from God the Father, the one delivered by His Son, Jesus, with the following message "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:29-31) Instead of opening their hearts in love and compassion, being a light to the fallen world, they have chosen to close their minds and repay evil with evil, this is not the way of our generous, forgiving and loving God! It's things like this, that add to the bad rap Christians are given. How do we get off on these tangents and miss the mark so drastically? Jesus' original message was really quite simple, first love God, then love others as yourself and that he was sent to teach us how. On that note, I don't think I'll be attending this church anytime soon; if they have not learned to love their neighbors, what can they offer the lost, weary and broken hearted?
