Fall from Grace

Showtime premiered a documentary on the life of Fred Phelps, a man who celebrates the deaths of soldiers as proof God is punishing this country for our tolerance of homosexuality. He and the members of his church (mostly his immediate family) are notorious for such wonderful signs as: "God hates fags," "Fags die, God laughs." and my personal favorite, "Thank God for dead soldiers." Mr. Phelps has made his mark on the world and it is one of hate and misunderstanding disguised as devout faith.

Let's continue under these givens: there is a God, He is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent, and that He is a benevolent god. If these are true, how can anyone assume he would punish the "wicked" killing other people. To be a Christian, one must accept the teachings of Christ. Jesus would never have walked down any street with a sign saying "Your son died because my Father is mad at you." Mr. Phelps argues that God is a wrathful and vengeful God, and granted it there are plenty of references in the old testament to God's disappointment in man and the "corrective actions" he took, the new testament shows a completely new side of God. I find, in reference to religious zealots, that fear is always the tactic. I don't understand the fearmongering of any person of power. I understand why it works, and throughout history fear has mobilized a lot of people to do a lot of things (usually immoral and unjust). What I don't get is how anyone who reads the bible can pull out the fire and brimstone, the eternal damnation and the wrath of God, but cannot also pull out understanding, love and forgiveness. Another thing, if an all powerful god can see the wrong you do and chooses to punish you, He lives in eternity, not in measurable time, so he he has all time to punish you, so why would he kill other people if you are the evildoer? Why would God concern Himself when He has all of eternity to torture the person who has disappointed Him?

I find Mr. Phelps hypocrisy and lack of understanding deplorable, and if I catch him or his kin on the streets, I will make sure they understand what it means to turn the other cheek. [Yes, my hypocrisy is deplorable but I admit it.]