Westboro Baptist Church is that small group of around 40 people that shows up at funerals to say, “God hates fags.” So long as they just attacked the families of deceased gay and lesbian people they weren’t so much national news, but when the church began showing up at the funerals of fallen soldiers saying America was being punished for allowing homosexuals to live in the country, the church was almost universally condemned.
I’m almost certain that most fundamentalist Christian recoil at the tactics of Westboro Baptist Church. But Westboro has simply moved to the logical conclusion of fundamentalist rhetoric. Someone who takes certain parts of the Bible literally would be stoning adulterers, and killing homosexuals, defacing Muslim temples, etc.
What many fundamentalist Christians don’t like about Westboro Baptist Church is the way their own beliefs look when really put into practice. When fundamentalist televangelists and local preachers blame national tragedies like Newtown on our nation’s toleration of gay and lesbian persons or people of other faiths, they may not have the courage to ride the train all the way out, but they have built a rhetorical track that leads straight to Westboro.
This small church of no more than 40 people has created a vivid example of the logical conclusion of self-described “Bible-believing Christians” — they just haven’t started stoning adulterers or seafood lovers. When Mike Huckabee and Bryan Fischer blame the Newton shooting on banning school prayer, they place themselves along the continuum with Westboro Baptist Church. -Paul Raushenbush, Huffington Post.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-raushenbush/thank-you-westboro-baptist-church_b_2396991.html?utm_hp_ref=email_share
Who specifically blamed the shootings on the nation’s intolerance of gays, lesbians or people of other faiths?
Craig,
I didn’t say they blamed it on intolerance of GLBT and people of other faiths, but on tolerance of them.
I see that now…I’m sorry if it seemed like I was twisting your words….not trying to do that at all.
I am still trying to understand, though..were there certain televangelists or politicians that actually blamed the shooting (or any of our nation’s recent tragedies) as a result of inclusion and acceptance of gay, lesbian and transgendered people in our communities?
Craig,
I didn’t think you were twisting my words at all. I just didn’t want to try to answer a question you weren’t asking. Thanks for clarifying. I believe the website “Right Wing Watch” has a number of clips of clergy and politicians making that claim. Check that out and let me know what you think. Meanwhile I’ll pull my own notes back out and see if I can be more specific. It is very important to me to be fair so please don’t think such challenges are unwelcome. I really appreciate your concern and am delighted to continue the conversation. Thank you for your concern for fairness.
Jim