Despite this …

Amazing, that's how God rolls

Billions of people, drowning in woes

Crazy, it's much too late

To speak of God's love

When you've brought on His hate

Cryin' 'bout your feelings

For your sin, no shame

You're going straight to hell on a crazy train

You're going straight to hell on a crazy train

Let's go!

You've listened to preachers

Your leaders are fools

Your raping false prophets

Who make their own rules

The Beast is ascending

To rule and control

The media sells it

And you pay the toll

This nation God's deceiving

He'll torment you in flames

You're going straight to hell on a crazy train

You're going straight to hell on a crazy train

We've told you your destruction's imminent

You will not listen to our words

Heirs of God's fury

That's what's left to come

Through filthy rebellion

God has made you numb

Crazy, the pride that you wear

God's wrath will be brutal

He will say what is fair

God has not been sleeping

He's gonna bring the pain

It's time for your final ride on this crazy train

Your final stop is hell on this crazy train.

No, no. This isn't my favourite poem at all. For me, this brings back the thought of Westboro Baptist Church (WBC). An independent church known for its extreme stance against homosexuality, which includes picketing funerals and desecrating the American flag, the church is widely described as a hate group and is monitored as such by the Anti-Defamation League and others.

Headed by Fred Phelps - and consisting mostly of members of his large family - it has about 100 members. The group claims that it is in love with Jesus Christ and has placed anti-Gay ads on buses, sign-posts, and ads. In order to further its stance it goes to schools, churches, funerals, and more - shouting obscenities and hateful slogans against the people.

The group bases its work around the belief expressed by its best known slogan and the address of its primary Web site, "God Hates Fags", asserting that every tragedy in the world is linked to homosexuality — specifically society's increasing tolerance and acceptance of the so-called homosexual agenda.

The group maintains that God hates gays above all other kinds of "sinners" and that homosexuality should be a capital crime.

Students kissing in front of protesters from Westboro Baptist Church

The WBC maintains a God Hates India website (now part of the site called www.godhatesthe world.com) where they state that "80% of India's population claim to practice Hinduism. A country full of idolatry inevitably results in a nation full of fags and fag-enablers, because that's what happens when you depart from the 'Living God'!

The group came into the national spotlight in 1998, when they were featured on CNN for picketing the funeral of Matthew Shepard, a young man beaten to death by two men because of his homosexuality.

WBC members, led by Fred Phelps, picketed the funeral (as well as the trial of Matthew's assailants), displaying signs with slogans such as "Matt Shepard rots in Hell" and "AIDS Kills Fags Dead”. (A docu-drama movie on the Matthew case will be shown at T2F soon.)

The Westboro Baptist Church has protested at the funerals of people ranging from Fred Rogers and Coretta Scott King to Jerry Falwell.

On hearing that copies of Qur'an were flushed down the toilet in Guantanamo, Phelps said, "So what if our guys flushed copies of the Qur'an down the toilet? We hope they did." ... and, this year they threatened to burn copies of the Qur'an and even got volunteers. They were stopped from following their act by calls from the USA government and others — for all the wrong reasons: Afghan, Iraq, Pakistan, and other places - and the problems the USA troops could face!

Here's a small list of items posted on its site.

Go there to see more.

Christian Churches

Goddard UMC in Goddard, KS

December 12, 2010 8:30 AM - 9:00 AM

WBC will picket the Goddard UMC because the

so-called Christian churches of this nation have,

of one accord, turned their backs on God's clear standard.

The Methodists have joined hand in hand with

all the churches across this land to spread the soul-damning lies.

Jews

Wexner Jewish Student Center in Columbus, OH

December 16, 2010 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM

WBC will picket the Ohio State Hillel at OSU

where the youth of this nation are taught to

substitute the traditions of the filthy Jews

for the commandments of God.

The Jews alone received God's blessings,

but despised them and rejected and killed their Messiah.

They refuse to repent for that great crime

and sin against God, and continue to harden their hearts

like their forefathers.

Jesus’s ministry of three-and-a-half years was

to the lost house of Israel.

But they would not obey, and they crucified him.

When they did so, they screamed,

“His blood be on us, and on our children,”

Matthew 27:25

God hates Israel. Her destruction is coming from God.

You rebellious sinful Jews will NOT get a pass

because Jesus was a Jew. The Jews killed Jesus.

Schools

Marion High School in Marion, KS

December 14, 2010 7:50 AM - 8:20 AM

WBC to travel to MHS to show the children

of this city some truth for probably the only time

in their lives.  They have been taught a steady diet of lies

their whole lives with a side of pride and rebellion.

You raise these demon-possessed brats

to have no knowledge of the Bible,

much less a true understanding of their God.

The parents, preachers, teachers, and leaders

- all the way up to Antichrist Obama -

are to blame. Your destruction is imminent!

& … Funerals

On March 10, 2006, WBC picketed the funeral of MLC Matthew Snyder. Matthew's father said, "They turned this funeral into a media circus and they wanted to hurt my family. They wanted their message heard and they didn't care who they stepped over. My son should have been buried with dignity, not with a bunch of clowns outside."

Recently they have announced the picketing of Elizabeth Edward's funeral and put up this ad in many places.

•••

I look at all this and still know that the USA isn't doomed at all. This is just a loony collection of nutcases in a remarkable country that has lovely laws and wonderfully amazing people.