A Lesson from Fred Phelps. And it’s not what you think!
Fred Phelps, pastor of the infamous “God hates fags” Westboro Baptist Church is reportedly lying on his death bed, excommunicated from the “monster he made,” according to his son Nate. To date, no one has disclosed why he was excommunicated from his own church. Regardless, I was happy to see civil comments in the multiple blogs I read about the hate-filled pastor’s demise.
No matter what side of the issue your on regarding gay rights, or Biblical authority, I think we all agree that Fred Phelps actions were unconscionable. So why did he do it? What would drive an otherwise intelligent man (he was once a lawyer) to spend his life pointing the finger at others? Perhaps it was mental illness, or trauma. Certainly the fervor and dedication to his cause of ill will was unusually strong. But there is one thing we share with Fred Phelps. Belief.
Belief is the strongest motivator of human behavior. It can be influenced by psychosis, drugs, or just childhood. It doesn’t matter whether or not what we believe is true. As long as we believe it strongly enough we will act on it. Fred Phelps acted on his belief and influenced generations in the process. There were those along the way who questioned him, but they were soon excommunicated. How could someone be that closed-minded?
All of us perceive the world around us with limited perspectives. It’s how we, as finite human beings, were designed. Even if we could understand everything, our brains are physically too small to process it and we are limited by only five senses. Quantum mechanics shows there is a lot more going on than meets the eye (ear, nose, tongue and nerve endings).
Many of us are a lot closer to holding bull-nosed, dogmatic beliefs than we’d like to think. Those beliefs are the cause of arguments and dissensions in our everyday dealings with other people. And we humans really hate to be wrong.
It’s easy to shake our heads and pass smug judgments on Fred Phelps for his beliefs that dehumanized and disrespected people. However, what beliefs do we hold that keep us from giving people the full respect they deserve?
Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments section below.
Tim
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A Message Worth Repeating Churchianity Keeping Up Appearances Angry At A God Who Doesn't ExistCopyright © Tim Rymel [A Lesson from Fred Phelps. And it’s not what you think!], All Right Reserved. 2014.The post A Lesson from Fred Phelps. And it’s not what you think! appeared first on Tim Rymel.
