Founder of Westboro Baptist Church dies

[pam]

Founder of Westboro Baptist Church, Rev. Fred Phelps Sr. Dies | Wichita News and Weather | Wichita, KS | ksn.com

[FunkyTown]

Shame. It's never good to hear somebody has died.

[Windseeker]

[NeuroTypical]

Condolences to his loved ones.

[Wingnut]

I'm pleased to read the above reactions from each of you so far. Phelps is an easy person to hate, I think, but I do not feel right about such malice or satisfaction at someone's death, as many people may be expressing today. I am quite touched by the comments of George Takei, on Facebook, about Phelps' passing.

I take no solace or joy in this man's passing. We will not dance upon his grave, nor stand vigil at his funeral holding "God Hates Freds" signs, tempting as it may be.

He was a tormented soul, who tormented so many. Hate never wins out in the end. It instead goes always to its lonely, dusty end.

(March 16)

Today, Mr. Phelps may have learned that God, in fact, hates no one. Vicious and hate-filled as he was, may his soul find the kind of peace through death that was so plainly elusive during his life.

(Today)

Class act, and a big man.

[pam]

I follow some of the San Diego local news facebook pages. One of the stations posted the story but with the comment: Today is also International Happiness Day" Coincidence?

I was the first to respond with: While I don't condone what this church has done..should we really be perpetuating hatred with comments such as International Happiness Day and Coincidence?

At one point I had 30+ likes for my comment.

Last time I went to check..the article had been removed from facebook.

[skippy740]

I hope Westboro Baptist Church can find new inspired leadership for their church.

[mnn727]

Unfortunately he trained his children well and if anything his one daughter is more hate filled than he was.

Its sad that they equate their message as being from God.

[Palerider]

I am curious if anyone will protest at his funeral ?

[Wingnut]

I'm sure people will. I've seen a few less-than-civil things show up in my Facebook feed today. Only two people have mentioned it -- a husband and a wife, where he is in the military. But the things they've posted have been absolutely tasteless, crude, and saddening.

[Lakumi]

I'm sure people will. I've seen a few less-than-civil things show up in my Facebook feed today. Only two people have mentioned it -- a husband and a wife, where he is in the military. But the things they've posted have been absolutely tasteless, crude, and saddening.

you can't spend your life being hateful and bigoted and expect anything nice from people upon your death.

I won't cheer for anyone's death, but I feel no remose for the scorn he has received due to the choices he made in life.

[john doe]

Shame. It's never good to hear somebody has died.

Interesting you should say that. I know of very few people who leave this earth without dying first. Death is a part of this earth experience, and I think we mourn or fear it far too much. He's not dead, he has merely passed on to post-earth life.

I certainly won't be celebrating his death, but I don't find the thought of the death of someone who has lived a full life to be sad or not good. In this person's case, it just is, and I won't be celebrating his life, nor the fact that he is no longer on the earth.

[Backroads]

you can't spend your life being hateful and bigoted and expect anything nice from people upon your death.

I won't cheer for anyone's death, but I feel no remose for the scorn he has received due to the choices he made in life.

I agree with this.

I feel no pleasure or delight in his death, just a pure lack of nothing. You'll hear no celebration from me and I pray he finds peace and light. He is a child of God.

But this man made choices and actions that have consequences even against him. He made his bed, so to speak.

[Wingnut]

I feel no pleasure or delight in his death, just a pure lack of nothing.

I likewise feel no pleasure or delight in his death. I feel sad for him and his family that they won't be able to mourn his death privately and peacefully because of people reacting to how he lived, just as I felt sad for those families who had their similar moments invaded by him and his church. But mostly, I feel sad for my friends who are celebrating his death, regaling in it, and being smug and self-righteous about it. I'm disappointed in them. Maybe that's self-righteous of me, but it makes me sad so see people posting pictures of lines of people longer than at a new ride at Disneyland, with the caption "this is the line of people waiting to p*** on Fred Phelps' grave...are you in it?"

[Quin]

All y'all are better people than I.

He doesn't make my lists, because my lists are all personal, but I DO have a short list of people that I shall dance (or micturate, we'll just have to see when the time comes which seems more apropriate) upon their graves when they die.

But then, I also support assassination, as well as believe that some people are absolutely worth spending life in jail & eternity elsewhere to rid the world of. Mad dogs should be out down.

So I'm glad you folk are around, if only to balance out my sort.

Q

[Wingnut]

...as well as believe that some people are absolutely worth spending life in jail...to rid the world of.

I agree with this. And while I admit that I felt relief when I heard the news that bin Laden was dead, I did not celebrate. Nor do I celebrate now.

[prisonchaplain]

I really have less than nothing to say about the man. The old, "Don't speak ill of the dead," ethic kicks in. On a doctrinal note though, I wonder how our different theologies about the dead play into our reactions. For me, Rev. Phelps, who took upon himself a higher level of spiritual responsibility, by being a teacher, has met his reward, one way or another. There is no recourse for him now. Of course, the LDS teaching is different. Does the belief there there may be hope for him yet mitigate the responses here?

[FunkyTown]

Interesting you should say that. I know of very few people who leave this earth without dying first. Death is a part of this earth experience, and I think we mourn or fear it far too much. He's not dead, he has merely passed on to post-earth life.

I certainly won't be celebrating his death, but I don't find the thought of the death of someone who has lived a full life to be sad or not good. In this person's case, it just is, and I won't be celebrating his life, nor the fact that he is no longer on the earth.

Romans 12:15:

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice, and mourn with those who mourn. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly.

The family is most likely mourning and I hope that I can empathize with their sadness at not being able to see this man again in this life.

[NightSG]

Protestors kept it classy:

[Just_A_Guy]

For me, Rev. Phelps, who took upon himself a higher level of spiritual responsibility, by being a teacher, has met his reward, one way or another. There is no recourse for him now. Of course, the LDS teaching is different. Does the belief there there may be hope for him yet mitigate the responses here?

Mormonism is so universalistic that I think our position goes beyond the notion that there "may be hope for him"--it's that, barring a very rare set of conditions that very probably doesn't apply here, his salvation in a kingdom of glory is virtually assured as soon as he is ready to humble himself enough to accept it.

But I think the responses here reflect a more general Christian sense of sorrow for the man, for the lifetime of misdirected zeal, and for the sense of horror he must now be feeling as he (a still-conscious being) comes to understand the error of his ways.

[Suzie]

I felt sad in a way for him and his loved ones. Mainly for him because he probably by now realizes the torment and horror he put other people through for so many years and he must be desperately wishing he could come back and change it all or perhaps not. I do not know, I just cannot think about celebrating the death of anyone.

[Bini]

Didn't even know he died. Don't care one way or the other.

[applepansy]

Protestors kept it classy:

This is a great example.