How WBC Fails: God H8's 8/19

The Westboro Baptist Church (or WBC) is an Independent Baptist “church” known for its extreme stance against homosexuality, other religions, and anything else that tickles their fancy. They are also known for their greatly offensive protest activities against fallen service men/woman and high profile aka popular people. In this special section, we will explore their hateful and distorted “divine” teachings and expose them for what they truly are, a hate group who uses religion for personal power. 

Part: 8/19

Name: Hell's not a real place, it’s a state of mind- Pt8 WBC's GOD H8S vid

Link: http://www.twitvid.com/HDT4Z
Update: Videos have been removed. Blog now shows video of all of them combined.

Bible verses mentioned:

Luke 16: Read it here (it’s rather long)

Matt 5:29: If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

Matt 23:33: [Ye] serpents, [ye] generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

Mark 9:44: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

Update: Well it appears this post has become very popular and as such, I would like to point out a few things. First as is written here, each person is invited to come to their own conclusion. I am here simply to disprove the drivel that spews from the cult, nothing more. If I really shook your faith that hard (just by questioning hell), then I would question the amount of faith you had to begin with. The second is I am not Christian, I do not believe in your Satan and I will thank you to stop sending me emails with various cursing and proclamations of me heading to hell. Thanks. 

Ah hell here we go again!

 

You know what I would like? You know what I would really like? One day to wake up next to a smoking hot red head handing me a Snapple; how frigging epic would that be? I would also like a little place in the middle of the forest where my closest neighbor would be a bear. We would play cards on the weekend during the summer then I would hang with the wolf pack during the winter. We’d probably make some snide remark about how bears are “super lazy” during the winter too. Tree, foliage, all the best nature has to offer AND a red head with Snapple. Oh yea baby, that’s frigging paradise there. Now if you want a more realistic (and actually possible) desire, well then I would like the WBC to crumble into dust. I would like each of them to see the stupid errors of their ways and work towards some type of reconciliation with the community. I would like to see them apologize to the youth of the WBC for corrupting them, and to each and every person personally they have hurt. But until that days comes (and I hope the red head comes first ^_^) I will be here writing, rebuking and discrediting.

When I first read the title of today’s video, I honestly thought my mind was playing tricks on me. No such thing as hell? Say what! Isn't this a stable for nearly every faith, having some place of eternal damnation and such? Bleeding hell I remember being told I would go to hell for not doing my homework! After watching the video, it did nothing to elevate my confusion. You see, I was raised (more or less) in a bible thumper school for twelve years, anything Christian was embed into our foreheads under pain of… well pain. This along with living down the street from a Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Church AND a Jehovah Witness Center, I have never once heard the statement explored in today’s video. 

Hell not a real place (at least for the Christians)?! How odd. After taking some time to think on it, I wondered if this could be a stunt or some twisted play. Perhaps at the time the WBC cult ran out of ideas to use? Perhaps it was mealy a ploy to have Shirley seem more wise and intellegent than she is? After all, how hard is it to start a rumor on the internet these days? And you know how much the WBC loves to insult people.  After taking this time, I still came up blank.  

.  

Well bloody hell people!

Irregardless I am bound to my promise of examining each video, and if possible rebuking their false claims. Up to now, this has been met with much success, many Snapple bottles and a renewed subscription to the History channel. With this in mind I set out to research books (I love the feel of paper) and internet to find proof or disproof for the video at hand. Before we do that, however, I would like to share some personal this and that notes with this video.

• I would highly suggest the cult film someone who does not convulse for the entirety of the video. I was more concerned to why Shirley’s head was bouncing around more than the actual message. I would also suggest hiring a new film guy or check the camera you use. The over use of the zoom feature gives me a headache.
• When submitting one's self to film and to the internet in general, it is a good idea to be truthful and have the ability to back up ones' statements. Telling the target audience to “read the words” (of the bible that is), when you and your "bible experts" do not, does little for the cause.
• I would highly suggest replacing the demeaning and insulting terms with proof of actual leadership. Lead by example right? The WBC often holds themselves up as God’s elect, that is his’ chosen people. A paragon of God’s perfect if you will. If this is the case, might I ask what part of her (Shirley) body will she cut off as to not commit her well known sin again? How will she also assure she does not have a bastard child again?
• I find it difficult to accept the cult believes the statement made toward the end of this video. That is, there is no escape from hell for your sins. If this is the case, why does Shirley time and again say “Jesus died for my sins”? If one can not escape punishment for their sins, surely Shirley can not either. Surely none of us can! If I recall correctly, one of Jesus’ last words where “forgive them, they know not what they do” not “I die so that a bunch of hicks from a place you haven’t heard from yet can be saved, lol you all got trolled” 

Cat's are scary as hell dood.....

What she said: "Rebels say hell isn't real, it's just a state of mind. Nonsense dummies!"

When I first began this one, I had assumed this would be a quick and painless one. Hell was a accepted principle since the time of the single God concept right? Well it's my own silly fault for assuming isn't! After searching various sources, papers and ramblings, I am not afraid to admit I was shocked. If you’re wondering, my exact words where “wtf, really?! I don’t have enough Snapple for this!” Here I was thinking the WBC was (more) off their rocker for making such a silly video and BAM! Pages and pages, source after source questioning the existence of hell! Not only did this make me very excited to read over, but also made me a bit happy as a Pagan. We of the earthy faiths have the whole “learn your life stuff, return to the Divine to rest, repeat till we get it all right, then live eternally with the Divine” thing. Could Christian’s have a similar make up? Perhaps they are born, given their life goals*1 by the God, then live and die only to return to him? An interesting thought to say the least! What I have complied here is biblical writings that questions the existence of hell. Would a loving god create you to be evil, and then punish you for it? Would a loving God allow you to repent for your sins and welcome you into the next life? Ultimately it is up to the reader to accept or deny hell for what it is or isn’t, I’m just here to rebuke the WBC.  I would also like to thank Mercy Aiken and Gary Amirault for greatly assisting in this rebuking paper. Their research made writing this a lot less painful. 

Like many things, we must return to the original source of the Bible, and to the original times of said writings to be able to read and understand. Perhaps you remember how a simple mistranslated word could make it appear Christ was pure evil? Maybe you heard about the other word for hell, Gehenna? Did you know that was an actual place of fire and brimstone? One source has it as a ever burning trash dump, another place where babies where burned. Language is a very powerful thing, it’s best not to mess it up. And apparently this it’s not all cut and dry. Didja know that the Torah, which takes up over 9000*4 pages of the bible does not mention or reference hell at all? It sure in hell (great not we are on bad puns) came as a surprise to me. You would think something so …rather unpleasant, would have a big “DANGER! DANGER WILL ROBSION!” sign on it. To go along side this, we can see the blatant selected treatment of the word Sheol in the Torah. When used in context of someone the translator likes the word means grave. When the words are used for someone the translator does not like it suddenly becomes the word Hell. If you have been following this little series of mine for some time now, you will see this is not the first time words have been mistranslated, you may even be wondering just how this many mistakes get by.

Hell has no fury....

For many of the “not so happy and loving” statement from the Christian faith, many glaring errors and the bible of the WBC, you can thank the King James edition. Contrary to what some may believe, the KJV was never without errors; and out of all the bible version, has the most numerous glaring errors. Believe it or not, it took several “retranslations” to arrive at the still questioned version some use today.  For instance, one edition, Matthew 26:36 said, “Then cometh Judas” while today it reads “Then cometh Jesus.”  Another example is the annoying referenced “thou shall not suffer a witch to live” that should be “thou shall not suffer a (users of foul and evil magic) to live” *2. The first edition also contained the Apocryphal books *3, which were later removed.  Other editions humorously forgot the word “not” out of the seventh commandment, apparently telling people like Shirley it was ok and highly encouraged to commit adultery. Yet another edition read that the unrighteous would inherit heaven.  Just something to think about…

Before I leave you today, (because ripping Shirley a new one for mentioning "if a body part makes you sin rip it off" is just to damn easy), allow me to leave you with a few notes....

• If hell is real (as in real and not just a spiritual monster in the closet thing), why was it not mentioned right from the start of the either the Torah or New Testament? Ok so I get that Genesis is about the creating life and all the jazz, but a heads up from the big guy would seem not only suggested but highly warranted.  I do not see anywhere in God’s facebook profile “likes creating life then screwing with it”
• Why doesn’t hell show up in the Mosaic Covenant? That would be Moses book of laws btw. Moses was the walking Wikipedia for God back in the day; you would think he would know something like this. If he wasn’t made aware of hell, how are the simple foke suppose to know?
• Hell, both in word and concept, has old Pagan (or at least what we call Pagan now) roots. If hell was a real super scary and uncool place, why did this hell concept come to the people of Israel from the Pagans and not from God? 
• When you have a moment Google Molech, along with other unpleasantness, this god demanded child sacrifice. The God of the Jews and (later) Christians told the early Jews that burning their children alive to this false god (in the valley of Gehenna no less) was not a cool thing to do. How anyone could think that’s ok is just… sick. If we follow this disapproving line of thought (With concern to burning people: “never even entered His mind” Jer. 32:35), how could the big guy say this to his people if he planned on burning most of them to begin with?
• Oh and speaking of our good Jewish friends, their holy book (aka the “old testament”) has no hell concept in it.
• If we are to believe in this hell concept, they we must also believe that God is not all powerful and Jesus’ mission was an utter failure. “Not judge the world, but to save the world" John 12:47.
• So much for “gathering of all things into Christ” Eph. 1:10 too eh?
• Let’s assume for a moment hell is a real place for the collected evil souls of man. If this is the case, can we really say Christ won? After all much of the “traditional” interpretation of the bible says MORE people are going to hell then heaven. In the great battle of souls, wouldn’t this make the devil the victor and Christ defeated?
• Here is an interesting thought, If hell is a place of no escape and eternal damnation, why in the bleeding hell did the early church teach Jesus went to Hell? Why do they still preach that he (Jesus) led people out of captivity? (Eph. 4:8,9; Psalm 68:18; 1 Peter 3:18-20) Perhaps the writers where saying Jesus went to the underworld (a common place of dead people) and lead them to heaven?  
• If Hell lasts forever, why the Psalmist confidently speak again and again about being rescued from it (sheol)? (Psalms 16:10, 30:2-3, Psalm 49:15, 86:13, 116:3-8, 139:8).  Maybe Sheol really does mean grave eh?!!?!
• If the grave settled the matter forever, (as in you go where you go no questions asked) why do Christians still offer up prayers for the dead? Seems kinda silly don’t you thing?
• All things according to Rev. 4:11, was made for God’s pleasure. People who take joy in the pain and suffering of others are referred to as masochistic. Is it really conceivable that God would derive pleasure from seeing those He created endlessly tortured? God says He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ez. 33:11).
• If Hell is a real place of endless torment, and God didn't want anyone to end up there, why didn't God just kill Adam and Eve and end the long terrible chain of misery that passed to their offspring before it began? After all, the Scriptures say that all died because of Adam. (Rom. 5:18)

 ... and some bible verses;

• “Just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men , so also the result of one act of righteousness (that would be Christ’s) was justification that brings life for all men . For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. Romans 5:18,19
•  “Since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” 1 Cor. 15:22
•  “For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe” 1 Timothy 4:10  Interesting note with the above verse, see how it says Savior of all men (which could also be taking as all people) not just Christians.
• "Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, He devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him" 2 Samuel 14:14.
• "The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: He bringeth down to the grave (sheol), and bringeth up." 1 Samuel 2: 6
• "See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand" Deuteronomy 32:39.

 

Hell, a place a fiery damnation and eternal punishment. As I have researched this paper I have come to believe that the original authors of the Torah and Christian bible used this dark image as symbolism for (well at the time) present day events. It can be of great comfort to know your enemies will suffer for the wrongs they do to you, or easy to see how a trash dump of bodies ever burning could be seen as a dark and evil place. If anything, the above mentioned points bring question to this concept of hell. Was/Is it a real place? Could hell just be a reference to actual fiery places on earth? 

What do you think now? Is hell real, well that's between you and your Divine.

I would also like to thank Mercy Aiken and Gary Amirault again for their help in this issue

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*1 As in a divine check list of things that needed to be learn in this life. You have the free will to go about it as you please still. We also have the free will to not learn this goal, but then we move into reincarnation.

*2 http://www.religioustolerance.org/wic_bibl2.htm

*3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocrypha
*4 That would be a internet meme btw, look it up if you are unsure to what it is.