Friday, May 25, 2012

How WBC Fails: The complete collection Vol 1


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 created for the WBC Cult Exposed 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.



Blogging: 

Not to long ago, this little blogger issued a contest of shorts to the folks of the Westboro Baptist Church. If you are blissfully unaware of what these things… er people are, then you are one lucky person
While spending my off hours trolling the WBC (can it be considered trolling?), the email for the cult was posted on their twitter account. AWESOME! I thought, I could pose my Q&A again without the need to shorten it. Well I got an email back, and not surprisingly it's something I would expect from a second grader.
I was once asked why I even bother with the crazies, and here is why. 
Who knew? The most hated family in America also fails at blogging. SHOCKING! 
 Interviews and Tv Spots:
Nathan "Nate" Phelps (born November 1958) is an author, speaker on religion and child abuse, and an LGBT advocate.  The seventh child of Pastor Fred Phelps, Phelps has been estranged from the majority of his family since his 18th birthday. Phelps has since declared himself an atheist. He is known for his open criticism of the Westboro Baptist Church through literature, interviews, public speaking at atheist conventions and his website. He states that his father abused him and the other Phelps children and believes that the church is an organization for his father to "vent his rage and anger." Today I am now happy to present part one of the email Q&A I had with Nate Phelps, otherwise known as the No H8 Phelps.  
Our words are also not free floating, easily said then quickly forgotten. Our words can linger on in people and thought, or even echo forever in the ages. Like what is said about the internet, once you say something it is more than likely recorded somewhere. Today’s edition deals with language in a much different way than the previous “God H8’s” series. In such previous titles we explored how their main message of each video was hateful and… well crap. In today’s edition I want to return to their previous video and twitter postings to explore the items we might have missed. You know, the little things they let slip that gives hint to just how deep the rabbit hole goes.  
Shirley, along with other female members of her "church", preached about a Jewish video that taught America's how to murder the WBC. While many, myself included, would call their religious and political views extreme, making a movie for the purposes of "Idiot's Guide to killing WBC"... is a bit much. I was also curious that it was Jewish in nature. You would think a people who have suffered A LOT would turn their nose to such actions. The video in question is the trailer for a new fictional movie is called  God Bless America (2012).  A how to guide for killing the WBC? Wut?!?



Videos - God H8's series

  1. People should be accepted for who they are.
  2. He who is without sin, cast the first stone.
  3. Eating Shellfish is the same sin as being a fag.
  4. Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you.
  5. God gave man free will.
  6. God does not hate.
  7. God loves everybody.
  8. Hell's not a real place, it’s a state of mind
  9. I’ll Pray for you
  10. The Bible is subject to interpretation
  11. Jews didn't kill Jesus - He was a Jew
  12. For God so loved the world
  13. Judge Not That Ye Be Not Judged
  14. God don't make no junk
  15. Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself
  16. God loves the sinner, hates the sin
  17. God doesn’t cause bad things to happen to people.
  18. That's Only Old Testament Stuff
  19. Accept Jesus as your personal savior


 

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Ramblings of a Pagan Guy: Growing Pains



Over the years, I have found that many a person has this strange idea when it comes to the Pagan faiths. It as if as soon as one converts, they [the pagan] are thrown back to the middles ages. People also have this rather quirky notion that pots and pans turn into wands and broomsticks, that tables and chair turning to sacrificial altars and stone circles. To many people think that once one devotes themselves to the God and Goddess, reality bleeds away is magically replaced with Hogwarts schools and Weasly like houses. They also believe that our God and Goddess are just whores, or even worse the Christian devil. With this mini-set it is my hope to address these and many more misunderstood concepts so that we will be see as people too. We are not the demons some people try to make us out to be.

Before we begin, let’s be 100% honest with ourselves; growing up can be a real - well I let you choose your descriptive word there...

Forcefully being removed from a blissful world of near perfect entertainment with friends, caring for nothing and using your parents money like candy is not a super awesome thing. Being forcefully injected into a world of cold hard and unforgiving reality is not something anyone embraces either. But that's life, as they say. Traversing the sands of time towards the march of adulthood, our childhood joys are replaced with worries about puberty, voice cracking, social awkwardness, jobs, pay checks, taxes, bills, dating, Facebook and so much more. When you throw in our “glorious” technological age where every embarrassing moment can be recorded and put on YouTube in under ten seconds, one wonders how teens don’t suffer more mental break downs.

So yea, life just sucks sometimes....

When last we gathered, I wrote about how Christianity just wasn’t working for me, even at a young age. Even then I had to many question, to many thoughts that didn't add up, and to many “you will understand when you are older” comments in response. 

Having survived the test of time, and being far older now than I was then, I really find such comments insulting. Hey how about instead of dodging the question, you actually come up with some answers? This is your faith after all, isn't? How can a baby be born evil? There is no sin there, that child is the closest thing to purity humanity we will ever see. If God is sovereign and controls everything, what right does he have to punish people doing his will (be it good or bad)? If Christ was all about peace, love, helping EVERYONE, why do so many of his followers scoff at doing such?

Like I said, to many questions, zero acceptable answers.

So after much soul searching, research, and help from actual supportive people, I am now part of the Pagan fold. But what does any of this blabbering (I know I do tend to ramble on) have to do with today’s Rambling of a pagan guy? As we already know from personal experience, growing up today is not a easy thing to do. When anyone grows up willingly embracing a religion many considering "Satanic", well that just makes a bad trip worse. Today's rambling is part of the on going thing to record my experiences as a teen and young adult, and part message to the younger generation of Pagans out there. We "old heads" know what you are going threw, and we know the constant pain and mental abuse you experience at the hands of ignorance.

You are not alone.