Update: Sad News - Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church has dropped off his perch

[vegster]

I felt sorry for the girl who had been thrown out of the church, seemingly, for wearing a bikini while on holiday !

They said that she was going to the " Hottest Part of Hell " for what she had done, well, I'm somewhat reassured thet there at least seems to be a more temperate area of hell which may be fairly tolerable. I intend to be quite a good boy from now on lest I get place in the area of Hell which is turned up 30C more just for real sinners .

 

[Rookie]

I'm surprised this hasn't ended up like Waco yet

give it time, some of the things they were saying implied that the end is nigh.

 

[vegster]

It was quite surreal how these young girls were smiling at the camera while denouncing the 95% of the entire population who were going to meet grisly deaths. So convinced that they and their kin were going to be spared and so jolly about mass slaughter ( allegedly). TBH, " God's Will " will probably come in the form of an asteroid strike causing an extinction event, or that rather nasty magma plume under Yosemite Park which is a few thousand years overdue to erupt and cause an extinction event or, a sudden mutation of a virus or bacteria which will spread so fast in our 24 hour society that we have no chance.

I think praying, brushing your teeth regularly,sensible hemlines and abstinence from masturbation aint going to save you.

 

[bhaexpress]

Free speech is a good thing. But what's better is the freedom to listen or not listen to what anyone says.

Like it or not they are displaying common opinions/traits which have been held by millions of humans over the course of human history. So they aren't diseased, they are just another aspect of humanity(for better or for worse).

Not listening nor reacting to them is what will ultimately defeat them.

React against them and you then run the chance of rallying others behind their cause and empowering them further.

In other words, just let them get on with spreading hate. Oh well, they do think that they're doing God's bidding.

 

[sten_super]

In other words, just let them get on with spreading hate. Oh well, they do think that they're doing God's bidding.

But are they spreading it, or are they just effectively ridiculing themselves? I missed the program last night (intend to watch it on iPlayer this evening) but it sounds like they are so mental that no-one takes them seriously. It's like any extremist group, and is what Louis Theroux is very good at - you encourage them to keep talking until they make themselves look ridiculous, without having to do anything to directly oppose them.

 

[bhaexpress]

It was quite surreal how these young girls were smiling at the camera while denouncing the 95% of the entire population who were going to meet grisly deaths. So convinced that they and their kin were going to be spared and so jolly about mass slaughter ( allegedly). TBH, " God's Will " will probably come in the form of an asteroid strike causing an extinction event, or that rather nasty magma plume under Yosemite Park which is a few thousand years overdue to erupt and cause an extinction event or, a sudden mutation of a virus or bacteria which will spread so fast in our 24 hour society that we have no chance.

I think praying, brushing your teeth regularly,sensible hemlines and abstinence from masturbation aint going to save you.

Some of my Canadian relatives are serious god botherers. I was staying with a couple of them last year and one morning, over breakfast, they assured me, quite matter factually that as an atheist I would 'burn in hell'. I have to admit I was amused but they were quite upset that I laughed at them. I pointed out that the nuns at my Catholic Primary school had told me the same thing but as an adult I now knew what a load of rubbish their rhetoric was. I might add that one of their parents told me that a member of her congregation who was doing missionary work here in the UK (seriously here !) and that this missionary had assured her that with ten years the UK would be a Muslim state. Nothing I could do to convince her otherwise would change her mind.

The worrying thing though is that these sort of views can affect young minds as well as those who are easy to influence. I am not surprised at the fact these deluded souls can smile whilst spreading hate, it's not unique to the US though, just ask Bin Larden's followers.

 

[bhaexpress]

But are they spreading it, or are they just effectively ridiculing themselves? I missed the program last night (intend to watch it on iPlayer this evening) but it sounds like they are so mental that no-one takes them seriously. It's like any extremist group, and is what Louis Theroux is very good at - you encourage them to keep talking until they make themselves look ridiculous, without having to do anything to directly oppose them.

I think that the vast majority of people do think they're insane but it's the handful that will believe them who are the worry. What does amaze me is that hither too they haven't have much physical harm done to them.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

In other words, just let them get on with spreading hate. Oh well, they do think that they're doing God's bidding.

If nobody listens to them then they aren't spreading anything is my point.

There's quite a bit of hatred being spread their way, is that hate acceptable?

 

[Bold Seagull]

But are they spreading it, or are they just effectively ridiculing themselves? I missed the program last night (intend to watch it on iPlayer this evening) but it sounds like they are so mental that no-one takes them seriously. It's like any extremist group, and is what Louis Theroux is very good at - you encourage them to keep talking until they make themselves look ridiculous, without having to do anything to directly oppose them.

I agree, unlike the Panarama guy that lost the plot when covering the Scientologists, Louis just gently presses around the edges, teasing out the contradictions and conflicts that clearly some of them have. Thought it was good telly last night; they absolutely scare the sh*t of me, I don't know how I'd react if they were at a funeral of one of my loved ones.

 

[Easy 10]

The scariest thing is that these people have access to firearms.

 

[Spider]

The scariest thing is that these people have access to firearms.

Why? Suggesting they're going to shoot someone seems to be a profound misunderstanding of the whole thing.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Why? Suggesting they're going to shoot someone seems to be a profound misunderstanding of the whole thing.

there wasn't anything profound about these people, or anything to be understood on any logical level...

 

[bhaexpress]

If nobody listens to them then they aren't spreading anything is my point.

There's quite a bit of hatred being spread their way, is that hate acceptable?

I wouldn't confuse hatred with contempt, believe me if they were hated in the US half of them would be dead by now.

 

[magoo]

Some poor bloke just got blown up in Ireland because of someone's twisted idea on 'God's word'. The real dangerous nutters are much closer to home than this insignificant family.

 

[The Large One]

If nobody listens to them then they aren't spreading anything is my point.

There's quite a bit of hatred being spread their way, is that hate acceptable?

But people DO listen, principally because it suits them to listen.

You can't be so naive to think that there aren't idiots who want to listen and want to believe.

The principal issue of freedom of speech is it must come with responsibility. These people are taking the piss out of it.

 

[bhaexpress]

But people DO listen, principally because it suits them to listen.

You can't be so naive to think that there aren't idiots who want to listen and want to believe.

The principal issue of freedom of speech is it must come with responsibility. These people are taking the piss out of it.

That is very much the problem. I wouldn't mind betting that followers of other faiths will take the sort of behaviour shown by these people as the norm for all Christians, after all a large percentage of them still believe in a virgin birth.

 

[Easy 10]

Why? Suggesting they're going to shoot someone seems to be a profound misunderstanding of the whole thing.

They are fundamentally not quite right in the head. Their utter fanaticism and unstinting belief that they are 'right' and the rest of the world is 'wrong' and therefore ripe for punishment is not a particularly healthy or balanced outlook on life. Just listening to their bile, it struck me that it really wouldn't take a great leap for one of these brainwashed kids to pick up a gun one day and begin carrying out "the Lords work". Clearly they could quite easily justify it to themselves.

 

[Pot noodles for everyone]

give it time, some of the things they were saying implied that the end is nigh.

At the risk of drawing in DingoDan, the blame for the deaths at Waco can be laid entirely at the door of the ATF agency. I don't normally buy into conspiracy theories but I also happen to believe that the Oklahoma bombings were preventable but that the FBI and ATF allowed it to happen so that important homeland security budgets were not cut by Congress who were looking to slash the size of the ATF and FBI after the Waco debacle.

Personally, I think these people featured have no less or more nutty ideas than most muslims in developing countries. I think the comparison's a fair one too. As I see it, these christians are harmless buffoons and seriously not worth worrying about. Even in the American Christian heartland they have negligible support and don't reflect at all mainstream American or Christian beliefs.

Louis Theroux's show is a throwback to circus freakshows and there's a few posters on here who are using this loony family to do their usual rants about religion and America.

 

[Scampi]

Some poor bloke just got blown up in Ireland because of someone's twisted idea on 'God's word'. The real dangerous nutters are much closer to home than this insignificant family.

No he didn't get blown up for religious reasons, he was murdered for nationalist reasons.

 

[Bold Seagull]

At the risk of drawing in DingoDan, the blame for the deaths at Waco can be laid entirely at the door of the ATF agency. I don't normally buy into conspiracy theories but I also happen to believe that the Oklahoma bombings were preventable but that the FBI and ATF allowed it to happen so that important homeland security budgets were not cut by Congress who were looking to slash the size of the ATF and FBI after the Waco debacle.

Personally, I think these people featured have no less or more nutty ideas than most muslims in developing countries. I think the comparison's a fair one too. As I see it, these christians are harmless buffoons and seriously not worth worrying about. Even in the American Christian heartland they have negligible support and don't reflect at all mainstream American or Christian beliefs.

Louis Theroux's show is a throwback to circus freakshows and there's a few posters on here who are using this loony family to do their usual rants about religion and America.

So some posters are using this loony family for their rants, while you happily outline that Oklahoma was intentionally allowed to happen, and then make the sweeping generalisation that the ideas of the Westboro mob are no less or more nutty than 'most' muslims in developing countries?

You were aiming at irony I hope?