OUR VIEW: Westboro protesters go gaga for Gaga in Oklahoma City
Published: July 22, 2010
Lady Gaga was in Oklahoma City on Tuesday night, and it brought out all sorts of crazy, delusional, egotistical and irrational people. Her loving fans also were there.
The crazy people were members of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church. If you don’t know, this church is famous for protesting soldiers’ funerals due to the fact that, according to Westboro, the soldiers fight for a country that supports homosexuality and thus they are “burning in Hell.” The group, founded by Fred Phelps and consisting of mostly his family, also hate most other religions.
Lady Gaga, on the other hand, is a musician with a knack for theatrics. She knows how to create controversy, be it religious imagery in her music videos or her rather uncomfortable looking outfits. She sings about dancing, loving one another, being in love and Spanish men. She attracts a large audience consisting of all types of people, including a large gay fan base.
This is where Westboro comes in. Its members just had to show up and cause a commotion, letting everyone know that seeing a woman dress in jagged and leathery clothing singing about telephones will send them to a fiery afterlife.
Shirley Phelps-Roper, one of the Westboro’s leaders, said, “If you go in there, follow her lead, you’ll just go to Hell with her. She teaches rebellion and God takes a dim view of that.”
Doesn’t God take a dim view on hate speech? The Bible does not preach hate, yet that is all Westboro does.
Look at their signs: “God hates Gaga,” “Pray for more dead soldiers” and “God hates you.” How is this reflective of Christianity? Isn’t this the opposite of everything the Bible stands for?
It is people like Westboro who make Christians look like hypocrites, people who supposedly preach love yet show nothing but condemnation.
Comments
Karla_Dudek 1 year, 6 months ago
Westboro Baptist Church does not represent Christianity any more than al-Qaeda represents Islam.
(Now if someone could please get that through Glenn Beck's head.)
soonertsmith 1 year, 6 months ago
I completely agree with you. I'm a Christian (and a Lady Gaga fan) and I'm appalled at the way Westboro uses hate speech in the Lord's name. It's despicable. Jesus preaches love, not hate. I would venture a guess and say that God has a better view of Lady Gaga's message of love and understanding over Westboro's message of hate. That's not to say that Lady Gaga has it right in the eyes of God either, but that isn't for anyone but God to judge, just like it's not for anyone but Him to judge soldiers or anyone else on the planet.
dargus 1 year, 6 months ago
There are idiots of all stripes. It is best to ignore them.
cattzigane 1 year, 6 months ago
Gaga preaches love and acceptance way more than that church does.
DylanC94 1 year, 6 months ago
I hope you guys know that they google themselves daily. When they see this, Copeland Hall will be protested and picketed probably when school is in session in the fall. Hell, they might even protest Gaylord for having the letters G-A-Y in its name.
I'm surprised you forgot to mention who else was in town the night Gaga was here. The National Free Will Baptist Convention was taking place in the Cox Center right across the street. It was heartwarming to see their members hold hands with someone who is gay, lesbian and even one of my friends who is HIV positive during a small counter-protest. There is hope for some Christians.
Ducky 1 year, 6 months ago
"It is people like Westboro who make Christians look like hypocrites, people who supposedly preach love yet show nothing but condemnation."
Seriously? How can WBC make Christians look like anything? There are 10 of them, and they're from Kansas...f'ing Kansas!
Every contemporary and traditional Christian group in North America and Europe - Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox - have thoroughly and unambiguously condemned WBC. The WBC in no way represents any form or strand of Christianity except its own narrow agenda. It has no connection with the rest of Christendom, and they're actions and words are actually designed to be as outrageous to believing Christians as they are to everyone else.
WBC is nothing. If it wasn't for the media - YOU - giving them a bull horn, nobody would know who they are.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID