"God Hates Gay's"?

I figured that headline would get your attention. I spend a lot of time searching the internet looking for all kinds of things. The kind of things that we may not know exist. Along with watching TV News programs, this is where I come up with a majority of my topics. Recently I heard about a man from Topeka Kansas. This is no ordinary man. He is the Pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church, and has 13 children. Sounds like a decent guy so far, right? The way I see it....not so Much. His name is Fred Phelps and he is the owner of the website "God Hates Fags.com" That was all I needed to spark my interest, and proceeded to research this individual. Reading about this man made my skin crawl. While I promote that everyone is entitled to their opinion, I found it hard to accept anything this hate monger had to say as acceptable. He does not share his views as his belief, but as the way it is. All of his children share in his beliefs and are active members of his cult.....I mean congregation. Let me start by giving you a brief run-down of this man:

Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr. (born November 13, 1929) is the pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), an independent Baptist church in Topeka, Kansas. He is a disbarred lawyer and founder of the Phelps Chartered law firm. WBC is listed as a "hate group" by the Southern Poverty Law Center. He is known for preaching with slogans and banners denoting phrases such as "Thank God for 9/11", "God hates fags," "AIDS cures fags," and "Fags die, God laughs (or mocks)," and claims that God will punish homosexuals as well as people such as Bill O'Reilly, Coretta Scott King, Ronald Reagan, and Howard Dean, whom his church considers "fag-enablers". His church says he is a "Five-Point Calvinist" I would give you the definition of this, but it is long and confusing. I do however recommend looking it up). He has also thanked God for the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

Phelps and his followers frequently picket various events, especially military funerals, gay pride gatherings, and high-profile political gatherings, arguing it is their sacred duty to warn others of God's anger. When criticized, Phelps' followers say they are protected in doing so by the First Amendment. In May 2006 President Bush signed the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act in response to Phelps' protests at military funerals (something Bush got right). In April 2007, Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius signed into law a bill banning the protest of funerals.

Phelps says that he is a preacher who believes that homosexuality and its acceptance have doomed most of the world to eternal damnation. The church at Westboro which he leads has 71 confirmed members, 60 of whom are related to Phelps through blood or marriage or both.

The group is built around a core of anti-homosexual theology, with many of their activities stemming from the slogan "God hates fags," which is also the name of the group's main website. Gay rights activists, as well as Christians of virtually every denomination, have denounced him as a producer of anti-gay propaganda and violence-inspiring hate speech.

Phelps says he is an old school Baptist, which includes John Calvin's doctrine of unconditional election, the belief that God has elected certain people for salvation before birth. He says that almost nobody is a member of the elect, and furthermore that he and the members of his congregation (mostly his family) are the only members of the elect, because they are the only ones not afraid to publish the current relevant application of the word of God — in particular, that "God hates fags."

OK, that was a little longer than intended, but let's move on. Let me start by saying that I am not naive. I am well aware of the numerous anti-gay, anti-American, anti-whatever groups that exist among us. And as much as I disagree with them, or find their tactics appalling, they are protected under the law. It is something I have to deal with. But when did God start hating people? No matter what form of higher power you believe in, have you ever equated God and hatred as synonymous? Certain groups do believe that their God finds certain human acts as betrayal to his teachings. But I have never heard of God "hating" anyone. It is my understanding that God loves everyone, regardless of the mistakes you may feel God thinks others are making.

And what about his statement "Thank God for 9/11". Thousands of innocent people died that day, but he see's it as God's angry work. He claims natural disasters are God's way of punishing us. He even goes so far as to post this headline: "Thank God For the NIU Massacre. They are all in hell" on his other website www.godhatesamerica.com

Am I the only one who finds this outrageous? My stomach is churning as I write this. I simply can not fathom the idea of God causing, or being glad these things happened. I am sure that God get's angry at us for not taking care of his planet and each other. But sending in a mass murderer to spread his word? Come on! My personal beliefs are based on "The Golden Rule", that is how I was raised. Everyone has their own beliefs when it comes to God and Religion, and that is wonderful. Suggesting that God "hates" certain people, and even has them killed in cold blood, is not only absurd, but it is the worst possible way you could serve him. At least in my opinion it is.