September/October 2001
Ministry of Hate?
by Greg Hartman
| The fact is that Jesus never treated sinners -- not even the hypocritical Pharisees who incurred much of his wrath -- in such a degrading, foul, obscene manner. |
Like many Christians, especially Christians in or from Topeka, I am often embarrassed and enraged by the actions of Rev. Fred Phelps, pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. His picketing "ministry" includes unwelcome appearances at funerals to tell families that their gay loved ones are now roasting in hell.
Phelps first started his anti-gay picketing in front of Topeka's Gage Park. There had been a big stink in city politics over homosexual activity in the park, which was known locally as "Gay Park," thanks to its notoriety as a hangout for gay prostitutes and drug addicts.
Like many Topekans, I didn't know who Phelps was, even though he'd already been disbarred in both state and federal court for his behavior. I was just glad to see someone speaking up. Gage Park was the only large park in town, and I was tired of seeing it overrun by crime. The fact that a large percentage of the crime was committed by gay men didn't matter to me.
After several months of the city ignoring both Phelps and others who were protesting about the park, a local TV station borrowed a night-vision video camera from the police and did an exposé. They cruised through the park on a single evening at random, and in less than three hours they caught something like two dozen instances of drug sales, gay sexual activity in the bushes, prostitutes climbing into and out of cars and so on -- all after the park was closed and in a small city of less than 130,000 people.
After the news show aired, the police quietly started enforcing the park's curfew and arresting dealers and prostitutes. Within a few months, they had taken their business elsewhere, and everyone heaved a sigh of relief.
Except for Fred Phelps. For some reason I've never understood, he did not stop picketing after Gage Park was cleaned up; he picketed even more. And the signs changed. At first they said, "Clean up Gage Park," "Gays go home" and the like. Then they suddenly said, "God Hates Gays" -- then in quick succession, "God Hates Queers," "God Hates Homos," and finally the infamous "God Hates Fags."
I've given up wondering what motivates people like Phelps. The bottom line for me is this: No matter what any given Christian thinks of homosexual activity, the fact is that Jesus never treated sinners -- not even the hypocritical Pharisees who incurred so much of his wrath -- in such a degrading, foul, obscene manner.
As a frontline observer and occasional unwilling participant as this drama unfolded in Topeka, I'll state for the record that Phelps is almost entirely responsible for most of the rhetoric you hear when anything having to do with homosexuality is debated. He has spewed enough high-volume invective to polarize any discussion beyond usefulness.
Opponents on both sides have largely quit listening to each other and react emotionally instead. Gays are all ACT-UP members and/or pedophiles. Anyone worried about civil rights in some of the recent court clashes is pandering to the "gay agenda." On the other side of the coin, anyone with the slightest reservations about homosexuality is "homophobic;" anything less than an unqualified endorsement of homosexuality is "hate speech."
Gay-friendly or sensationalistic media outlets zoom in on people like Phelps, then tar everyone else with the same brush; conservative media outlets search the fringes of gay pride parades for the occasional public display of sadomasochism and make it look as if that sort of behavior typified everyone there.
Thanks to Phelps' scorched-earth tactics, almost no middle ground -- no room for ministry, bridge-building or anything resembling reasonable discourse -- is left anymore.
It's really sad when people know you by what you're against, not what you stand for. Food for thought.
-- Greg Hartman