Fred Phelps
Lots of information on the life of Fred Phelps.
Fred Phelps (born November 13, 1929) is the leader of the
Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, United States,
which is best known for its web sites godhatesfags.com and
godhatesamerica.com. Gay rights activists, as well as both
mainstream and fundamentalist Christians, have denounced
him as a producer of anti-gay propaganda and
violence-inspiring hate speech.
The above is from Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia.
For a more
complete biography on Fred
Phelps from
Wikipedia, click here.
Hate Group
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has declared
the Westboro Baptist Church a hate group, one of over
750 in the United States.
Addicted to Hate
On June 29, 1994 Jon Michael Bell, a former reporter hired to
investigate Fred Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church by
Stauffer Communications, Inc., filed a lawsuit in Shawnee
County District Court in Topeka, Kansas against Stauffer
Communications alleging the Topeka Capital-Journal owed
him compensation for overtime and to clarify ownership of
his notes and work product. The work product in question,
"Addicted to Hate" chronicling the life and times of Fred
Phelps, was attached to the lawsuit as Exhibit A making it,
therefore, a public document.
Much of the information in this article is given from two of
Phelps' children, Nate and Mark, who have left their father's
church. Please note that the "Court Documents and More"
section
was at the beginning of
the original document.
The article is lengthy and is broken down into segments:
Cast Of Characters and Phelps Family Tree
Preface
Chapter One: Introductions All Around
Chapter Three: God's Left Hook
Chapter Four: Dog Days for the Pastor
Chapter Five: The Children's Crusade
Chapter Seven: Nightmare of Twelfth Street
Chapter Eight: Over the Wall at Westboro
Chapter Nine: The False Prophet
A letter from a Phelps son who left
source: http://www.cjonline.com/webindepth/phelps/stories/080394_phelps03.shtml
This is a letter Mark Phelps wrote last year to citizens of Topeka and northeast Kansas. It is printed at his request.
.
A letter from a son who left
This is a letter Mark Phelps wrote last year to citizens of Topeka and northeast Kansas. It is printed at his request. It was received in Topeka on May 19, 1993. Contacted by telephone in California July 7, 1994, Mark Phelps said the letter still represents his feelings. He also cautioned people against taking the letter out of context, saying there is "gentleness" in the context of the letter and a hope that the community can better understand Fred Phelps based on what the letter contains.
"Many people have been asking me, over the past several weeks, about my father. They want to know what I think about him and 'What is he really like?' People's interest in what I think baffles me, but after careful consideration, I decided to respond.
What is he like? Well, it's been 19 years since I left home, but his behavior still appears to be the same. He considers his environment to be against him without admitting, acknowledging or taking responsibility for how he contributes to that. He likes to show himself as being moral, pro-family, pro-Bible, but his actions just don't add up to that. I believe in God and the Bible, and my father's behavior doesn't fit the description of behavior that would show in the life of one who loves God; behavior characteristics such as Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control. Instead, my father's behavior characterizes, I believe, Hate, Outbursts of Wrath, Contention, Jealousy, Vengefulness, Misery, Harshness, and Selfish ambition. He mis-states the truth about his own behavior, about others, about the Bible, with apparent ease and regularity. He behaves with a viciousness the likes of which I have never seen. He accepts no genuine accountability in his life and is subject to no one. His lifestyle betrays the sacred trust of what a pastor, husband, father and grandfather should be. I suppose if a comparison were made between the life of Jesus Christ and my father, there would not be much to compare.
I also realize that my father is a very unstable person who is determined to hurt people. And because he is so bound to be hateful and hurtful, and because he's so untrustworthy, I believe it's a good idea to respond to him with caution much like the caution used when dealing with a rattlesnake or a mad dog. You see, the causes that he crusades for, including the Bible, are not the issue here. He simply wants to hate and to have a forum for his hate. If the causes he focuses on were the issue, that is, if they really meant something to him in his heart and he meant for the things he does to be for the good, his behavior would not be what it is. He would not betray his message with his behavior. But, when he needs to, to vent his hate, he readily goes outside the bounds of any previously stated 'value' or 'cause' he may have supported. He experiences no moral dilemma when it comes to doing what he wants to do. If it weren't the homosexuals, it would be something else.
Yet checks and balances on his behavior are appropriate, on the part of the community, in order to at least confine his destructive behaviors and to limit his influence. I believe that Topekans are making a good effort to try and stop him and should continue to do so. He can seem very intimidating. He can use foul language and come across with a booming voice to the community, but the truth is, like the Wizard of Oz, when Toto pulls the curtain back, instead of this big powerful individual, it's only a small, pathetic old man.
I feel sorry for my father as I would for anyone who displays this kind of hate and evil viciousness. These can only be the manifestations of tortured, injured and agonizing souls."
-- Mark W. Phelps
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