The
small family that makes up most of the Westboro Baptist Church are wrong!
Wrong in
their doctrine:
The message of the Westboro church is unrecognizable
as taken from the Bible, the teachings of Jesus or the teachings of any
denominational doctrine outside of the WBC.
• John 3:16–17 "For God so loved the world that
he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but
have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the
world, but to save the world through him."
• 1 Tim. 2:3–6 "God our Savior, who wants all men
to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and
one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a
ransom for all men..."
• 2 Peter 3:9"He [God] is patient with you, not
wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."
Regardless of denominational nuances, Christian
Churches ALL agree that LOVE is our calling and that we are called to be a
peaceful blessing in the world.
Wrong in
their approach:
Regarding how they express their opinion,
their approach is even anti-Jesus.
Jesus instructs His followers to “love our neighbors” and even to “love
our enemies.” As I read this I am struck that I am
especially to love my neighbor when he IS my enemy!
In John 13:24-25 Jesus declares that it is our
LOVE of each other that proves we are his disciples and that where the spirit
of the Lord is there is liberty/peace/freedom. 2 Cor3:17 The evidence of
the Spirit of God is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and
self control. Gal 5:22-23. I see no reflection of the spirit of God in
what WBC states or how WBC represents themselves.
I could go on and on and on with how wrong
they are. There are so many things that
make WBC anti-gospel, anti-bible and anti-God that it’s almost silly to argue
so I will stop with this.
Jesus did not come to condemn the world (John
3:17), nor did He command His followers to condemn the world.
To WBC: As a proud Veteran of the US Army, I fought
for and I acknowledge your right to express even the most illogical and hateful
of opinions. However, the larger
betrayal to me is in my role as a Pastor and teacher of the Bible. For how you claim to represent God, I am outraged. Your perversion and ignorance of the God of
the Bible raises such anger inside of me, in my flesh I want to seek vengeance.
(Or, if I’m being grown up, I’ll call it justice.)
But because I am submitted to Jesus more than
I am my own flesh, I am reminded of these very points about my purpose of peace
and calling to love. The irony is that I
now find WBC is my enemy, and for this weekend, my neighbor. With that, I am commanded to love you. My flesh doesn't want to, but in my spirit I
submit to God and I know that Jesus’ presence in my life will empower me to be
peaceful and through the power of the Holy Spirit, I will love you and hope the
best for you, which I believe requires repentance and a heart turned over to the love of Jesus
Christ.
To those
who don’t have a history with Christianity and the Church: I want to just say
that I am sorry. The pride and ignorance
of men have twisted sacred things ever since the creation of the earth and I hope
that you can see that the WBC does not represent the God of the Bible or your
local church.
Most importantly,
to the Family of SPC Cody Patterson: I
didn’t know Cody, but as evidence that he was part of the 3/75th
Rangers, he must have been a spectacular soldier. And from the people I know who knew him as “Mr. Philomath High School 2007”, he was
well loved and respected in our community.
I am sorry for your loss, I hope that as I join in community to show
support for you and your family that you are encouraged and inspired by the love
of your community. You are not alone and
I pray the peace of God for your family.
Psalm 122:6-9
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be secure.
May there be peace within your walls
and security within your citadels.”
For the sake of my family and
friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of
the Lord our God,
I will seek your prosperity
Pastor Mike
Miller
Thank you so much for this. You have stated so well what so many of us feel in our hearts. May Cody's family find support and peace in your words and in the support of this community. <3
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