Hypocrites: A response to Zoe, Bruce, et al.

No, having people comment secretly on my YouTube video is not “persecution for Christ”! ._. Give me a break! No administrators have deleted my YouTube or WordPress accounts (yet?) so I’m not complaining!

But you know, it really does tell me a lot about you and your hearts. Tell me I have “confirmation bias” but your behavior certainly does make me feel more secure in my belief that even the most “moral” atheists (you know, the college professor types) are total hypocrites.

So here’s the story – Zoe and Bruce both blogged on my first YouTube video, and an attempt was made (via broken links) to keep me from finding out (since if you have incoming links from a site, the system informs you that you’ve been blogged about). God decided otherwise as I explain in the video. (Praise God.)

So here is my short and to-the-point response on camera, and what follows is a more individual response to some of the concerns raised in people’s blog comments.

OneSmallStep said:

The weird thing is, if I were going just on this video, I’m not sure I’d believe any of his statements. There’s no passion in what he believes — he’s saying all these things, but it’s delivered in a very flat way. I don’t even get a sense that he’s all that attached to the God he’s speaking about.

Baritenor said:

This boy is frightening. […] Again, no emotion is involved, no passion. There is a disconnect, a cognitive dissonance. […] I wonder if his parents are aware of just how far out their son has flown? I wonder if he is duplicitous with them by keeping up a relatively normal front – lies in the service of his lord. I wonder if they’ve seen his videos? If so, do they approve?

I just so happen not to show a great deal of emotion in my face. So what? You judge by appearance (John 7:24). But if you get to know me after a while, you will see that the emotion is there. It just flashes by very quickly. And, no I’m not lying to my atheist parents; they are aware of why I came home (they had to drive me home, actually). I read Luke 9:57-62 to them on the phone when I was at college.

Lorena said:

I am going to wear my amateur psychologist hat and say that this kid has some sort of mental illness or personality disorder. And as such, he has the potential to become a cult leader. [Embarrassing sentence censored.] I am unqualified to label him a psychopath, but he does have the same attitude as some individuals who go on killing sprees for God.

and:

I tell you, the faith made me crazy, but this kid is nuts. He lost it. If I were a Christian, I would claim that he is demon possessed. Wow!

Baritenor said:

This boy is frightening. I hate to say it, but he does in fact remind me of depictions of nutball killers on TV cop shows.

and

But all it takes is a handfull of these god’s warriors as we’ve learned the hard way from radical islam. Couple this kind of radicalism with a few things that go bang and boom, and you’ve got death at your door.

When a deranged man claims he is about to kill you for “God,” arguing as an atheist obviously won’t help you; your reason (so-called) will certainly not get through to him. I suggest, both for your sake and for his, that you quote the Bible to him. A killing spree for “God” is the opposite of the gospel (Matthew 26:47; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5), and besides, mental derangement is indicative of a lost state (Isaiah 26:3; Romans 1:28). Physical earthly weapons may have their place sometimes (self-defense in non-persecution contexts, Luke 22:36), but my Lord’s Kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). So no, it is not “a small jump to becoming a man willing to kill an abortion doctor in the name of saving the unborn” (Bruce’s blog post). That would require a disavowal of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.

The “demon-possessed” argument is also false if you can’t back it up with Scripture (I know you don’t believe, but you claim that you used to, so you should still know some of it). The religious establishment and the crowds who followed in their destructive ways claims Jesus (or John) had a demon or was demonic many times over (Matthew 9:34; 11:18-19; 12:24; John 7:20; 8:48, 52; 10:20).

Lorena said:

Also crazy is that he’s saying all Christians have to be united and do the right thing, but what is the right thing? To follow the gospel of Joshua? “Because if they don’t, they’re gonna go to hell,” he said. And I asked, “How do you know that?”

Ironically, what is thought to be Jesus’ original Hebrew/Aramiac name (Yeshua/Yehoshua), if translated more consistently into English (not going through the hoops of Greek and Latin), would be Joshua. So yeah, lol, you have to follow the gospel of Joshua (i.e. Jesus Christ)! And yes, all Christians have to be united (1 Corinthians 1:10), and are united (in doctrine) via the power of the Holy Spirit (1 John 2:27). If you’re divided against me, you’re divided against the Word (1 John 4:6). I do not exalt myself but the Helper who works in me (John 14:26).

Bruce said:

He is not unusual in Fundamentalist circles. Very common thinking and methodology.

Preachers feed these kids from the pulpit, through books, and online sermons. (not much different than extreme Muslims in the middle east) Every preacher loves to have devoted followers.

Is there a mental aspect? Perhaps. I had to be honest about my own life. What drew me to this kind of thinking? Certainly part of it was nurturing. It was how I was raised. Yet, there was a mental component that drew me to extreme fundamentalist thinking. A need to be right. A need for respect. A desire to be in charge. A desire to be an authority everyone looked to.

and

Fundamentalist and Evangelical religionists love such devotees.

Who is this who darkens counsel by words without wisdom (Job 38:2 NKJV)? “Fundamentalist and Evangelical religionists” do not love me because I hate them (Psalm 119:104). They will lie down next to you in torment (Isaiah 50:11; Matthew 23:33).

Zoe said:

I think it’s safe to say that he’s a disciple of a man named Darwin Fish. Other Christians consider Mr. Fish to be a cult leader.

I wonder about his parents as well. As long as he is under the spell of Darwin Fish, he’s probably lost to this mindset.

Baritenor said:

Again, one wonders if the Reverend Mr. Fish would be happy to see how he and perhaps others have affected Joshua? Would he be shocked or proud? Would watching Joshua’s videos shake him up or would he consider Joshua one of his successes? [and this paragraph was then followed by many idle words, Matthew 12:36]

Why, Zoe, do you consider the opinions of “Other Christians” to suddenly be valid after you have disavowed Christianity? You should simply see for yourself, that his practices are no more “cult”-like than St. Paul’s; actually, I believe most other churches are cult-like in their abusive practices (e.g. see a real-life example of a church trying to “devour widows’ houses,” Matthew 23:14).

And, Baritenor, regarding what Fish thinks of me, he would neither be shocked nor proud (he is, as far as I can tell, not naive enough to react that way). I have been in contact with them; some in his fellowship is aware of my activities but their current position is essentially “no comment.” Although I am young as you can see, I am nevertheless a young man (18), so I make my own decisions about how I follow God. Unlike cults, they are aware of my impressionability; so, they are purposely doing what they can not to influence me, as one of them admitted to me. If I have the Spirit of God, I don’t need them. But I can certainly testify that I have great love for God’s true ministers and great hatred for the ministers of Satan disguised as ministers of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:15).

I think that covers it. Other stuff I didn’t quote is frankly a lot of psychobabble… You need to stop judging by appearance and start loving your neighbor [I am your neighbor] as yourself. That’s all I have to say.

World of Warcraft is an evil game that Christians don’t play

(Last edited 6/19/09)

The children of light are to find out what is acceptable to the Lord and spend their time in such a way that redeems the limited time we have (Ephesians 5:8-10, 16). Playing a game is lawful  (1 Corinthians 6:12), but if your motivations are not pure, or if you are not spending your time well, you are sinning. And when you’re playing for enjoyment an insidiously addictive game that promotes witchcraft (1 Samuel 15:23), you’re in trouble. That is the case with “World of Warcraft” (better called “World of Witchcraft”).

I tried my best with this guy named Caedis to explain it to him, why the game is spiritually dangerous and he can’t keep playing it if he wants to call himself a Christian. I told him the truth, and when I told him things, to test his spirit, that he could not accept, he blasphemed:

Jesus in no way caused the evil of 9/11 and I wont hear or entertain such though, no matter how much you want to back it up with scripture.

He calls himself a Christian, but here he is saying that no matter how much Scripture I use to prove something he won’t believe it. This is not the Christian attitude to Scripture.

Quakers go to hell

The Quaker movement has nowadays grown into a variously atheist, agnostic, universalist, or otherwise far-from-Christian movement (Psalm 53:1). But the original Quaker movement is still represented, at least in part, by Primitive Quakers (Friends in “Christ”). The claim is even made on this website that they represent “Primitive Christianity Revived!” Reviving the primitive Christian church isn’t a bad idea. But let’s see if it’s really in line with the original Christians.

They write:

Our basis is: To seek the community and fellowship of all those who love the Lord and wish to make a stand for Christ Jesus in this day and generation through the faith, testimonies, and witness that all true Friends have held since the beginning. We try to live our lives in complete allegiance to Christ, as did the first Friends over 350 years ago. Like them we witness against all forms of violence and cruelty, whether it be vain and cruel sports, cruel farming practices, circuses, vivisection, slavery, war, abortion. We feel that all these things are contrary to the Spirit of Christ by which we are guided. We believe we are called to live an honest, morally upright, plain, unsophisticated, simple, and humble way of life, devoid of luxury, greed, extravagance, and exploitation, and that we must try to live in harmony with the creation. We believe that within each person is a tiny seed of the Divine. God has given us a free will so that we can chose to ignore this seed and let it lie ungerminated; or we can hearken to the still small voice of God within, which is the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and let the inward light of Christ shine within us and guide us to a better way of life. Christ who is come a light into the world, shows us our darkness, brings us to repentance, frees us from sin, unites us to him and to one another, and enables us to live in obedience to him.

• “like them we witness against all forms of violence and cruelty” and “war”: all forms of violence? War? Ecclesiastes 3:8: “A time for war, and a time for peace.”
• “vain or cruel sports”: uhh, no comment, except that “bodily training is of some value” (1 Timothy 4:8 ESV)
• “cruel farming practices”: not sure what this is referring to, but if it is in agreement with Proverbs 12:10; 27:23 then sure.
• “circuses”: ???
• “vivisection”: not sure what to say on this issue. It does look nasty and cruel, but I wouldn’t know.
• “slavery”: blasphemy. The Quakers blaspheme the righteous men of God who owned slaves, such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job, Solomon, Cornelius, Philemon. Much evil was done in the name of slavery throughout history, but racism was the problem there (Acts 10:28), not the slavery itself.
• “abortion”: AMEN (Exodus 20:13)!
• “We believe we are called to live an honest, morally upright, plain, unsophisticated, simple, and humble way of life, devoid of luxury, greed, extravagance, and exploitation, and that we must try to live in harmony with the creation.” Yes, I think this is mostly accurate (1 Thessalonians 4:11), though I wouldn’t go so far as to condemn every rich or sophisticated person to hell on the basis of riches alone (e.g. Solomon, Job were righteous but rich). The rich usually exploit their riches (James 5:1-6), but we are told to pray for them (1 Timothy 2:1), which means that the rich can be saved (though, this is more difficult than shoving a camel through the eye of a needle, Matthew 19:24).
• “God has given us a free will”: No (Jeremiah 10:23). This is a false gospel (of works, Romans 9:11-16; Ephesians 2:1-10), and we are told to let them be accursed for this damning lie (Galatians 1:8-9).

I’ve been asked (by a Quaker), “What did Quakers ever do?” Well, nothing, and that’s the problem. Their extreme pacifism leads them to an unholy silence on vital issues (John 10:12), as was the case with the Quakers of the American Revolution who refused to give their loyalty to the Crown, as righteous men would have done (Romans 13:1-5). Jesus tells his disciples, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:13-16.

The Vineyard Movement leads to hell

I’m researching popular denominations to expose them. Here’s the first one I’ve decided to do, and since they are very ecumenical, they don’t have much content on their website, so doing an entire YouTube video about them would be pointless.

Very simply, the Vineyard Movement is ecumenical: “Not all Vineyard churches are alike but they all do share essential elements of Christian doctrine and practice” (“What We Believe”). By implication, the first PDF file they provide (the Statement of Faith) shows what they believe to be “essential elements of Christian doctrine and practice.” It’s a very generic list that no doubt was constructed not to offend anyone, as most “Statements of Faith” are. They deny Paul’s divine command to be united in doctrine (1 Corinthians 1:10), even on controversial issues. They think everyone else in “evangelical” “Protestant” “Christianity” is saved.

More pointedly, they disobey Paul’s commands (from the Lord) which bar women from being the pastor of churches (1 Timothy 2:12). I found two instances on their website of senior pastors who were women: Adey Wassink, and Dianne Leman. Like everyone else who permits women to teach in church, they are hypocrites for claiming divine authority for the entire Bible and then openly and willfully disobeying it (Hebrews 10:26).

If you are part of this denomination, you are on your way to hell (John 10:5).

Accepting the truth

The Bible is full of frightening and difficult realities.

One such reality is that, indeed, man does not really have a free will. Look at  Isaiah 46:10; Jeremiah 10:23; Matthew 6:10; John 19:10-11; Acts 17:28; Romans 9:13-23; 11:36; 2 Corinthians 5:18; Ephesians 1:11; Colossians 1:16-17;  James 4:15. You look at these verses and you realize that there can only be one free will in an organized universe – God’s will. If I truly have the ability to make decisions in and of myself, apart from the control of heavenly counsel, then God is not in control, he is not sovereign, he wouldn’t even be God anymore. He might be more like a Greek god. The God of the Bible is in control of everything, even the thoughts that come to your mind.

Thus, a logical outgrowth of this fact is that since God created everything and causes everything to happen (no matter what), then God must have created evil, must be actively causing evil to happen, must be actively causing wicked people to sin and righteous people to obey. God does not tempt, sure (James 1:13) – but he will lead you in or out of temptation (Matthew 6:13). The Bible teaches this fact in Joshua 23:15; 2 Samuel 12:11 along with many other similar statements throughout the prophets; Proverbs 16:4; 1 Kings 22:22; Isaiah 45:7; Lamentations 3:38; Amos 3:6; 2 Thessalonians 2:11. God is thus indirectly responsible for everything that happens, including evil.

Furthermore, when someone is killed, the Bible doesn’t just put indirect responsibility on God; it places direct responsibility both on God (1 Samuel 2:6) and on the human killer (Exodus 20:13)!

I have been called on this point by another blogger. He has raged at me and at God in a rather disturbing tirade, calling God a child molester. Well, there are child molesters in the world, and there are children who are molested, and thus we know that the Lord has done it. But there is a difference between saying that God kills and that God is a child molester.

Most importantly, the Bible explicitly says “The Lord kills” (1 Samuel 2:6) and does not say “God child molests.” Secondly, “God kills” (and is thus a killer) has a special connotation not present in other statements about God, in that it is another way of saying that God exists, and that when you die, he has killed you and you don’t just die but your soul lives on for the judgment. “God kills” usually isn’t just an arbitrary statement of fact; whenever spoken (sincerely), it is used as a warning to flee from the wrath to come. It’s not (necessarily) saying that God physically came down to earth in bodily form and personally pulled the trigger (though He will come personally to kill people in the future and may have done so in the past). Remember, God kills, but when Jesus was here on earth he didn’t kill anyone.

Apply that thinking to the raving lunatic (look, he just keeps going on and on… Ecclesiastes 5:3) who called God a child molester. In that statement, is there any underlying, connotative warning to flee from the wrath to come? No. And thus, it would make it sound like God physically came down to commit such an act. That would be blasphemy. God kills (i.e., causes death), yet he is not a murderer. God causes child molestation, yet he is not a child molester. God is holy, and cannot even look at sin. Since evil must exist for his eternal purpose for mankind (see Romans 11:32), he forces the wicked to commit it for him.

You are of purer eyes than to behold evil,
And cannot look on wickedness.
Why do You look on those who deal treacherously,
And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours
A person more righteous than he? (Habukkuk 1:13)

This is the truth, Jesus Christ, the Word of God (John 1:1). You have to accept the truth; any other path leads to damnation (John 14:6).

Forsaking all for Christ, and exposing a faker’s site

Woohoo! I did my first YouTube video. It was so exciting I decided to do a second one.

Due to Luke 9:57-62, I have departed college, forsaking all, which I talk about here:

Also, I stumbled upon False-Teachers.com, a website which pretends to expose false teachers, when really it has false teaching of its own! It also promotes John Macarthur, one of the most dangerous men alive today. I talk about the site here:

The Jesus Seminar is the Satan Seminar

Don’t bother reading anything to come out of the "Jesus" Seminar. Don’t even give them the oxygen of respectability by bothering to criticize them on the level of their methods or beliefs.

All you need to know about them, in order to know that they are nothing but blind fools groping in the darkness, is that besides mere excerpts, their material is not completely available for free and can only be wholly obtained by paying them your money (Matthew 10:8)! As such, every word they write is nothing but "perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself." 1 Timothy 6:5.

Fortunately, God provided me one useful excerpt from their "Scholars Version" of the gospels:

You scholars and Pharisees, you impostors! Damn you! You slam the door of Heaven’s domain in people’s faces. You yourselves don’t enter, and you block the way of those trying to enter. (Matthew 23:13)

Amen.

Blogger Zoe is offended (Matthew 18:7)

Note: In the name of exposing my own error, I am retaining this post. However, note that I 1) deceptively quoted the God Hates Fags church without attribution, i.e. made it look like they were my own words, and 2) was not careful to season my words with salt (Colossians 4:6), and used a curse word that many find offensive (Colossians 3:8; 2 Corinthians 6:3).

I recently made a comment (the entire post has since been removed) on the blog “a complicated salvation” owned by a blogger named Zoe. She was offended by what I said, and now filters all of my comments to spam.

Here is the offending paragraph which she X’d out:

Of course it is entirely possible to believe in vain and fall away. But, if you actually lived as a Christian, your attitude towards Christians now would be different. You would be able to recognize those who are now as you were then. You would recognize that you’re a lying X if you call yourself a Christian and yet deny that God X X’X, for example. If you were preaching woes and lamentations about this wicked, filthy, abominable generation, if you were rightly ashamed of the bloody American flag, if you hated every false way and all forms of evil, if you called out the President on his promulgation of the official religious doctrine of America (X), if you did not associate with so-called brethren who were sexually immoral in any way, if you were ridiculed and hated and treated like subhuman trash, then MAYBE you were a Christian. Yet, the Westboro Baptist Church do all these things or experienced all these things, and they themselves are not Christians. The way is VERY narrow. If other Christians (so-called) respected you, you were not a Christian. Christians today are no different than the raving street corner lunatic prophets of the Old Testament telling everyone to repent because the end is near. Yet, there is a group like that X), and they are not saved themselves. The way to heaven is so narrow so as to be virtually impossible to walk on, except by God’s grace.

And here is the unadulterated version:

Of course it is entirely possible to believe in vain and fall away. But, if you actually lived as a Christian, your attitude towards Christians now would be different. You would be able to recognize those who are now as you were then. You would recognize that you’re a lying whore if you call yourself a Christian and yet deny that God hates homosexuals, for example. If you were preaching woes and lamentations about this wicked, filthy, abominable generation, if you were rightly ashamed of the bloody American flag, if you hated every false way and all forms of evil, if you called out the President on his promulgation of the official religious doctrine of America (which is to bow down and kiss fag ass), if you did not associate with so-called brethren who were sexually immoral in any way, if you were ridiculed and hated and treated like subhuman trash, then MAYBE you were a Christian. Yet, the Westboro Baptist Church do all these things or experienced all these things, and they themselves are not Christians. The way is VERY narrow. If other Christians (so-called) respected you, you were not a Christian. Christians today are no different than the raving street corner lunatic prophets of the Old Testament telling everyone to repent because the end is near. Yet, there is a group like that (Repent America), and they are not saved themselves. The way to heaven is so narrow so as to be virtually impossible to walk on, except by God’s grace.

It’s her blog, and she can decide what kind of material ends up on it. If she had only objected to the word fag, fine. But she X’d out the hates homosexuals part of “God hates homosexuals,” and that’s what reveals her wickedness: she’s not just censoring language, but thoughts that are subversive to her ideology. This post is made in dedication to exposing the wicked to the light (John 3:19; Ephesians 5:11).

The sad story of Westboro Baptist Church

The Westboro Baptist Church is the Topeka, Kansas–based church that is famous for its tagline "God Hates Fags." I really feel bad for them, because they have many of the characteristics of a true church of God, but their basic gospel and their doctrinal teachings are heretical.

I. Their zeal is in vain

Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. (Romans 10:1-3 KJV)

Just as Israel in Paul’s time had a genuine religious fervor, but it was nevertheless not in truth; just as Jehu had a zeal for the Lord (2 Kings 10:16), yet in the end was not righteous (2 Kings 10:29-31); the Westboro Baptist Church has a zeal for the Lord, but not according to knowledge—the appearance of righteousness, but not true righteousness.

Some may object now, "What?! Westboro Baptist Church doesn’t have the appearance of righteousness! They look crazy!"

When I watch their videos, they give the appearance of being fairly decent people, at least to me. Just deceived. They are fervently serving their god, but the tragedy is that wolf Fred Phelps hides many parts of the true God’s nature.

So now, why do I say they have the outward appearance of righteousness?

• They warn the wicked of their ways (Ezekiel 3:17)
• They are rejected by their own country (Luke 4:24)
• They are not well-spoken of (Luke 6:26)
• They warn their sheep of false teachers and hirelings (John 10:11-13)
• They often correctly judge people (1 Corinthians 2:15)
• They teach against worldly wisdom (1 Corinthians 3:19)
• They generally do not appeal to tradition (Colossians 2:8), though they respect certain false teachers of the past
• They preach against lewdness (Jude 4)

I rejoice for these righteous things that they do for the world, because although it is in pretense, Christ is nevertheless preached (Philippians 1:18). If the word fag is understood to mean homosexual, God does hate fags. He does hate America. The world is full of whorish fag preachers who are leading everyone to hell. Psalm 5:5; Leviticus 18:22-30. And yes, God did cause 9-11-01, and every other disaster that has befallen her (Romans 1:18; 11:36).

Yet, even if the homosexuals were to repent and join their church, they still would not go to heaven because Fred Phelps is a false teacher.

II. Poor discernment of America’s past

In their Sign Video, "America is Doomed," Shirley Phelps-Roper (under the direction of her father) errs in thinking that America was once a God-honoring nation. Puritan and Enlightenment era America was filled with lying Calvinist preachers (just like Fred Phelps), who taught crap that limits God’s love and power, denying 1 John 2:2 and John 3:16. It was also filled with Godless "deist" rebels (1 Samuel 15:23) who added to the Word of God with their lies about inherent God-given rights.

Once you understand that America was a nation conceived in iniquity, brought forth in sin (Psalm 51:5) by Godless revolutionaries, you will understand that Exodus 9:15-18 applies to America as well as it applied to Egypt:

For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. As yet exaltest thou theyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go? Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.

Why did God raise America up as a hyperpower? Not because there was ever a time when she took heed to the truth, but rather to cast her back down again! And now He is causing to rain a very grievous hail, such as has not been in America since the foundation thereof even until now.

III. Despite estrangement, they still are in the camp

It is stated on Fred Phelps’s biography page:

Fred Phelps was born Nov. 13, 1929, in Meridian, Mississippi. Graduated Meridian High at 16 with highest academic honors, American Legion Citizenship Award, track letter, Bausch-Lomb Science Award, Eagle Scout, Principal Appointment to West Point Military Academy. The summer following graduation, he had a profound religious experience, gave up West Point, enrolled instead for Bible/ministerial training at Bob Jones College, Cleveland, Tennessee (later moving with them as they transitioned to Bob Jones University, Greenville, South Carolina). Ordained by the Southern Baptists Sept. 8, 1947. Met his wife, Margie M. Phelps, in 1951 while preaching at the Arizona Bible Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. Their marriage May 15, 1952 has been blessed of God with 13 children, 54 grandchildren (to date) and 7 great-grandchildren (to date). Has served as Pastor of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, since Nov. 1955. [...]

Fred Phelps is a Five-Point Calvinist who urges all people to carefully study and discern what are the signs of the times (Mat. 16:3) in the light of the Scriptures rightly divided (2 Tim. 2:15) and church history from Adam to now.

And on the About WBC page:

Established in 1955 by Pastor Fred Phelps, the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) of Topeka, Kansas still exists today as an Old School (or, Primitive) Baptist Church. [...] These doctrines of grace were well summed up by John Calvin in his 5 points of Calvinism: Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints. Although these doctrines are almost universally hated today, they were once loved and believed. Even though the Arminian lies that "God loves everyone" and "Jesus died for everyone" are being taught from nearly every pulpit in this generation, this hasn’t always been the case.

And finally their manifesto:

We are a TULIP Baptist Church!
We believe — and vigorously preach — the 5 Points of Calvinism!
Anyone preaching otherwise is a Hell-bound false prophet, a messenger of Satan, to whom we say, Anathema Maranatha! and, Let him be accursed of God!

Westboro Baptist Church blasphemes Jesus Christ by denying John 3:16. They blaspheme Him and His servant John by denying 1 John 2:2. And they deny the literal meaning of the word world, whose context dictates the whole world, i.e. every single individual of mankind who has ever or will ever live. And then they go on to pronounce a curse on anyone who does not hold to their worldly traditions of men (Colossians 2:8) via John Calvin. (Note that Jacobus Arminius was also a wolf, denying predestination, among other things.)

They call themselves an "Old School" (i.e. traditional) Baptist church. They have been estranged by the world, but they still associate themselves with the Baptist denomination (1 Corinthians 1:10). As such, they are still inside the camp, not bearing His reproach (Hebrews 13:13). As far as I can tell, Fred Phelps still thinks he was saved while within the Southern Baptist denomination. In so doing, he ignores John 10:5. So believe it or not, but Westboro Baptist Church is on the broad way (Matthew 7:13)!

IV. Deny the awesome truth of God’s love

In accordance with their false gospel of limited atonement and their outright rejection of John 3:16 as a legitimate verse of the Bible, they deny that God loves those whom He hates. Consider one picket that I definitely did not approve of, where they urged people not to help those who had survived in the wreckage of the 9/11 outpouring of God’s wrath. God is sovereign. If He preserves the life of someone in such a disaster, you are duty-bound to love your neighbor and help him (Luke 10:29-37), for God has preserved his life (i.e. love, more longsuffering, a chance to repent).

I can’t put it any better than Darwin Fish does in proving them wrong:

God is extremely patient with the reprobate (e.g. Romans 2:4). This is love (1 Corinthians 13:4). He is kind to the wicked (Nehemiah 9:15/1 Corinthians 10:5; Psalm 104:14-15, 27-28; 145:9, 15-17; Ecclesiastes 3:12-13; Acts 14:17). This is love (1 Corinthians 13:4). The Lord bore long with the evil Israelites (2 Chronicles 36:15-16). This was love (1 Corinthians 13:7). And finally, the Lord hopes for reprobate man’s salvation (Psalm 81:13; Isaiah 48:18; Acts 17:24-27; Romans 11:32) and desires that they be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). This too is love (1 Corinthians 13:7).

Indeed, God has hated and thus predestined the majority of mankind to hell and loved the minority to heaven (Matthew 7:13-14; Romans 9:11-23), but even in this, love is enacted. Because, He endures with much long suffering vessels of wrath, that He might make known the riches of His glory on vessels of mercy (Romans 9:22-23). In other words, love (endurance, 1 Corinthians 13:7) is shown toward the wicked, so that love may be shown toward the elect.

WBC thinks they’re so hard-core because of their "God doesn’t love everybody" horse-manure. The hard-core truth is actually that God’s love is unfathomably awesome, in that while we were yet totally abhorred by Him (Psalm 5:5), He nevertheless committed an act of love (John 3:16) so great that we could be saved from our disgusting filthiness and have everlasting life (Romans 5:8). That is love! And this is our God, forever and ever.

V. Should we pray for them?

If anyone preaches another gospel, let him be accursed (Galatians 1:9). Fred Phelps is a wolf because he preaches another gospel; therefore, do not pray for him (1 John 5:16). Pray for some of his followers who could still have a chance to escape the wolf’s den (1 Timothy 2:1).

It’s a very sad thing to see these people so fervently serving the Lord (in their minds), and yet deceived by a few damning errors. But rejoice, for God has used them to warn the wicked of their ways.

The dangers of a hireling

False teachers aren’t the only types of individuals who afflict the flock. False teachers (wolves) are known by their fruits–what comes out of their mouths:

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. (Matthew 6:15-20)

For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. (Luke 6:44-45)

(In the above, notice that the Luke passage clarifies the Matthew passage. The Matthew passage does not identify precisely what the fruits are by which we know who the wolves are, but the Luke passage talks about what they speak.)

But, you may have someone who is helping to oversee a congregation who does not actually propagate false teaching! Yet, we know them by their fruits. Just as we can know by what they speak that they are evil, what the speak is also telling us what they’re not speaking. You will find those who, most of the time at least, speaks words that are true. Yet, the Bible identifies another group who by silence lead the flock astray.

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. (John 10:11-13)

Hirelings warn the sheep about the wolf! There is no reason to think that this warning is not by name. Greg Laurie is coming to my town soon. And instead of warning his congregation that Greg Laurie worships a powerless, nonexistent god and encourages others to do the same, the pastor of Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, Joe Focht, recommended that his whole congregation buy Greg Laurie bumper stickers to put on their cars! That is the work of a hireling–respecting your fellow false teachers. Oh, and need I mention, that this is done for profit (notice the word hireling, i.e. he’s getting paid to do it).