Yesterday, Religion News Service published our analysis of Westboro Baptist Church’s recent shifts in its messaging, especially its controversial picketing signs.
Basic premise: Since founder Fred Phelps, Sr., died, the church has softened its image and moved in several new directions with its signs. WBC seems to be responsive to public concerns, which may point to a day when the public itself notices that the church might be open to meaningful conversations.
On Twitter, WBC’s reaction to our article was swift!
Jael as a bride
From Jael Holroyd on Twitter:
This article by
@hgray is not terrible: [link to article]
From Jael again, simply quotes and gives a thumbs up to a crucial caveat in the article:
“Make no mistake, Westboro Baptists’ anti-gay message is as blunt and offensive as ever, and the new signs seem designed not to move toward the mainstream, but to more fully reflect the church’s Calvinist theology, which appears unchanged.” [and two emojis:]
Tim (@WBCApocalypse) retweeted Jael with the comment:
“… as it ever should, and by God’s mercy will, ever be.”
From the official WBC twitter account, WBCSaysRepent:
“We are always only interested in preaching the truth of the Scripture.” —Westboro Baptist Church.
I think he gets it! Excellent article via
@RNS and@hgray: [link to article]
From Matthias Holroyd on Twitter:
“For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:15)
From Steve Drain on another Twitter account:
Funny speculation by
@RNS: “We can wonder if the gradual reworking of Westboro’s messaging might point to a day when outsiders think of the church not as irredeemable sociopaths. […]” We wonder when the media will stop painting this little church as such![Steve included a two minute video clip that ended in a curiously careful way, referring to authentic news with proper sources, in contrast to media bias. I’m tempted to take that as an ambiguous compliment.]
[“Funny speculation” is also a careful phrase. It doesn’t question my framing or facts, just teases perhaps about the likelihood of outsiders ever viewing in a better light. See the continuation of the quote, at the end of the original article.
From @WBCRejoice on Twitter:
This [article] is good, especially for a Christ rejecter; but nix the psychobabble already, friend
@hgray. [Link to article]
In addition, a number of other Westboro Baptists retweeted, liked, or (more rarely) commented on the items above.
In short, we hope the article meets journalistic, critical-distance standards, advances public understanding, and does not unnecessarily annoy WBC, perhaps even improving our rapport with them.
- For civil and respectful discussion of our critical-empathetic approach to WBC, and of our upcoming WBC interviews in Topeka Aug 9-13, join our Facebook group! Or comment on our posts here.
P.S. I also forwarded the RNS daily digest, with our article as a the lead item, to Steve Drain. His reply was typically concise: “We saw it. Thanks man.”
This is not a valid “church”. It is a hate group masquerading as a church. They need to be stripped of their tax exempt status because it is not fair that the people they persecute are paying their share of the federal tax burden. No one has the right to judge or condemn another child of God. Only God should judge, and we are all sinners.
Hi. We treat it as a church since it fits the criteria in religious studies (whether normative or descriptive definitions).
“No one has the right to judge or condemn another child of God.” — Hmm, aren’t you condemning them?
I admire how you do the hard work and maintain the discipline that encourages respect and trust even if they don’t agree.
Maybe it encourages others towards same and could bring an end to the most hurtful confrontations ie picketing funerals.
Thanks so much, David. It’d be great if you follow or subscribe to our blog and feel free to share your thoughts and analysis. It will probably be more interesting once we get to Topeka on August 9th