Heath Ledger vs Westborough Baptist Church

Like most Australians, it was shocking and sad for me to hear the news of Heath Ledger's death. Even worse was the revelation that a so-called Christian minister from the US, Fred Phelps (who gives himself the title, Reverend) planned to gather members of his "church", Westborough Baptist Church, and stage a hateful protest at his funeral in Perth. They planned to preach against his appearance as a gay cowboy in the film, Brokeback Mountain. The location of the funeral was not disclosed to the public, prompting WBC to hound Ledger's family with a letter (displayed on their website, www.godhatesfags.com) in hope that they could travel to demonstrate. 

Fortunately, the funeral details were never revealed. Four members from WBC did however, protest at the recent Screen Actors Guild awards against Ledger's role in the movie, displaying placards with hateful and anti-gay slogans. My reaction to that news report was a mix of anger, sorrow, and shame that I too, profess to be a Christian. The whole thing is wrong on so many levels:

- The attempt to deprive Heath and his family of a dignified funeral

- The fact that the subject of their protest was not alive, therefore unable to receive the message anyway, only his grief-stricken family

- Ledger wasn't gay at all, he only depicted a gay character once

- The theory that watching a movie depicting homosexuality will cause the viewer to also become gay

- The twisted theology of Phelps and his church

- The embarrassment caused to Christians worldwide who are by default associated with Phelps, and the subsequent judgement which will no doubt result from non-believer observers

I saw Brokeback myself, including the intimate "man-love" scenes. Two years later, I still remain not-gay. To be honest I found the movie slow-paced and unremarkable, and have no desire to view it again. But that's beside the point.

 

I did some preliminary research into WBC and Fred Phelps. Be warned, those of you considering visiting www.godhatesfags.com - don't go there unless you are relatively strong in your faith. Or if you are easily offended. It's an ugly, unjustified vehicle of hate which left me shuddering for the first few minutes. There are significant holes in their theology which they defend viciously, passionately, and often with intelligent reasoning. At other times, they are simply profane and offensive. It's all very misleading, and before long I left the site, concerned that I might too, fall victim to the brainwashing so obviously involved.

Interesting to note that the Phelps wikipedia article reports two of his sons regard the church as a cult, and four (out of a total 13!) children "insist that Westboro actually serves to enable a paraphilia of Phelps, wherein he is literally addicted to hatred". Something's obviously wrong if his own family is against him.

I just really think that this is the type of media coverage the worldwide Christian church body can do without. Let's spread a gospel of love, mercy and forgiveness, and always be on guard against false teaching. Matthew 7:15-16 says:

15 “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. 16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act.

Cheers - Nath