Fred Phelps

{{bronze}}
[[File:Fred Phelps 10-29-2002.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Pastor 
Max Hardcore
<ref group=note>Whose videos have more rhyme and reason than anything Phelps ever produced.</ref> Fred Phelps]]
{{homophobia}}
{{christianity|1}}
{{cquote|I think that the pastor [Fred Phelps] is not a very nice person. I think he's an angry person who's twisted the Bible and picked and chosen verses that support his anger, that sort of justify his anger, and he's instilled that in his children and they've passed it on to their children. Although the second and third generation are by and large quite nice people from what I saw, they still live under the influence of their Gramps.|||[[Louis Theroux]], writer and presenter of the documentary film {{wpl|The Most Hated Family in America|''The Most Hated Family in America''}}<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6507971.stm America's most hated family] (10:39 GMT, Friday, 30 March 2007 11:39 UK) ''BBC''.</ref>}}
'''Fred Waldron “God Hates Fags” Phelps, Sr.''' {{lived|1929|2014}} was an American pastor, former attorney, and the former leader of the Westboro Baptist Church, a 
[[wingnut|crazy]] [[cult]]
 self-described [[Baptist|Primitive Baptist]]/[[Calvinist]] church in Topeka, [[Kansas]], with around 60 members, most of them members of his extended family. Phelps and his church became infamous for their fanatical, vitriolic, anti-[[LGBT]] rhetoric, manifested by many demonstrations outside funerals and public events, with "colorful" picket signs emblazoned with cartoons of men having anal sex and mantras usually taking the form of "God hates [insert bête noire du jour here]". His conduct violated both the spirit and the letter of [[Christianity]], as most people understand that religion.<ref>[http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/07/my-take-fred-phelps-is-wrong-about-the-gospel-right-about-the-law/ "My take: Fred Phelps is wrong about the gospel, right about the law." Wayne Grudem (Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies, Phoenix Seminary_, CNN.com]</ref>

Phelps garnered a widespread negative response, including a spot on {{wpl|List of people banned from entering the United Kingdom|the UK Home Office's list of individuals prohibited from entering the country.}} As of 2010 or so, he had made fewer public appearances, and had handed over control over the day-to-day administration of the WBC to his daughter {{wpl|Shirley Phelps-Roper|Shirley Phelps-Roper}}; an all-male board of elders may have replaced her.<ref name=Greenberg>[http://www.jewishjournal.com/thegodblog/item/did_westboro_baptist_excommunicate_fred_phelps_for_being_too_kind Did Westboro Baptist excommunicate Fred Phelps for being too kind?]</ref><ref name=Fry>[http://cjonline.com/news/2014-03-17/elders-excommunicate-phelps-after-power-struggle-call-kindness-within-church Elders excommunicate Phelps after power struggle, call for kindness within church]</ref> 

Once upon a time, Phelps was a [[Democrat]] (believe it or not)<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/21/us/fred-phelps-founder-of-westboro-baptist-church-dies-at-84.html Fred Phelps, Anti-Gay Preacher Who Targeted Military Funerals, Dies at 84. The New York Times]</ref> and a [[civil rights]] lawyer who eventually was disbarred for committing perjury on a case he filed on his own behalf.<ref>[http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=16353368333889772229 State v. Phelps, 598 P. 2d 180 - Kan: Supreme Court 1979]</ref> However, his whole life was devoted to [[homophobia]], to the point of alienating the entire world (save for his precious 
cult
 Church, of course). Phelps was estranged from four of his thirteen children, allegedly due to "discipline that amounted to abuse".<ref>http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2001/spring/a-city-held-hostage/on-the-inside</ref> He was arrested repeatedly for violent and non-violent offenses and had four criminal convictions.

Phelps had the dubious distinction of being the only person in recorded history who made [[Sean Hannity]] (among others) seem rational, although his daughter is also quite good at making Sean seem slightly less odious in comparison.<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,217975,00.html {{broken}}</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi77koTk8mc</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqwE6yHbnKo</ref>

==Westboro Baptist Church==
{{cquote|The views of the Church on religion, society, and sexuality are so bizarre that it is hard to categorize their members in terms of normal political leanings.|||[[Stopped clock|Not even]] [[Conservapedia]] likes them.<ref name=cp />}}

Phelps's organization, the Westboro Baptist 
Cult
 Church, is based in Topeka, [[Kansas]]. Its first public service was held on the afternoon of November 27, 1955. For over two decades, Topeka citizens endured Phelps family protests by the doors of their churches before normal services and memorial services. Worshipers had to walk through WBC protesters with distressing signs and hate speech, and there was a prolonged campaign before the relevant authorities legislated requiring protesters to remain at a distance from church entrances. WBC had plenty of local practice before taking protests nationwide.<ref>[http://cjonline.com/opinion/2014-04-06/letter-topeka-deserves-recognition-enduring-fred-phelps Letter: Topeka deserves recognition for enduring Fred Phelps]</ref> The organization has been widely called a batshit hate group,<ref>[https://extremismterms.adl.org/glossary/westboro-baptist-church Westboro Baptist Church]. adl.org.</ref><ref>Kathryn Westcott, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5015552.stm Hate group targeted by lawmakers]. Archived from the BBC, 25 May 2006.</ref><ref>Katie DeLong, [https://archive.ph/u8C3 Hate Group Protests At Hamilton H.S.] Archived from odaystmj4.com, 16 December 2012.</ref><ref>Ray Lane, [https://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Anti-gay-hate-group-targets-Seattle-churches-1304527.php Anti-gay hate group targets Seattle churches]. seattlepi.com, 13 June 2009.</ref><ref>Mike Mclaughlin and Erin Einhorn, [https://archive.ph/OSA9 Kansas hate group Westboro Baptist Church protest Brooklyn synagogues]. Archived from nydailynews.com, 16 December 2012.</ref><ref>Reed Williams And Chris I. Young, [https://archive.ph/AGXkX Opponents rally against Westboro Baptist hate group]. Archived from timesdispatch.com, 3 March 2010.</ref><ref>[https://archive.ph/cwCjC Hate group protests this week]. Archived from temple-news.com, 9 January 2016.</ref><ref>W.V. Fitzgerald, [https://archive.ph/AEsj Interview with Westboro Baptist Church: Hate in the name of God]. Archived from digitaljournal.com, 5 December 2012.</ref> and even the [[webshite|cesspool]] that is [[Conservapedia]] wants nothing to do with it.<ref name=cp>[https://archive.ph/g2Cxl Westboro Baptist Church]. Conservapedia, archived on 4 November 2022.</ref>

Today, the church has about 40 members, most of whom are Phelps' family. Towards the end of his lifetime, Fred Phelps was (not/no longer) the charismatic leader, and [[Steve Drain]] maneuvered to have him [[excommunication|excommunicated]].<ref name=Dickson>[http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/24/this-man-is-the-future-of-westboro-baptist-church.html This Man Is The Future of Westboro Baptist Church]</ref><ref name=Threoux>[http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/24/pastor-fred-phelps-westboro-baptist-church-louis-theroux Pastor Fred Phelps: 'An angry, bigoted man who thrived on conflict']</ref><ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/fred-phelps-founder-of-god-hates-fags-westboro-baptist-church-is-on-edge-of-death-9195777.html Fred Phelps, founder of 'God Hates Fags' Westboro Baptist Church, is 'on edge of death']</ref> 
 
{{cquote|Unfortunately, Fred's ideas have not died with him, but live on, not just among the members of the Westboro Baptist Church, but among the many communities and small minds that refuse to recognize the equality and humanity of our brothers and sisters on this small planet we share. |||Nate Phelps, estranged son of Fred Phelps<ref name=NPhelps26/03/2014>[http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/544999/20140326/westboro-baptist-church-nathan-phelps-fred-lgbt.htm Westboro Baptist Church Ex-Member Nathan Phelps On Estranged Father Fred Phelps' Death]</ref>}}

Nate Phelps noted the way people with different beliefs and orientations joined lovingly together to fight harassment from the Westboro Baptists, and hoped that communities uniting could be one positive legacy from his father.<ref name=NPhelps26/03/2014/> The WBC held yet another protest less than a week after the death of Fred Phelps, and Steve Drain found counterprotesters expressing sympathy over Phelps' death to be incomprehensible.<ref>[http://www.christianpost.com/news/westboro-baptist-church-holds-first-protest-after-founder-fred-phelps-death-116670/ Westboro Baptist Church Holds First Protest After Founder Fred Phelps' Death]</ref> Counter rallies have given publicity to the WBC, but also gave opponents the chance to promote [[social justice]], to oppose intolerance, prejudice, and [[xenophobia]].<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/warren-j-blumenfeld/westboro-baptist-church-t_b_5134964.html Westboro Baptist Church: They're Baaaaack!]</ref> The future for WBC is speculative.<ref>[http://blog.adl.org/anti-semitism/what-next-for-the-westboro-baptist-church What Next for the Westboro Baptist Church?]</ref>

===Funerals===
[[File:WBC 20051202 sacco-topeka5.jpg|thumb|Picketing in Topeka, with the group's signature [[rainbow]]-colored picket signs.]]

Since 1991, the church has made a habit of [[Trolling|picketing funerals]], particularly those of soldiers (regardless of their sexual orientation), on the grounds that said soldiers did wrong in fighting for a nation that doesn't [[capital punishment|execute]] gay men ("fags", as 
God
 Phelps calls them). Interestingly, it has also picketed many Christian organizations, including [[Jerry Falwell]]'s funeral, because those organizations don't believe that gay people should be executed (that and because Falwell [[Stopped clock|referred to Fred Phelps as a "first-class nut"]]). In addition to their primary [[webshite]] "God Hates Fags", they also run a whole site family, with URLs generally on the pattern of "godhatesexample.com" (considering the views of Fred Phelps, you'd almost think that [[Self projection as god|when they say "God", they mean Fred Phelps]]). Given the number of things their god hates, he probably also hated the website example.com, too, and possibly even Google, which might end up finding example.com for those searching for it.

Another notable target was [[Matthew Shepard]], a gay teen who was murdered in a homophobic assault; the protest at his funeral initially gained Fred Phelps a good deal of attention. Phelps also hated [[Sweden]] for their anti-discrimination policies with regards to anti-LGBT hate speech. He even blamed the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami on Thailand's large Swedish tourist population (presumably because God couldn't be bothered to hit Sweden itself). Other targets are countries in general, politicians, anyone prominent, and victims of crime and natural disasters. [[Antisemitism]] has been prominent in Westboro as of late, as they now target Jews as frequently as gay people.<ref>For example, http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2009/10/13/westboro-baptist-attacks-%E2%80%98filthy-jews%E2%80%99-in-new-videos/</ref>

In 2012, the WBC apparently ''wanted'' to picket the funeral of Whitney Houston, but instead decided to Photoshop themselves into a shot of the funeral procession.<ref>[http://chicago.gopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/26571316 "Westboro Baptist Church Tweets fake image of Whitney Houston funeral protest"], GoPride.com</ref>

In 2013, the WBC announced plans to picket the funeral of Aaron Swartz at his synagogue in New York City. Despite Swartz's involvement with [[WikiLeaks]], having founded [[Reddit]] and DemandProgress, and his lifelong activism for freedom of information and internet freedom, including his leadership in the successful battle to prevent SOPA and PIPA from becoming law, the WBC seemed not to have figured out that Swartz was one of [[Anonymous]]'s biggest homeboys. The amorphous hacker-activist alliance swore to outnumber the WBC in order to allow Aaron's family, fiancee, and friends to have the funeral they deserved. Either being scared shitless by the prospect of being outnumbered by anons, getting stuck in traffic, or just being their normal flaky selves prevented them from picketing.

In March 2015, WBC announced its intention to picket Leonard Nimoy's funeral, but were unable to do so because they were "unable to find it". Other ''Star Trek'' stars that have been targeted by the WBC include George Takei and Zachary Quinto, who are openly gay, as well as William Shatner. Their posting about the event also took a swipe at Shatner, saying, "Leonard Nimoy's funeral is today but nobody's sharing where. So Westboro AND @William Shatner can't attend". It stands to reason that WBC does not like ''Star Trek'' or its fans very much, either, considering the solid fact that ''Star Trek'' essentially stands for everything they're against.<ref>www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/mar/03/leonard-nimoy-funeral-westboro-baptist-church/</ref>

===Other pickets===
Westboro has recently taken to picketing schools, community colleges, and universities, claiming that children and young people are not properly trained up in [[Insanity|Godliness]].<ref>[http://www.godhatesfags.com/schedule.html Westboro Baptist Church Picket Schedule]</ref> A proposed countertactic is to confront them with silence.<ref>[http://www.collegian.com/2014/04/dont-give-westboro-the-satisfaction/75583/ Don't give Westboro the satisfaction]</ref>

WBC announced plans to picket [[Sandy Hook massacre|Sandy Hook elementary school]] "to sing praise to God for the glory of his work in executing his judgment".<ref>[http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/12/16/reports-as-newtown-plans-burials-for-shooting-victims-westboro-baptist-church-prepares-to-picket/ Reports: As Newtown Plans Burials For Shooting Victims, Westboro Baptist Church Prepares To Picket], CBS Local New York.</ref><ref>[http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2012/12/westboro-baptist-church-anonymous-protest-sandy-hook-victims-funerals Anonymous Vows To 'Destroy' Westboro Baptist Church Over Plan To Picket Sandy Hook Funerals]</ref> Perhaps they thought that the 6-year-olds who were murdered were probably "fag enablers" or some such.

===Services===
Phelps's sermons, some of which have been broadcast on radio or on his website, tended to last for around an hour, and consisted of an old man rambling incoherently to himself, getting agitated and shouting every few minutes, and [[quote mining]] the scriptures to support his warped and hateful attitudes.

===Parishioners===
WBC consists mostly of Phelps's own family (though apparently not his entire family).<ref>"Fred Phelps's a sociopath.", [http://chicago.gopride.com/news/article.cfm/articleid/17130384 "Rev. Fred Phelps' son tells about years of abuse at Westboro Baptist Church"], GoPride.com</ref> Nine of the thirteen children Phelps had are still with the WBC, but most of them left for some time. Those outside lose touch with their family, friends, identity, meaning in life, and social structure and, if they believe WBC teachings, are in continual fear of [[Hell]]. Those who return penitent claim they get loving support and belong again but must obey WBC demands.<ref name=Kraus20.03/1014/>

WBC displays many of the indicators of being an abusive, coercive [[cult]],<ref name="Addicted"/> even though the excommunication of Fred Phelps shows that he was not a charismatic cult leader in old age.<ref name=Threoux/> ''Even the [[Ku Klux Klan|KKK]]'' has [[stopped clock|protested]] against it'' (and vice versa, incidentally).<ref>See [[my enemy's enemy]]</ref><ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/under-god/post/kkk-protests-westboro-baptist-church-at-arlington-national-cemetery/2011/05/31/AG5eORFH_blog.html KKK protests Westboro Baptist Church at Arlington National Cemetery]</ref>

It's also considered very much an open question whether the Westboro Baptist Church is a church in fact, as well as in name, or whether its churchness is simply a convenient legal façade with important benefits in the areas of [[tax]]es, finance, and [[First Amendment]] protections. Not many ''bona fide'' churches have a congregation composed (almost) entirely of one family, and the stunningly high proportion of lawyers among them is an added note of interest.

===Russell Brand interview===
In 2012, British comedian [[Russell Brand]] did an interview with two members of the church on his show ''Brand X''. The two showed up looking like biker gang wannabes. After a brief and largely mocking interview, Russell brought on three gay friends, who also largely mocked the two. Oh, and they gave him a sign that said "Fag Pimp Brand", a moniker he embraced for the episode.<ref>Interview here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JAErHl7lZ4</ref>

===Stopped clock?===
In 2017, right within the first year of [[Donald Trump]]'s regime, the church somehow had the shred of decency to protest against Trump's moral failings. While they did voice opposition towards Trump during his inauguration for what the church perceives as Donald's support for the very same deeds they accuse [[liberal]]s of e.g. same-sex marriage and so on (never mind the fact that Trump's track record towards such issues is spotty at best and abhorrent at worst),<ref name="wbcvstrump1">{{Cite web |date=January 20, 2017 |title=Trump 'Doesn't Represent Us': Inauguration Protesters |url=https://www.newsweek.com/who-protesting-inauguration-544939 |access-date=2025-12-02 |website=Newsweek |language=en}}</ref> they later took aim at Trump's sex life and perceived immoralities, although it was unclear if the WBC was taking the mick out of Trump's infidelity with his first wife Ivana or if they were calling out the numerous allegations of sex crimes involving him.<ref name="wbcvstrump2">{{Cite web |date=November 30, 2017 |title=Westboro Baptist Church To Protest Trump |url=https://www.newsweek.com/westboro-baptist-church-will-protest-trump-sex-peril-727434 |access-date=2025-12-02 |website=Newsweek |language=en}}</ref>

==Theological views==
[[File:Westboro-church1.jpg|thumb|right|350px|The fortress of doom]]

The [[theology]] of the WBC is an extreme variant of [[Calvinism]]. According to their beliefs:

*Man is in a state of [[sin]], and can only be saved by the grace of [[God]].
*This grace is not given freely to all, but only to God's "elect".
*The elect are the people whom God has [[Predestination|foreordained]] to salvation. All others are reprobates who have been created for the express purpose of being sent to [[Hell]]. This is the Calvinist belief of [[unconditional election]], aka "[[double predestination]]", a form of [[determinism]]; it explains why the Westboro Baptist Church protests aren't about proselytizing. The intent of their protests is to thank God for smiting us.
*Those whom God chooses to condemn, he causes to sin by "hardening their hearts" against himself.
*It is the duty of the elect to proclaim God's word (even though God will not force the reprobates to listen). Their goal is not to win converts, or to "save" others, but simply to 
gloat
 rebuke others for their sins.
*No [[humans|human being]] can say who is among the elect, but those outside the WBC are certainly damned.<ref name=Kraus20.03/1014>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-kraus/westboro-baptist-church-rebecca-barrett-fox_b_4997296.html What's Really Going On With the Westboro Baptist Church? An Interview With Rebecca Barrett-Fox, WBC Expert]</ref>
*All events on Earth happen because of God's will; this includes natural disasters and actions committed by people. Events such as [[Hurricane Katrina]], the [[9/11|September 11th]] attacks on New York, and [[Banking crisis#It's a TARP!|the financial recession of 2008-09]] are therefore celebrated by the WBC as God's [[Divine retribution|righteous destruction]] of 
people who disagree with them
 reprobates.{{efn|A Bible passage cited in opposition to making these sorts of judgments is {{bible|Luke|13|1|5}}, in which Jesus disavows the idea that some people who had suffered badly were "worse sinners" than others.}}
*It is also the duty of the elect to praise and thank God for all such judgments 
and totally not because they're a bunch of assholes
. This is why the Phelps family is often seen with signs reading "Thank God for 9/11" and "Thank God for Dead Soldiers". They offered similar thanks for the recent $11 million judgment against them, because they saw it as proof that God is hardening the hearts of men against them. 
*WBC members told Rebecca Barrett-Fox many times that the [[Second Coming]] of Jesus would happen during the lifetime of Fred Phelps.<ref name=Kraus20.03/1014/> As with every [[List of predictions of the end of the world|doomsday prophecy]], this one failed completely.
*Also, if you don't keep your kids out of public schools (where kids apparently shoot each other in the face repeatedly) or don't teach them about God enough or support stem cell research, you are joining the feast of "bitch burgers, OBAMA FRIES, and slut shakes," and thus eating your children.<ref>[http://www.godhatesfags.com/reports/20090329_you-eat-your-children.html The WBC explains how you eat your kids every day]</ref> Their obsession with homosexuality appears to be the result of the widespread acceptance of homosexuality. For the members of the WBC, all sins separate man from God, and they do not claim that the elect are without sin. However, according to their beliefs, people must sincerely repent of their sins before they can be forgiven. For the members of the WBC, "gay pride" and the acceptance of homosexuality is tantamount to having "murderer pride" or thinking of [[Child sexual abuse|child rape]] as being just another, equally valid form of sexual expression. According to the WBC, anyone who doesn't condemn homosexuality as evil is a "fag enabler" and thus deserving of divine retribution. Fred Phelps got emotional and refused to talk further to anyone who asked if he personally had homosexual inclinations.<ref name=Dailykoss15/03/14>[http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/03/16/1285133/-Fred-Phelps-of-Westboro-Baptist-Protests-Near-Death Fred Phelps (of Westboro Baptist Protests) Near Death]</ref>
*Phelps was [[stopped clock|strongly critical]] of the [[Roman Catholic Church]] because of its sex scandals.

==Phelps and electoral politics==
From the 1970s to the 1990s, Phelps was a supporter of the [[Democratic Party]], and was heavily involved at the state level. He ran for governor several times, but failed to get the Democratic nomination every time and never got past the primary. In 1988, he backed [[Al Gore]] for the Democratic nomination since Gore opposed a "gay bill of rights" placed for vote in 1984, while opposing Clinton's re-election later due to his support for gay rights. In 1992, he managed to get 31% of the Democratic primary vote for US Senate. He also had two mercifully unsuccessful runs for mayor of Topeka, largely due to the lack of organization of the local party and the opposition of every sane person in the voting area.<ref>[http://cjonline.com/indepth/phelps/musser.shtml Fred Phelps versus Topeka By Rick Musser]</ref><ref>[http://www.religionnewsblog.com/1128/kansas-anti-gay-church-embarrasses-topekans Kansas anti-gay church embarrasses Topekans]</ref>

Phelps was critical of [[Ronald Reagan]] for sending an ambassador to the [[Vatican]]. 

Nearly all conservatives have tried to disassociate themselves from Phelps, and are embarrassed over the extreme vulgarity of WBC campaigns. That said, some of Phelps's viewpoints are very similar to other members of the [[religious right]].<ref group=note>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpeGoWMOCNk As humorously observed] by [[Betty Bowers]], America's Best Christian.</ref> Like [[Pat Robertson]] and [[Jerry Falwell]], Phelps associated recent tragedies experienced by the United States with God's wrath for the nation's growing acceptance of homosexuality.{{efn|Ed Farrell, Vice Mayor of a large [[Arizona]] town stated, ''"This world needs to get back to the biblical standards that our God made for us. This guy was not afraid to preach it, and I respect that. … I am just having a hard time with all of this{{sic}} gay and lesbian rights thing."'' Farrell later retracted after finding out that WBC campaign against the military and that [[The Onion]] is a satirical magazine.<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/28/ed-farrell-arizona-fred-phelps_n_5043250.html Ed Farrell, Arizona Vice Mayor, Shamed For Praising Fred Phelps After Being Confused By Satirical Article] by Yasmine Hafiz (03/28/2014 08:39 am ET | Updated Mar 28, 2014) ''Huffington Post''.</ref>]}} The difference between them lies in Phelps's acceptance, and even active encouragement, of these actions as part of God's will, while Robertson apparently thinks God is going too far by letting so many Christians die.

==Reactions==
The extreme hate of Phelps's church has led to a multitude of [[vigilante]] responses; some of them have been violent, but most of them aren't. The [[Patriot Guard Riders]] are a group that physically blocks the presence of the WBC, and students at a school counterprotested the Church. The Phelps family also seemed to take offense to a reporter's ''very'' friendly questions during an interview.<ref>[https://youtu.be/S8cN2pB3MCE Flirting with a Westboro Church man]</ref>

For a time, the [[parody religion]] meme "God Hates Figs" was popular in colleges and online, under the theory that if you can't beat 'em, make fun of 'em. Another such parody was "[[God Hates Shrimp]]", whose creator called up the Phelpses on their radio show.

Once while the church was protesting a funeral in Topeka, someone slashed the tires of their van. They drove all over Topeka, trying to find someone that would fix the problem, and every repair service told them that they wouldn't help them.

On a more positive note, some presumably [[Universalism|Universalist]]s from a [[liberal]] [[Methodism|Methodist]] group wrote, ''"If grace is true, then God's love is welcoming Fred among the saints."'' Others disagree.<ref>[http://juicyecumenism.com/2014/03/27/is-fred-phelps-a-saint/ Is Fred Phelps a Saint?]</ref>

===Getting sued===
Most of Phelps's spiritually malformed spawn are lawyers as he was, and routinely threaten to sue anyone who interferes with their hatemongering.

In 2007, the family of Lance Corporal Matthew A. Snyder were awarded $2.9 million in compensatory damages and a further $8 million in punitive damages for invasion of privacy and infliction of emotional distress after Phelps and his fellow hatemongers had protested at Snyder's funeral by displaying signs including one that said "Thank God for Dead Soldiers".<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/31/AR2007103102278.html $11 Million Awarded in Funeral Protest Suit], The Washington Post, November 1, 2007</ref> Phelps predicted that a higher court would overturn the decision "in five minutes" on [[freedom of speech#Fred Phelps|freedom of speech]] grounds, and was proved right. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeal overturned the decision in September 2009, ordering Snyder's family to pay costs of $16,510.<ref>[http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/4th-circuit-nixes-5-million-verdict-against-funeral-protesters 4th Circuit nixes $5 million verdict against funeral protesters], First Amendment Center, September 9, 2009</ref><ref name="HuffPo20100329">[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/29/father-of-dead-marine-ord_n_517614.html Father Of Dead Marine Ordered To Pay Legal Fees Of Westobro Baptist Church Protesters], The Huffington Post, March 29 2010</ref> In March 2010, the family appealed to the [[Supreme Court]]<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/08/westboro-church-protests-_n_489923.html Westboro Church Protests Head To Supreme Court], The Huffington Post, March 8 2010</ref> and appealed for donations in order to keep the case going.<ref name="HuffPo20100329"/> On March 2, 2011, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the WBC in an 8-1 decision, with [[Samuel Alito|Justice Alito]] being the lone dissenter.<ref>[http://cjonline.com/news/2011-03-02/high-court-finds-wbc High court finds for WBC], Topeka Capital-Journal, March 2, 2011</ref><ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12624539 US Supreme Court allows anti-gay funeral protests], BBC News, March 2, 2011</ref> <!-- Cite it or it goes; signed:Cracker...[[Bill O'Reilly]] magnanimously paid the fine to the marauding barbarians of the Westboro Baptist Church. -->

===Anonymous vs. WBC, or vice versa===
In February 2011, the WBC claimed that [[Anonymous]] had threatened to take down their sites. Anonymous claimed it was an inside job, just an attempt to gain publicity, and not a genuine threat of attack.

On February 27, the David Pakman Show hosted Shirley Phelps-Roper and a member of Anonymous on a live call-in show. During the course of the ten-minute segment, after denying previous threats, and in response to the shrill [[Godbotherer]]'s claims of invincibility, the representative from Anonymous pointed out that Anonymous had left a message on their server. They then proceeded to hack the site, which went down for a short while.<ref>http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/304090</ref> Some claimed the WBC was behind the threat, as they hoped to encourage hackers and later sue them.<ref>[http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2011/02/22/phelps-v-anonymous-or-phelps-v/ Phelps v. Anonymous? Or Phelps v. Phelps?]</ref>

After the [[Sandy Hook massacre]], some part of Anonymous has released phone numbers and addresses of the clan to the internet after they cheerfully applauded the murder of over twenty young children.<ref>[http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57559468-93/hackers-target-westboro-baptist-church-after-newtown-threat/ Hackers target Westboro Baptist Church after Newtown threat]</ref> If Westboro wanted attention from Anonymous now, they certainly got it.<ref>[http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2012/12/westboro-baptist-church-anonymous-protest-sandy-hook-victims-funerals Anonymous Vows To 'Destroy' Westboro Baptist Church Over Plan To Picket Sandy Hook Funerals]</ref>

== Fred and family ==
===Domestic abuse===
Many sources agree that Phelps regularly beat his children, especially his estranged sons, Nate and Mark.<ref>Largely confimed by Nate Phelps at http://reedsecular.org/2008/12/18/like-father-like-son-inside-the-chaotic-world-of-nate-phelps/</ref> ''[[Addicted to Hate]]'', an exposé written by estranged members, sheds light on life with Phelps. Two of his children were briefly taken into protective custody after marks of abuse were found, but Phelps intimidated the authorities into dropping the case. The records of this would have been destroyed had he not sued the Topeka Public Schools over the matter. One Christmas Day, Phelps beat his son Nate into shock with more than 200 strokes from a mattock handle after receiving a report that he had nicked some bulbs for Christmas lights.<ref name="Addicted"/>

Phelps also encouraged husbands in his congregation to punch their wives. Indeed, it was reported that one fellow took this to heart and later had to call Phelps for bail.<ref name="Addicted">''[[Addicted to Hate]]''. (http://blank.org/addict/) Fred Phelps exposed. The complete text of ''[[Addicted to Hate]]'' provided by Topeka's anti-Phelps underground.</ref> Three of the children have stated that Mrs. Phelps was thrown down a flight of stairs.<ref name="Addicted"/><ref>[http://hopeandpolitics.blogspot.com/2006/07/abuse-as-theology-fred-phelps-son.html Abuse as theology: Fred Phelps' son tells his father to stop venting his rage]</ref>

Nate Phelps<ref>{{wpl|Nathan Phelps|Nate has his own Wikipedia page}}</ref> finally ran away from home on his 18th birthday. He now lives in Canada, is an [[atheist]], works as a public speaker on [[LGBT]] rights and the connection between religious [[extremism]] and [[child abuse]], and is writing a book about his life as the son of Fred Phelps. He is also the subject of a documentary currently in production.<ref>http://www.alternet.org/activism/son-bigot</ref>

Nate claimed in 2014 that Fred was near death in a hospice after the rest of the family excommunicated him for undisclosed reasons. The family did not allow other excommunicated family members to visit Fred while he was dying.<ref name=Dailykoss15/03/14/>

===Fred's "work ethic"===
{{cquote|It was an unusual family by any account. From a young age, Fred Phelps' children earned a major part of the family's income, perhaps even all of it, when they were required to sell hate-laced candy door-to-door for hours after school each day.<ref>[http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2001/spring/a-city-held-hostage/on-the-inside Inside the Westboro Baptist Church]</ref>}}

Fred Phelps spent so much time hating everyone and beating his kids he couldn't be bothered to provide for his family, making his children earn most, if not all, of the money.

===Margie Phelps===
Perhaps because Fred was getting too old, Margie Phelps played a more prominent role in the WBC. In 2011, British patient Harry Moseley died from a brain tumor at the age of 11 after raising £500,000 for charity.<ref>[http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2011/10/21/history-of-harry-moseley-as-his-funeral-takes-place-97319-29633320/ History of Harry Moseley]</ref> Margie wrote to Harry's devastated family, telling them they should have taught him about Heaven and Hell instead of encouraging him to raise money for charity and help people. While Americans might be used to that type of unpleasantness from the WBC, British people were surprised and shocked.<ref>[http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2011/10/10/harry-moseley-s-mum-hits-out-at-vile-christian-group-s-twitter-tirade-97319-29567350/ Harry Moseley's mum hits out at 'vile' Christian group's Twitter tirade]</ref>

===Shirley Phelps-Roper===
Shirley Phelps-Roper was the church's most active spokesperson, ran the church's day-to-day operations, and was in charge of organizing their many protests. By being so active in the church and speaking on its behalf so often, Phelps-Roper has likely doomed a lot of them to hell.{{efn|{{bible|1 Corinthians|14|34|35}}: "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church."}} She was featured heavily in the 2007 BBC documentary ''The Most Hated Family in America'' and the 2011 follow-up ''America's Most Hated Family in Crisis'' both presented by British documentarian [[Louis Theroux]]. She and her father were banned from the [[United Kingdom]] when they planned to protest in Basingstoke.<ref>[http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2250721.ece Brit ban for hate Preachers], The Sun, 18 February 2009</ref> Other members of Westboro could be flagged and stopped if they attempted to enter the country.

One example of Phelps-Roper's outpourings took place on October 3, 2006, when she managed to shock [[Fox News]] pundits [[Alan Colmes]] and [[Sean Hannity]] by claiming that the five [[Amish]] schoolgirls who had been murdered earlier that week deserved to die.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,217975,00.html?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a4:g4:r2:c0.000000:b0:z5 Radical Westboro Baptist Church Claims Amish Community Was Punished by an Angry God], Fox News, 5 October 2006</ref> Ironically, her first child Samuel Phelps-Roper was born out of wedlock, and everyone knows the Bible says that women who aren't virgins on their wedding night are to be put to death. It's been suggested that Phelps-Roper may have been ousted and an all male board of elders may have replaced her.<ref name=Fry/><ref name=Greenberg/>

In 2013, her daughters, Megan and Grace Phelps-Roper, publicly announced that they had left the WBC, and the family has since cut them off.<ref>[http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/02/06/megan-phelps-roper-has-left-the-westboro-baptist-church/ Megan Phelps-Roper Has Left the Westboro Baptist Church]</ref><ref>[https://medium.com/@meganphelps/head-full-of-doubt-road-full-of-promise-83d2ef8ba4f5 Head Full of Doubt / Road Full of Promise]</ref> In October 2019, Megan published ''Unfollow: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church'' ([[Special:Booksources/‎978-1787478008|ISBN‎ 978-1787478008]])<ref>[https://bookpage.com/reviews/24430-megan-phelps-roper-unfollow-i-class-fa-fa-star-i-biography-memoir Unfollow: Megan Phelps-Roper (Review by Deborah Mason)]</ref> describing the love she experienced within the extended family, and the process of leaving first the family and then the faith.

===Steve Drain===
Unlike most members of the church, [[Steve Drain]] is not related to the Phelps clan by blood or marriage, and was not born into it. In the late 1990s, he made a documentary film known variously as ''Hatemongers'' or ''Fred: The Movie'', which involved extensive interactions with the Westboro church. Following the film's completion, he and his family joined the church. Drain handles much of the multimedia for the church, including designing the protest signs and maintaining and editing videos for the website. Drain looks like he may be Phelps' successor,<ref name=Dickson/> judging by the video [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD2Npy9nxcA "Lying False Prophets Are To Blame"] in which he is captioned as "Watchman", is wearing a suit and tie, and gives a very Fred-like rant.

===Lauren Drain===
Lauren Drain, a former member of the Westboro Baptist Church and the daughter of the aforementioned Steve, has written a tell-all book called ''Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church'' ([[Special:Booksources/9781455512430|ISBN 9781455512430]]).<ref>[http://gu.com/p/3fxtb/stw Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church by Lauren Drain – review]</ref> In an interview, she hinted at the possibility that Phelps may have been a self-hating gay. While she hasn't actually directly stated that Phelps was gay, the possibility raises the question of [[Haggard's Law]].<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/15/lauren-drain-westboro-baptist-church-fred-phelps-gay-experience_n_2877987.html/ Westboro Baptist Church Founder Fred Phelps May Be Gay, Suggests Former Member Lauren Drain]</ref>

==WBC makes videos!==
Fred [https://youtu.be/e647x8xFKTs hated] [[The Daily Show|Jon Stewart]] and his hooligan sidekick [[Stephen Colbert]] (for someone who seemed to hate sex, he sure was obsessed with coming). Note that this is probably the only time someone has claimed that ''The Daily Show'' was predicted in Biblical prophecy. He also [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GW0JjDeye6U hated] [[Jerry Falwell]], surmising that the fat false prophet [[stopped clock|died and entered hell]]. Fred also sounded like he knocked back a few more than usual before going on camera. Fred also [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4WqgfmUbOc hated] [[Bill O'Reilly]] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6lRrTa49io and] [[Canada|da Canucks]], and [[Australia]], [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maeNk2itmMk too.] And he [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm8_Xp17r-E hated] da [[media]]. For some reason, Westboro also makes [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEgxBOtAOIM Lady Gaga parodies].

==An incomplete list of things Fred Phelps and his god hated==
{{cquote|If anyone says, "I Love God," yet hates his brother, that man is a [[Deceit|liar]]. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.|||[[First Epistle of John|1 John 4:20]]}}

:<div class="plainlinks" id="listdev">''This is an {{wpl|Wikipedia:WikiProject Lists#Incomplete lists|incomplete list}}, which 
may
 will never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by [{{fullurl:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|action=edit}} expanding it] with [[bullshit|reliably sourced]] entries.''</div>

===Countries and nationalities===
{{columns-list|2|
*[[Australia]], how ''dare'' they allow gay pride parades to take place!<ref><capture>[http://www.godhatestheworld.com/australia/index.html God Hates Australia]</capture></ref>
*[[British|Britain]], for banning them from entering the country in 2009<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7898972.stm Anti-gay preachers banned from UK]</ref><ref>[http://uk.reuters.com/article/2009/02/19/us-britain-usa-preacher-idUKTRE51I3TA20090219 Britain bars entry to anti-gay U.S. preacher]</ref><ref><capture>[http://www.godhatestheworld.com/unitedkingdom/government.html The United Kingdom's Evil Government]</capture></ref>
*[[Canada]], for treating Phelps poorly in 2001<ref>[http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2013/09/23/god-hates-canada/ God Hates Canada]</ref>
*[[China]], for being an atheist country and "other whoredoms"<ref><capture>[http://www.godhatestheworld.com/china/filthymanneroflife.html China's Filthy Manner of Life]</capture></ref>
*[[Germany]], saying: [[irony|"The filthy pervert Adolf Hitler was raised to power and then able to convince a people to carry out his plan to virtually eliminate a race. What is wrong with you people to blindly go along with such evil and wickedness?"]]<ref><capture>[http://www.godhatestheworld.com/germany/filthymanneroflife.html Germany's Filthy Manner of Life]</capture></ref>
*[[India]], for allowing sodomy and having a gay pride parade in New Delhi, among other things<ref><capture>[http://www.godhatestheworld.com/india/filthymanneroflife.html India's Filthy Manner of Life]</capture></ref>
*[[Ireland]], for its more generic acceptance of homosexuality<ref>[http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/god-hates-ireland-26320351.html God hates Ireland] (Independent.ie)</ref><ref>[http://www.irishcentral.com/news/The-Westboro-Baptist-Church-gets-Irelands-flag-wrong-in-hate-filled-tweet.html "God Hates Ireland" says hate filled Westboro Baptist Church message]</ref> (or possibly {{wpl|Ivory Coast|Ivorians}} – they have the same flag, don't they?)<ref>[http://www.thejournal.ie/westboro-baptist-church-gets-ireland-flag-wrong-2121806-May2015/ The Westboro Baptist Church thinks 'God Hates Ireland' after yesterday – but they got our flag wrong]</ref><ref>[http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/westboro-baptist-church-gets-irelands-flag-wrong-declares-it-hates-ivory-coast-1502854 Westboro Baptist Church gets Ireland's flag wrong and declares it hates the Ivory Coast]</ref><ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/26/westboro-baptist-church-ireland-gay-marriage_n_7444756.html Westboro Baptist Church Tries To Diss Ireland's Gay Marriage Vote, Misses By One Continent]</ref>
*[[Kenya]], for homosexuality, among other things<ref><capture>[http://www.godhatestheworld.com/kenya/filthymanneroflife.html Kenya's Filthy Manner of Life]</capture></ref>
*[[Norway]], for having legalized homosexuality in 1972<ref><capture>[http://www.godhatestheworld.com/norway/filthymanneroflife.html Norway's Filthy Manner of Life]</capture></ref>
*[[Spain]], because of homosexuals<ref>[http://youtu.be/Xmm-4HQ_hFU?t=11m37s The Phelps - God Hates Spain 4/5 (eng subs)]</ref>
*[[Sweden]], who legalized homosexuality in 1944, amongst a variety of other reasons<ref><capture>[http://www.godhatestheworld.com/sweden/filthymanneroflife.html Sweden's Filthy Manner of Life]</capture></ref>
*[[Uganda]] (ironically, since they're anti-gay)<ref>{{wpa|Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2014}}</ref><ref><capture>[http://www.godhatestheworld.com/uganda/filthymanneroflife.html Uganda's Filthy Manner of Life]</capture></ref>
*The [[United States]] (fag country)<ref><capture>[http://www.godhatestheworld.com/america/filthymanneroflife.html America's Filthy Manner of Life]</capture></ref>
}}
*Literally every single nation and disputed territory<ref><capture>[http://www.godhatestheworld.com/ God Hates the World]</capture></ref>

===Organizations and companies===
{{columns-list|2|
*The [[KKK]] &mdash; [[stopped clock|even ''they'' found WBC extreme]]!<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/05/30/arlington.cemetery.protesters/ Counter-protesters confront Westboro Baptist Church at Arlington]</ref><ref>[http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/12/18/kkk-step-in-to-counter-god-hates-fags-picket-at-military-memorial-ceremony/ KKK step in to counter 'God Hates Fags' picket at military memorial ceremony]</ref>
*[[NASA]] and all other space agencies worldwide (for not believing in a [[Young Earth creationism|young Earth]])
*The NFL<ref><capture>[http://www.godhatesfags.com/fliers/20140321_NFL-Home-Office-NYC.pdf WBC News Release]</capture></ref>
*The Media (Fag Media Shame)<ref><capture>[http://www.christianpost.com/news/westboro-baptist-church-plans-god-hates-the-media-tour-124120/ Westboro Baptist Church Plans 'God Hates the Media' Tour]</capture></ref>
*The NBA<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2013/05/01/westboro-baptist-church-to-protest-nba-playoff-games/</ref>
*The [[Roman Catholic Church]]
}}

===Other groups and demographics===
{{columns-list|2|
*[[Adultery|Adulterers]] (unless it's Shirley Phelps of course)
*American soldiers
*Anonymous, [[4chan]], [[/b/]] &mdash; Hacked their website which apparently had "protection from God", where can I get a God-level security server?
*Anti-Nazi Groups
*Anyone who believes in [[free will]]
*Atheists<ref>[http://www.godhatesfags.com/fliers/20110423_ReasonFest-Lawrence-KS.pdf]</ref>
*Black people, as Fred preached the [[Curse of Ham]] and associated with [[Pete Peters]]
*Children from Oklahoma<ref>KOCO (Oklahoma City): [http://www.koco.com/r/25833473/detail.html Kansas Church Plans To Picket Child Funerals: ''Westboro Baptist Church Cheers Child Deaths'']</ref>
*[[Conservatives]] (not anti-gay enough)
*The [[ex-gay]] movement, because they're not hateful enough and say gays can still get into Heaven if they repent and become heterosexual
*[[Gay]] people (obviously), and people who don't hate gays as much as they do (pretty much everyone)
*[[Hell]], Fred's current residence
*Fred's children
*[[Jews]] (now [[Schadenfreude|''very'' amusing]], since two granddaughters are now attending a synagogue as of 2014)<ref>[http://freethoughtblogs.com/dispatches/2014/03/09/phelps-family-members-attending-synagogue/Phelps Family Members Attending Synagogue, Dispatches From the Culture Wars]</ref>
*[[Liberals]]
*[[Moderate]]s
*[[Mormons]]
*[[Muslims]]
*Neo-Nazis &mdash; "Fags are the real Nazis" &mdash; WBC (even though [[Hitler]] executed gay men and perceived sexual deviants in gas chambers)<ref>{{wpa|Persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust}}</ref>
*[[Nerd]]s<ref>[http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/07/comic-con_gets_a_new_attractio.php]</ref>
}}

===Individuals===
{{columns-list|2|
*[[George W. Bush|George W. ("Fag Pimp") Bush]]
*[[George Carlin]]<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFkBshZ39xM]</ref>
*Ronnie James Dio
*[[Stephen Colbert]]<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e647x8xFKTs]</ref>
*[[Jerry Falwell]] (Too nice to gays)
*The "ol' fag-enabling heretic", [[Billy Graham|Billy ("Balaam") Graham]]
*Michael Jackson
*[[Steve Jobs]]<ref>http://rt.com/usa/news/westboro-funeral-jobs-phelps-247/</ref><ref>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/06/westboro-baptist-church-steve-jobs-funeral_n_998032.html</ref>
*Lady Gaga<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/05/fred-phelps-lady-gaga-par_n_412080.html]</ref> (the fiends!)
*Heath Ledger
*[[Barack Obama]], who to them is the [[Antichrist]] predicted in the Bible.
*[[Oprah]] (along with "filthy nigger bitches" in general)<ref name="Addicted"/>
*The Queen Mother (widow of King George VI)
*Mr. Rogers (a minister with a popular children's television program who didn't use it to attack gays, and may have been the nicest man ever)
*[[Matthew Shepard]]
*[[The Daily Show|Jon Stewart]]<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e647x8xFKTs]</ref>
*[[Donald Trump]] ([[Stopped clock|even the WBC themselves]] found him too abhorrent, apparently)<ref name="wbcvstrump1"/><ref name="wbcvstrump2"/>
}}

===Everything else===
{{columns-list|2|
*The beach
*Alpha Centauri
*Actual centaurs and other [[Myth|mythical]] beasts, most likely.

*Earth &mdash; godhatesearth.com
*Formula 1
*[[Heavy metal music]]
*[[Jesus]]. No, seriously.<ref>[http://archive.ph/Wchod So happy that long-haired hippy freak disagrees with those signs] Westboro Baptist 	
Westboro Baptist @WBCSays (11:31 p.m. Mon, Sep 9) ''Twitter'' (archived from 11 Sep 2013 10:18:54 UTC).</ref>
*[[Life]]
*Long walks on the beach
*Medium-length walks on the beach
*Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays
*[[Pluto]], probably
*''[[Pokémon|Pokémon GO]]''<ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/pokemon-go-westboro-baptist-church-lgbtq-claims-clefairy-loveislove-a7131706.html Pokemon Go: Westboro Baptist Church fires wrath at pro-LGBTQ trainer who ‘claimed’ their church | Culture | The Independent]</ref>
*Property tax<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMeOBdFCr8Q 1990 Campaign ad for Kansas Governor]</ref>
*[[Santa Claus]]
*Short walks on the beach
*The [[Universe]]
*Walking
*The world (godhatestheworld.com)
*Puppies{{nofact}}
*Rainbows{{nofact}}
*Sunshine{{nofact}}
*[[Extraterrestrial|Aliens]]{{nofact}}
*Everything not listed above. (They don't yet have a reason to hate it? Don't worry, they'll find one.)
}}

==A complete list of things Fred Phelps and his god ''didn't'' hate==
{{columns-list|2|
*[[Cancer]], said to be "a precision-guided weapon of an Almighty God" that proves evolutionary biologists powerless<ref>http://blogs.godhatesfags.com/workmen/2012/09/09/gwyneth-paltrow-and-her-tv-puppet-pals-stand-up-to-cancer-while-westboro-stands-behind-cancer-100/</ref>
*[[Fidel Castro]], 
for his [[homophobia]]
 despite him having renounced his [[homophobia]] and having implemented legislation for gay [[civil unions]] later on in life<ref>http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/08/31/cuba.castro.gays/index.html?hpt=T2</ref>
*Hurricanes, for the same reason as cancer
*[[Saddam Hussein]], for the same reason as Fidel{{efn|Forgetting that Saddam was a Muslim until he died.}}
*
Fred Phelps
 Not so fast!<ref>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/16/fred-phelps-dying-death-westboro-baptist_n_4974584.html</ref>
*Westboro Baptist Church
}}

==The end==
In March 2014, it was reported that Phelps was on his death bed,<ref>[http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/westboro-baptist-church-founder-fred-phelps-reportedly-death-article-1.1723451 Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps Sr. 'on the edge of death', New York ''Daily News'']</ref> which either meant that he was about to:

#find out the [[hell|hard way]] about the cost of spreading such venomous hatred for most of his adult life
#merely become insensate worm food
#be somehow [[rapture|proven right at the last minute]]

It's left up to the reader as to which one of these fates is more appropriate.

On March 16, Steve Drain denied a statement from Nate Phelps that his father was near death, but admitted Phelps Sr. was in a hospice. Drain claimed that Phelps Sr. ''"has a couple things going on [...] The source that says he's near death is not well informed"''.<ref>[http://cjonline.com/news/2014-03-17/elders-excommunicate-phelps-after-power-struggle-call-kindness-within-church Elders excommunicate Phelps after power struggle, call for kindness within church]</ref> On March 20, Fred Phelps got to learn first-hand who God actually hated, if anyone.<ref>[http://ksn.com/2014/03/20/founder-of-westboro-baptist-church-rev-fred-phelps-sr-dies/ Founder of Westboro Baptist Church, Rev. Fred Phelps Sr. Dies, KSN TV]</ref> Shortly after his death, members of the church posted a eulogy that oddly didn't talk very much about him at all.<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/20/westboro-baptist-fred-phelps-death-statement-_n_5002608.html Westboro Baptist Church Responds To Fred Phelps' Death: 'Your Dashed Hopes' (STATEMENT)]</ref> However, they did release a statement that (ironically) thanked God that Fred had died.

The internet mourned not the death of Phelps, but reactions were still mixed. Many rejoiced loudly and promised to piss on his grave. Others suggested that the ultimate form of retaliation was to respect Phelps more than he ever respected the world. Others said that we should simply forget Phelps forever and ignore what remains of his church, to prevent him from ever developing a legacy.

It was rumored that the heavy metal band Slayer would be protesting Fred Phelps' funeral, some even suggesting that the band members had set up camp outside the church in Topeka. Such rumors were dismissed by spokespersons of the band. Phelps' daughter, Margie, stated that no funeral would be arranged for her late father, and no details of his burial had been revealed.{{efn|No Slayer protesting Fred's funeral? That sucks!<ref>[http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/586179-fred-phelps-funeral-no-slayer-wont-protest-westboro-baptist-church-no-suing-of-protesters-either/ Fred Phelps Funeral: No, Slayer Won’t Protest Westboro Baptist Church; No ‘Suing’ of Protesters Either] by Jack Phillips (March 27, 2014 AT 4:56 PM Last Updated: July 18, 2015 5:15 pm) ''[[Epoch Times]]''.</ref>}}

==Excommunication==
Around the same time as rumors of Phelps's pending demise began to circulate, there were rumblings that he had, in fact, been excommunicated from the church he had founded. This followed a supposed power struggle within the church, which pitted a bunch of male elders, led by Steve Drain, against Phelps's daughter, Shirley. Initial reports claimed that Phelps had been shown the door, for "advocating a kinder approach between church members."<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/17/fred-phelps-excommunicated-wbc_n_4981300.html Fred Phelps Was Reportedly Excommunicated From Westboro Baptist Church For Advocating A 'Kinder Approach']</ref>

However, after his death, his grandson, Zacharias Phelps-Roper, left the cult and later provided more insight on what happened:

{{cquote|Specifically, on the day that he was excommunicated, he stood outside of the front door of the church (but not within anyone's earshot but a few members of WBC who happened to be in the immediate vicinity) [...] I say, he spoke words to this effect to the Equality House: "You are good people." I feel like he had a change of heart after my grandmother nearly passed away, and he felt the pangs of loss [...] he waited for news of her every day and night while she was in intensive care. I think this triggered a chain reaction whereby he developed great empathy for others... which would explain why he would support Planting Peace's anti-suicide and anti-bullying platforms, and their charities across the world [...] I love my grandfather! And I believe people DO change, if they are inspired enough!<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/23/fred-phelps-equality_n_5378433.html Fred Phelps May Have Had A Change Of Heart Toward Gays, Relative Says]</ref>}}

The family allegedly excommunicated him for "rank blasphemy" for his last-minute, Darth Vader-like conversion from the "dark side", which unfortunately won't be enough to save him from hell according to his own Calvinist dogma.

==Video gallery==
{{video|youtube|EEIqEYP_ZvM}}

==See also==
*''[[Addicted to Hate]]''
*[[American Taliban]]
*[[Steven Anderson]], a man possessed by the spirit of Phelps after the latter's passing who is, unbelievably, even '''more''' vitriolic and hateful.
*[[Reaction formation]]
*[[God hates shrimp]]
*[[Universe|A page which includes what 
Fred Phelps
 God hates]]
*[[Calvinism]]
*[[Hyper-Calvinism]]
*[[Jesus Is Savior]]
*[[The Church at Kaweah]]
*[[Haggard's Law]]
*[[Darwin Fish]]
*[[Poe's Law]]

==External links==
*''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pxE6_VY8aM The Most Hated Family in America ]'', BBC documentary
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12919646 BBC News - Louis Theroux: Westboro Baptist Church revisited] - Theroux presents a follow-up documentary on the Phelpses.
*[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/24/pastor-fred-phelps-westboro-baptist-church-louis-theroux Fred Phelps' obituary], by serial documenter [[Louis Theroux]].
*[https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/westboro-baptist-church Westboro Baptist Church] Up to date news from the [[Southern Poverty Law Center]]
*'''Phelps' [[webshites]].''' Unpleasant and [[NSFW]]. Enter at your own risk... ideally, from the rear. Give them a giggle.
**[http://www.godhatesfags.com/ God Hates Fags]
**[http://www.godhatesamerica.com/ God Hates America]
**[http://www.godhatestheworld.com/sweden/ God Hates Sweden]
**In fact, [http://www.godhatestheworld.com/ God Hates The World] (includes entries for nearly every country in the world; the rest are marked on the map as "coming soon"). 
Fred Phelps
 God sure is one mean, hateful dude.
**[http://godhatesthemedia.com/ God hates the Media]
**[http://www.priestsrapeboys.com/ Priests Rape Boys]
**[http://www.beastobama.com/ Antichrist Obama]
**[http://www.jewskilledjesus.com/ Jews Killed Jesus]
*Things have to be pretty bad if [[stopped clock| even]] [[Sean Hannity]] thinks [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi77koTk8mc you're a scumbag].
*Nate Phelps [http://atheistnexus.org/page/nate-phelps-2009-aa-speech explains his family]. "Of course, this was all interpreted by him as the actions of god’s enemies trying to destroy him and his church."
*[http://blank.org/addict/ Fred Phelps exposed] The complete text of ''[[Addicted to Hate]]'' provided by Topeka's anti-Phelps underground.
* [http://natephelps.com/ Nate Phelps' own website]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note|2|90%}}

==References==
{{reflist|3|80%}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phelps, Fred Waldron}}
[[Category:Anti-Catholicism]]
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[[Category:We're on a mission from God]]

Categories: Anti-Catholicism, Antisemites, Atheophobia, Baptists, Convicted felons, Conspiracy theorists, Crank magnetism, Cult leaders, Fundamentalists, Homophobes, Internet kooks, Islamophobes, Lawyers, Leftists who turned right with age, Ministers, Racists, Right-wing activists, We're on a mission from God