A View Inside The Westboro Baptist Church Essay Example for Free

A View Inside The Westboro Baptist Church Es verifyUnlike most unexampled religious groups, the Westboro Baptist Church is unique in the fact that the organization doesnt meet in a modern church service setting. Instead, the Westboro Baptist Church meets on Sundays to watch and protest the funerals of people whom they feel possess created blasphemous acts against God. This recently included the funeral of Apples co-founder Steve Jobs. In an October 7th cbsnews. com article journalist Edecio Martinez quoted Margie Phelps as posting on twitter, He had huge platformgave God no glory and taught sin. This in return yielded a great a greatly deal of responses by media, family, and some otherwise government officials as well. This is the story behind the Westboro Baptist Church and its opposing homecomingparts. It is first important to understand the dynamics of the Westboro Baptist Church. Known for its fight against the preference lifestyles of the homosexual community, the me mbers of the Westboro Baptist Church know often measures been referred to as the serial protesters and also have been characterized as a hate group. This church is an independent church founded by Fred Phelps in 1955.The group contains 71 members most of which are of Phelps family. Their congregations include lookout maning and the desecration of the American flag. Theologically speaking they refer to themselves as Calvinist. The churchs view is that most religious groups are Satan worshipers, frauds, and teach lies. They believe that God Hates fags and that it should be a crime. The two most notable groups that Westboro Baptist Church has chosen to picket are homosexuals and celebrities. This organization is without a question unique in its own rights.Since the Westboro Baptist Church popped up on the scene in Nov. 27, 1955, the public has had something to say about them. In efforts to expires the disapproval of the Westboro Baptist Church other groups have met in areas where t he church was picketing and turned away from churches protesters. Perhaps one of the most famous counter protests happened after the September 11 attacks. One young man Jared Dailey , stood across from the group and held a sign that displayed, NOT today Fred. Two days after the number shifted from 1 to 86 people standing across from the group.In future protest against the group the slogan that began Dailey used has been popular in use. As a means to counter the Westboro Baptist church organizations such as, The Boston Center for the Arts and an ad-hoc group in Richmond countered the protest by doing pledges and then donating the property to LGBT (Lesbian, Bisexual, and Trans-gender) organizational projects. Others have arranged protest and hackers have been cognise to hack the Westboro batiste Church websites and disable them from the internet. There have been violent actions also against the group.There have been recorded incidents of angry mob attempting to attack the group, a fire near their meeting lace estimated at $10,000 in damage, and also Army Veteran Ryan Newell was arrested with ammo and an attempt on an attack of the group. For the most part the general public objects to the Westboro Baptist Church and their beliefs. Arguments on both sides of the debacle have both taking time out to use the First Amendment in their defense. The Westboro Baptist Church found themselves in hot water when the father of the Marine Lance Corporal Matthew A.Snyder sued them for defamation of character, aggression of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress on June 5,2006. Although the court threw out the defamation and privacy suits due to the First Amendment the trial still went on for other charges. The family argued that even though the first amendment gives an American citizen the right to forgive speech it still is limited. On the judges mark the first amendment was recited and let it be known that if vulgar, offensive, or shocking statements were made, then that would be grounds of a guilty plea. The Plea was guilty on behalf of Fred and the other members of the Phelps family.The Westboro Baptist Church also took action as well, on July 21,2006 the ACLU (The American Civil Liberties Union) of eastern Missouri filed a suit for Shirley L. Phelps-Roper. This suit stated that the Missouri law saying that no one was allowed to picket in front of a church or a funeral an hour before or an hour after was preventing her from utilizing her right to religious liberty and free speech. Although the argument was relevant the courts still shot down the suit stating that in individual states and cities the law is interpreted as they escort fit because the amendment is vague as to the terms and conditions.The Phelps family continued on still to federal court in hopes of a win. On both sides of the argument each have had valid request that the first amendment protects both sides. As the situation continued, it called for the Supreme Court to step in. The Supreme Court stated that even though they do not suit with the Westboros acts they still have to aside with them due to the First Amendment of freedom of speech. The Supreme Court quoted that freedom of speech is so central to the nation that it protects savage and unpopular protests even, in this case, at the moment of a familys most profound grief.The Westboro Baptist Church is an organization of people with their own beliefs and opinions. Their religion no matter how positive it may be is still what they believe to be a religion. Time has shown the world many interpretations of God worshipers, and many interpretations of religion, and the Bible. This is not the first group to have these views and probably wont be the last. The world is a big place with many different people and it is important to look past the ignorance and see the importance of accepting everyone for who they are like it or not.