Love and the Bible

I promised myself I would not write about this. I promised myself that I would not devote a single word, a period, a comma, to the Al Snyder vs. Westboro Baptist Church drama. Because I do not want to give that nasty, vile, hate-mongering, loud-mouthed, holier-than-thou (I’m running out of adjectives that do not have curse words in them), man, Fred Phelps, any more press than he’s already stolen.

Also, I am not calling him Reverend. I do not believe that a man so tainted by hate has anything to do with God. And yes, along those same lines, I’m not calling Joseph Ratzinger Pope Benedict XVI, but that’s an entirely different rant.

For the sake of my dignity, I’m going to try and keep this from de-evolving into a name calling session, or a list of why I dislike Fred Phelps, and disagree with every word that comes out of the man’s mouth. If I do get a little irrational, give me a break, this is a tender issue with me.

As the child of a devout Baptist, my dad is literally in church every time the doors are open; I’ve been schooled in the Bible. I grew up in a conservative household, tv was limited, I went to church on Sundays and Wednesdays, I have yet to do this day to go into church in nothing less than heels and a skirt. I was taught to be obedient, listen to my parents, read the Bible. Although I have ended up far left of where my parents are, the belief in God, the belief in the basic principles of being a human, as laid down in the Bible, are still with me.

And the big idea of basic principles, the one passage in the Bible around which much of my life has been lived, is a simple one.
"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."
(Mark 12:30-31)
I bolded the part that makes the most impact on me. When I watch Fred Phelps and his mindless, zombie-like ilk, picketing the funeral of a dead soldier, I cannot help but wonder. Where is the love? Where is the love for mankind, the love and compassion for a family grieving over a life, often taken all too soon?

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
(John 3:16)
If God loves us, with all of our faults, flaws, imperfections, enough to let his son offer himself as sacrifice, why can we not love each other enough to put aside our ideological differences, and grieve together, for each soldier that dies? Most of us believe differently, even among Protestants there are huge gaps in ideology, and who believes what about whom. But I think most of us believe that the loss of life, especially that of a soldier, is a time to celebrate his life, his courage, and his bravery, and mourn the loss of him.

I wonder, if Fred Phelps, when he sits down to research for his next sermon, or for Biblical support for what evilness he’s spreading, ever remembers the passages about love, and forgiveness. Does he forget that love is the overwhelming theme of the Bible? God love us enough to create a world for us, (not saying this makes me a creationist, my beliefs on the origins of life are complex), to give us all life and all the good and wonderful things that life means. God loves us enough to forgive us for our sins, can we not all love each other enough to do the same?

~Jennifer