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Westboro church picketing again

Discussion in '2008 Archive' started by Joe, Feb 24, 2008.

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  1. Joe

    Joe New Member

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    Anti-Gay Church Pickets Denison Service
    Police Say Woman Slain By Serial Rapist


    RENO, Nev. -- A small group from a Kansas-based church that protests at the funerals of U.S. soldiers faced off Saturday night against more than 150 counter-demonstrators outside a memorial service for Brianna Denison, a Reno woman killed by a serial rapist.

    The tense standoff during a fierce snowstorm ended peacefully when three female anti-gay protesters associated with the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., were escorted away from the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in a police van, Reno police Sgt. police Sgt. Chris Lange said.

    "There were a couple of eggs thrown at them and that's about it," Lange said.



    Counter-demonstrators surrounded the three church members after the latter waved placards reading "Pray for More Dead Kids," "Don't Worship the Dead" and "God Sent the Killer."

    Counter-demonstrators responded by chanting, "Go Back to Kansas" and waving placards reading "Let Friends Mourn in Peace."

    Inside, more than 3,000 people attended the service for Denison, 19, who police said was abducted Jan. 20 and killed by a serial rapist linked to two earlier attacks on the edge of the University of Nevada, Reno. Her body was found in a Reno field on Feb. 15.

    Members of the church picket military funerals out of a belief that the war in Iraq is a punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.

    Last month, the church announced it would protest the service for Denison because they think God hates Reno, as well as gay people and America's tolerance of them.

    Church officials said they targeted Reno because local law enforcement officers failed to protect three church members who picketed a Jan. 26 memorial service in Reno for staff Sgt. Sean gaul, who was killed in Iraq on Jan. 9.

    On Saturday might, more than a dozen uniformed officers strived to keep an estimated 150 to 200 counter-demonstrators separated from the three anti-gay protesters, Lange said.

    Police barred a reporter from approaching the church members, citing safety concerns.

    A call to the church resulted in a recording that said no one was available.

    Counter-demonstrators said they strongly disapprove of the church's message and tactic of picketing outside memorial services.

    "You call yourself a church. You're a hate group," yelled Sarah Dutton of Reno. "Move out of America if you hate it so much."

    Greg Bailor Jr. of Reno agreed: "For them to come out and target tragedies like this, I don't think it's right. There's enough emotions as it is."

    Counter-demonstrators included local church members as well as members of the Patriot Guard, a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who support fallen soldiers.

    Inside, Denison was eulogized as a loving, caring woman with many friends and a winning personality.

    Denison was a student at Santa Barbara City College in California. She was visiting her hometown over winter break and was last seen sleeping on a couch at a friend's rental house just off the Reno campus.

    "She constantly amazed me how she could embrace all kinds of people," said her close friend, Danielle DeTomaso. "She knew people from all walks of life. She was the glue that held all of us together."

    Denison's cousin, Spencer Terry, said her spirit would continue to live in the hearts of friends and family.

    "Could anybody have asked for a prettier face and a more beautiful soul? I don't think so," Terry said.

    Denison's aunt, Lauren Denison, reminded the crowd that "we still have a job to do: bring Brianna's killer to justice.
     
    #1 Joe, Feb 24, 2008
  2. Sopranette

    Sopranette New Member

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    And it's sad that no churches are staging an anti-protest when these folks show up. I'd love to see a Baptist crowd with a few placards of their own, with some good verses like, say, John 3:16 to start, maybe a few Proverbs, too. Just don't have the time, I guess, or the inclination. The Phelps crowd is the only representation of a so-called "Baptist" church on the news....hateful, arrogant, intolerant...

    love,

    Sopranette
     
    #2 Sopranette, Feb 24, 2008
  3. The Scribe

    The Scribe New Member

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    The Westboro church members shouldn't be protesting her funeral. They should be protesting in front of government and state buildings because this country doesn't take rape seriously enough. There shouldn't be a statutes of limitations for rape. No crime should have a statutes of limitations. Criminals need to be punished.

    They are correct when they say America shouldn't tolerate homosexuality, abortion and so on.

    The non-christians who call them a "hate" group wouldn't have liked Jesus. Jesus would have told them that homosexuality is an abomination and so on. Westboro should change their signs to say Homosexuality is an abomination. They would still be called a "hate" group because heathens don't like the truth.

    Leviticus 18:22 (KJV)
    Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
     
    #3 The Scribe, Feb 24, 2008
  4. Alcott

    Alcott Well-Known Member
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    I don't disagree with this sentiment in regard to this Westboro "church," but liberals claim it's un-American to use this statement to them when they protest, don't they?
     
    #4 Alcott, Feb 24, 2008
  5. NaasPreacher (C4K)

    NaasPreacher (C4K) Well-Known Member

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    There is no doubt that homosexuality is sin that marks the downfall of a society.

    Can you provide a quote from Jesus where He calls it an abomination?

    There is no defence for this hate group who sing songs like "Jesus hates you..." They are a shame to the body of Christ.
     
    #5 NaasPreacher (C4K), Feb 24, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 24, 2008
  6. The Scribe

    The Scribe New Member

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    It's scripture, God said it. Jesus will back up what his father says. ;)

    Non-christians will group anyone who isn't tolerant of homosexuals with hate and intolerance. Jesus would have been intolerant and hated by these self-proclaimed tolerance groups. I'm not defending every action from Westboro.
     
    #6 The Scribe, Feb 24, 2008
  7. NaasPreacher (C4K)

    NaasPreacher (C4K) Well-Known Member

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    And that is why this group is so abominable. Non-believers will lump those of us who love Christ and love people with them. This is NOT the way to show the gospel, and they hurt our cause in he process.

    And Jesus did openly condemn self righteous arrogant hypocrites like this crowd.
     
    #7 NaasPreacher (C4K), Feb 24, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 24, 2008
  8. Dagwood

    Dagwood New Member

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    I get the distinct impression that WBC is not nearly as concerned with these "abominations" as they are in getting publicity for themselves.
     
    #8 Dagwood, Feb 24, 2008
  9. rbell

    rbell Active Member

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    Good gracious. I couldn't imagine defending any action from Westboro.
     
    #9 rbell, Feb 24, 2008
  10. Joe

    Joe New Member

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    FTR, those words are just a portion of the article, not my words.
    I haven't heard of it either way. I feel Westboro church is evil.
     
    #10 Joe, Feb 24, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 24, 2008
  11. annsni

    annsni Well-Known Member
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    Protesting funerals like this will not draw one person to Christ, nor is it glorifying to Him. In reading the Gospels, not once did Jesus tell a sinner that He hated them, nor did he condemn them while they did not know Him. It was the Pharisees that He had the strongest words for, not those who were in sin.

    If Jesus would have turned to the adulterous woman and thrown stones, then I think these people have support for what they do. But He did not. He loved the adulterous woman - speaking truth to her regarding her sin but speaking it in love. He LOVED her. By example, we are to let God's light shine as we minister to those in sin. Showing them their sin not by saying "God hates you" but "God loves you and wants you as His child. " Even those who are "righteous" but without Christ are just as great a sinner as those who are homosexual or a murderer and none of them are welcomed in the kingdom as they are. But God is gracious and merciful and can change lives dramatically once a person opens his/her heart to the Holy Spirit.

    So these people would do better to have a ministry to the homosexuals than picketing like they are - and making all those who see them hate them AND their message.
     
    #11 annsni, Feb 24, 2008
  12. JFox1

    JFox1 New Member

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    Accoding to the FAQ setion in their website, Godhatesamerica.com, God hates America and all other countries:


    6. No, and all of them. The closest thing to righteousness on the issue of fags can be found in Zimbabwe, but even there corruption, greed, and idolatry soil her flag. The only way for any country to get right with God at this point is to declare sodomy and all sexual deviance outside one man, one woman, one lifetime as capital crimes, and enforce the death penalty on those convicted of committing the offenses!​
    Maybe the Westboro Baptist Church would like Iran. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadenijad said there aren't any homosexuals there. :applause:
     
    #12 JFox1, Feb 24, 2008
  13. EdSutton

    EdSutton New Member

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    Where is the site to donate to the purchase of the one-way plane tickets for this trip to Iran for the Westboro bunch?

    I ain't got much, but I'll manage to scrape up a little to donate to that cause, if the tickets are one-way!

    Ed
     
    #13 EdSutton, Feb 24, 2008
  14. TomVols

    TomVols New Member

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    Funny...I thought the Bible says the only way to be right with God is through faith in Jesus Christ. I guess the Westboro people need to picket the New Testament. I hear LifeWay is selling them, so they need to get down to one soon. They open in a couple of hours.
     
    #14 TomVols, Feb 25, 2008
  15. Joshua Rhodes

    Joshua Rhodes <img src=/jrhodes.jpg>

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    I wonder if the WBC got any gambling in while they were there in Reno. Shame to waste the trip, right?
     
    #15 Joshua Rhodes, Feb 26, 2008
  16. tinytim

    tinytim <img src =/tim2.jpg>

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    This is one group of people I think we should pray the scripture Paul wrote...
    Let them be accursed! They preach a damnable doctrine, not the doctrine of Christ.. and it wouldn't hurt me a bit to see them wiped from the face of the earth. They are from the pits of Hell.
     
    #16 tinytim, Feb 26, 2008
  17. I Am Blessed 24

    I Am Blessed 24 Active Member

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    Is one of WBC's members named Jim Jones?
     
    #17 I Am Blessed 24, Feb 27, 2008
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