A Sad Day for Freedom of Speech

The headline in an article on USA Today online reads, “Supreme Court rules in favor of church that pickets funerals.” The story behind the headline is that of the activities of Topeka-based Westboro Baptist Church led by “fundamentalist” pastor Fred Phelps. Phelps and his followers stage picket protests at the funerals of soldiers who have died in combat presumably to send a message of judgment on the United States for its acceptance of and policies toward homosexual behavior. This particular ruling came in the context of a lawsuit filed against Westboro by a family of a Marine whose funeral was the target of a protest. The reason I believe this is a sad day for freedom of speech is not because the Supreme Court’s decision to protect their speech wasn’t right, but because this kind of speech exists in the first place by a group that claims to be believers in Jesus Christ.

What does a Christian response to this story look like? How should we frame our opinion as to right and wrong in this case? First, we need to be careful in supporting any attempt to restrict Westboro’s right to voice an opinion. As disagreeable as their words might be and as dishonoring to God’s Word as their actions are, we must support their right to voice their views if we have any chance of continuing to voice our own. I hope that the actions of the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) are successful in diminishing the effect of the protests. The VFW has vowed to screen the funeral processions from the protesters using busses and other means so that the families can mourn their losses in private.

With that said, we need to distance our belief system from that of Westboro Baptist Church. Ed Stetzer rightly said on a twitter post, “The only correct part in the name of “Westboro Baptist Church” is that it is in Westboro.” Its actions demonstrate that it is not Baptist and it is not a Church. I am saddened that the idea of fundamentalism is now vastly different from what the term meant in the early 1900s. In the midst of theological liberalism, fundamentalism embraced the inerrancy of God’s Word and the theology of orthodox Christianity. Now, the word is used to describe fringe, radicals in all kinds of religious systems. So we must distance ourselves from the labels that have changed meanings over the years.

We must also remain on mission, knowing the true church proclaims the gospel of Jesus Christ, not Moral Deism (a belief that defines God according to a certain set of moral standards). It is obvious that Westboro has no regard for the Great Commission (Mt. 28:19-20). While God raised up prophets in the Old Testament to call His people back into obedient fellowship, Jesus has commissioned His church in the New Testament to “make disciples of all nations.” The centrality of our preaching is Christ crucified and risen, neither of which are present on the signs being held at these various protests. To substitute this message for the priority of any other message is to be disobedient to the commands of Christ at multiple levels. Westboro’s message truly is one of hate rather than love and they somehow think that unspiritual people can be manipulated and guilted into thinking spiritually without being born again (1 Cor. 2:14).

Personally, I hope this is the last story about Westboro Baptist Church to ever make the news. I hope that media outlets will not give them the attention they seek. In the meantime, we must love Lake City in such a way, that they will see the good in our name Parkview Baptist Church and understand truly that we are really both, “Baptist” and “Church.”