Hate in the Name of God?

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
I Corinthians 13:13

In Topeka, Kansas there is a church known as Westboro Baptist Church. It is led by the allegedly Rev. Fred Phelps. Their theology seems intent on spreading a message which which teaches that, among other things, the US Troop deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan are allegedly due to God's condemnation of the US because of our tolerance of homosexuality. They take their message to the point of protesting at funerals, (holding up signs which would normally violate obscenity laws if they were not cloaked as "political protest"), demonstrating at churches which "harbor" homosexuals, and in general, spreading the message that God allegedly "hates fags". Their message of hate, cloaked as being in the Name of God, is the ultimate blasphemy and heresy.

We were warned of people such as this in the second letter of St. Peter. "But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping." II Peter 2: 1-4. Peter here warns of those who will reinterpret the words of God, and will call the people away from Christ's message of love for all man. Christ died for the world to redeem all sinners. All have sin; no one but Christ is without sin, for only a Holy Sacrifice, pure, blameless, was an acceptable redemption for the sins of the world.

Christ hated sin, but He loved the sinner. We, as Christians, are compelled to follow in His footsteps, even if it is haltingly and with missteps every pace of the way. When we see persons such as Mr. Phelps and his group who are spreading their message that God "hates fags", we must take care to remember the words of the Gospel: "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. (Emphasis added)