Fred Phelps is Near Death - Now has passed

[puckluck2]

Maybe he was excommunicated because he came out of the closet.

His last words were "I love peeeenniii..... croak".

[T@T]

Fred Phelps is Near Death

Good news.

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by troutman

Too bad there is no Hell.

I'm an Oiler fan. You can't convince me there is no Hell.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

I'm an Oiler fan. You can't convince me there is no Hell.

Aren't you also in St. Albert?

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Aren't you also in St. Albert?

No, why?

[ricosuave]

[Locke]

Yeah....thats a shame.

[icecube]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Re-read his bio, I didn't know know Fred was educated at PBI in Three Hills, Alberta in the 50s.

It all makes sense now..

[Dion]

Food for thought....

One former church member, Lauren Drain, who left Westboro in 2008, is making a plea on behalf of its founder. In a statement, Drain said she was "devastated" and prayed "that despite all the many families and people affected by the WBC, that they will not have vengeance ... but rather pity."

And for those like Fr. Thomas Sheehan, a Jesuit chaplain at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Mass., who has closely been watching the church's activities for many years, it will be a chance to show "light to dispel the darkness."

"Retaliation in kind continues to wreak havoc all over the world, on both the individual and group level ... I believe that even among the unchurched who were offended and abused by Phelps' anti-gay hate speech, there is a solid philosophical basis for following a more merciful approach -- that of love," said Sheehan, who frequently ministers to dying patients and their families. "'Do unto others what you would have them do unto you' fits into love's structure: it's virtue."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...cs&ir=Politics

[strombad]

Originally Posted by Dion

Food for thought....



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...cs&ir=Politics

Oh religion, sometimes you're adorable.

[Red Ice Player]

Originally Posted by strombad

Oh religion, sometimes you're adorable.

Well, the Chaplain has a point. The do unto others thing is the golden rule, and it should apply whether you're religious or not. As for Fred Phelps and the WBC it will be pretty tough to apply that rule.

[strombad]

Originally Posted by Red Ice Player

Well, the Chaplain has a point. The do unto others thing is the golden rule, and it should apply whether you're religious or not. As for Fred Phelps and the WBC it will be pretty tough to apply that rule.

Ethically speaking, if I was a hate filled old man who spent part of my life fighting against the rights and well being of others, I would want to be treated with the utmost disrespect.

Should a murderer not go to jail because of the golden rule? I would not want to be imprisoned, so is it right to imprison others?

The golden rule is simply a philosophical idea. It's at its best a golden suggestion.

[CaptainCrunch]

I'm entirely not on Phelps side, but sometimes a flicker of hate ignites and consumes you until there's nothing left but your hate, and it feeds you and keeps you warm and its the only emotion that you feel that you have control over.

Hatred is the most powerful and base feeling that we as human's experience, and its in my mind the only emotion that you can lie to yourself about having control over it.

If the whole world stood up and to an extent forgave this pitiful, broken, silly old man as one voice it would take away the power of his message, it would remove influence.

I heard a great saying a long time ago, and I forgot where I heard it.

But forgiveness is the ultimate act of charity, and sometimes you give it not because someone deserves it, but because they need it.

People would show the world a great example if they hated the sin and loved the sinner in this case.

And maybe it would break the cycle of hatred with some of the more uncertain members of that twisted family.

[Red Ice Player]

Originally Posted by strombad

Ethically speaking, if I was a hate filled old man who spent part of my life fighting against the rights and well being of others, I would want to be treated with the utmost disrespect.

Should a murderer not go to jail because of the golden rule? I would not want to be imprisoned, so is it right to imprison others?

The golden rule is simply a philosophical idea. It's at its best a golden suggestion.

Please. That is absurd. Its a general philosophy of behavior to be applied between individuals. Its an ideal we should all be trying to get to. It doesn't preclude justice. I'm no longer practicing the religion I was raised in, but I will say this: Jesus was right, pretty much about everything.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

Whether it is right or wrong, I have complete intolerance towards intolerance. Fred Phelps may not have done any physical violence, but he has caused more than his fair share of emotional suffering. Not just to the gay community, but to family members mourning people who had no standing whatsoever in the issue. No matter what he goes through between now and when he passes, it will not come close to the suffering the man has caused in his life...

As terrible a person as Phelps is, I very seriously doubt that the amount of emotional trauma and adversity even remotely compares to real horror and suffering that millions of people suffer every day on account of actual, sociopathological monsters. Relatively speaking, Phelps's capacity for evil is pretty small when factored according his social impact.

[strombad]

Originally Posted by Red Ice Player

Please. That is absurd. Its a general philosophy of behavior to be applied between individuals. Its an ideal we should all be trying to get to. It doesn't preclude justice. I'm no longer practicing the religion I was raised in, but I will say this: Jesus was right, pretty much about everything.

The golden rule was "invented" by Ancient civilisations, Confucius put a "golden" stamp on it. It's philosophy. It's a guideline. It is not meant to be this unattainable ideal, but rather a thought process.

Like every philosophical idea there are exceptions. What do you do with bad people? Do you treat them with kindness and grace and avoid punishing them for their slights against humanity? Of course not.

This is of course an exception to the rule. The ethics of reciprocity are not meant to protect those who do not abide by moral goodness, but rather those of an equal standing. I would not strike a friend, nor a stranger, for I would not like to be struck by either. But if I was struck without provocation, I would certainly strike back. The golden rule is heavily adapted from "an eye for an eye" philosophy based out of early Mediterranean cultures.

Here's an interesting read on the Golden Rule:
http://www.law.virginia.edu/pdf/work...08/duxbury.pdf

In this sense, the golden rule does not apply. Religion falsely teaches that it is ever reaching, which lends many religions to be contradictory. Almost every religion preaches "the golden rule," but last I checked, gays weren't all that popular with Catholics for quite some time. Love they neighbour, but oh, wait, just love some neighbours until society evolves to a point where you're encouraged to love the other ones too.

Not sure why you went with "Jesus was right" though, it's not like it was his rule. The idea predates Jesus by a large margin. But hey, if Jesus is almost always right, he also said this: "for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword."

You live by the sword, you die by the sword. Phelps lived a life of disrespect and hate, and there's no moral law that disputes the return on his investment.

[Red Ice Player]

We don't seem to be disagreeing. I've moved away from organized religion because I no longer believe in deities. I didn't say Christ came up with the rule, but he lived by it. I don't worship him, but I certainly respect him as a man for the way he conducted himself. As a product of his time, he was rather impressive. As for the golden rule, I stand by it as an ideal, an ideal which I myself have a lot of trouble living up to, and I acknowledge the fact that organized religion is hypocritical in its application of said rule. My original comment was aimed at your drive by comment, which I found kind of condescending. You seemed to be totally dismissing the words of the chaplain, simply because he's a Catholic priest.

[Barbecue]

Surrounding the block of the funeral, I expect nothing but tail gate parties,



musicians



Balloon shaping Clowns




and fireworks to finish off the night

[Cole436]

I hope everyone just ignores him and leaves the family in peace.

Show them there's a better way.

[PsYcNeT]

Is there an address I can mail a jar of farts to?