The Westboro Baptist Church claims to value the Bible and its "true" teachings. Their interpretation of Jesus' salvation is very different than many other Christian denominations. They do not hold to the value that Jesus died for all. One of their central values is sexual purity, which they believe is a monogamous heterosexual relationship/marriage without divorce or pre-marital indiscretions. They believe that the demise of sexual purity, mainly in the form of homosexuality, is the cause of many, if not all, national and international problems and world disasters. They also claim to value grace and they clearly value free speech and protest.
I value the Bible and the salvation of Jesus Christ and I believe that the Westboro Church has catastrophically misinterpreted the word. They hold such hatred for "sexual immorality" and claim scripture as their foundation for these beliefs. Yet, the sin that God hates the most is pride. The Westboro Church has a with-or-against-us mentality...what could be more prideful. They assume God's role in delivering judgment and damnation of others...what could be more prideful. I value grace and with grace comes the acceptance of others despite differences. I do not believe that they want to convert anyone. I think that they believe in predestination and that they are the "chosen" ones, while everyone else who disagrees with them is going to hell.
I don't know if I would say anything to the people of Westboro Baptist Church. I feel like it would be fruitless conversation. I know that there are a handful of young women who around my age in the group and I might try to talk to them. I would reference Bible verses about the mercy of God, pride and hate, and the maybe discuss the Gospels. I feel like citing the Bible might be the only way to reason with them. I still believe that overall it would probably be a waste of time. I would have a very hard time not becoming enraged, not that they don't deserve the brunt of this, but I don't think that it would affect them.
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