August 25, 1999
The boastful may not stand before thy eyes;
thou hatest all evildoers.Psalms 5:5
I appear to have gotten myself on the Fred Phelps mailing list, and am now receiving the hateful pictures and letters he sends out about homosexuals. The one that came today featured a drawing criticising Jerry Falwell for "kissing homosexual butt" in reference to Falwell agreeing to tone down his anti-gay rhetoric after meeting with Rev. Mel White.
While the picture is puzzling and disgusting enough, the thing that puzzled me most was the biblical reference attached to the note to back up their claim of God hating homosexuals -- Psalms 5:5. So, of course I looked it up. I suppose I see their point that since they believe homosexuals, just by their mere existence constitutes "evildoers."
However, as I proceeded to read the rest of Psalms 5, it seems that Mr. Phelps and his clan would also be on shaky ground.
Psalms 5:6 says "Thou destroyest those who speak lies; the Lord abhors bloodthirsty and deceitful men." Mr. Phelps himself has been a strong purveyor of lies and deceit.
Psalms 5:9 doesn't hold much hope for Phelps either:
Psalms 5:10 is a source of our hope:
Mr. Phelps, and his vicious campaign of hate against anyone who does not walk lock step with him, flies in the face of Jesus' message of mercy and love. There is no room for hatred in the family of God. Mr. Phelps does not speak the truth, destruction is in his heart. He does not speak for God .. instead he rebels against God with his insistence on hatred and destruction of his enemies.
Jesus brings the new commandment, "that you love one another." [John 13:34] When we do that, Jesus promises everyone "will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." [John 13:35] Let us obey Jesus' commandment.
Blessings, For there is no truth in their mouth;
their heart is destruction,
their throat is an open sepulchre,
they flatter with their tongue.
Make them bear their guilt, O God;
let them fall by their own counsels;
because of their many transgressions cast them out,
for they have rebelled against thee.
Candace