There’s a fascinating post up at Resolving Realities about Westboro Baptist Church and the similarities they have to other fundamentalist Christians. HT: Jay
What struck me about the BBC documentary was not the particulars of the beliefs of those involved in Phelps’ Westboro Baptist church, nor even the cultic environment his congregation has constructed, but the psychology exhibited by followers. When something this bizarre springs up, it begs the question of how such a belief is able to sustain itself. And while it is easy to get offended and simply ride an emotional response through the documentary, I think it’s much more instructive to pay attention to the congregation’s mental defenses. I was rather disturbed to hear some things come out of their mouths that I have heard said by perfectly normal churchgoers and church leaders, and even by myself. As I continued to watch the documentary, I became more and more aware that many of the psychological constructs built up around Westboro’s beliefs are identical to those I’ve heard within Fundamentalist Christianity. Perhaps the chief difference between general Fundamentalism and the Phelps movement is not the crisp outer shell but the creamy nougat center. If one could reach down past the mental barriers into Wesboro’s peculiar set of doctrines and alter them, you would have a group of people that look very much like your ordinary Fundamentalist Christians.
He’s got a point. Then he looks at motive:
But if I hold to the belief that doctrinal truth is clear to all men, and I am convinced of my own understanding of morality, I am led to the conclusion that those who disagree with me do so either because they are stupid or because they are wicked. Is the animosity of Westboro Baptist based on anything but such a conclusion? For since the truth, in all its intricacies, is plain to all mankind, those who are opposed to them are fools and demons.
I encourage you to read the entire post. I don’t necessarily agree with everything he says, but it is definitely food for thought.
