‘Church of Hate’ Will Have to Wait

Westboro Baptist Church, known around the world as the “Church of Hate” that was due to be featured in a new National Geographic Channel series, “American Fringe,” will have to wait for their program to be aired.

Based in Topeka, Kansas, this small and controversial church, which has picketed more than 53,000 events brandishing signs that say “God Hates Fags” and “Thank God for Dead Soldiers,” was due to have a hard-hitting documentary about its contentious actions to be broadcast on Wednesday, July 16th, 2014, but now National Geographic Channel, has postponed not only this show, but the whole series until later in the year.

In a message to the ASSIST News Service, Chad Sandhas, Director, Talent & Media Relations at National Geographic Channels, explained that they had “made a last-minute schedule change” and the entire American Fringe series “will now premiere later this year.”

At the funeral of Matthew Shepard, a Wyoming man who was murdered because he was gay; Photo Courtesy of ASSIST.

He said, “On Wednesdays beginning July 9th, we will premiere another new series entitled ‘Die Trying.'”

“Die Trying” is a new National Geographic Channel series about high-risk, high-reward expeditions that highlight the capacity for determined men and women to conquer unprecedented scientific and human challenges. Crisscrossing the globe from the frozen Alaskan arctic to a fiery crater in a Turkmen desert, the series presents unforgettable stories and characters pushing themselves to their absolute limits for the chance to bring groundbreaking knowledge to the world’s attention for the very first time.

Sandhas added, “Apologies for any inconvenience and we will let you know once a new airdate has been confirmed for ‘American Fringe.'”

I recently watched the preview of this extraordinary and disturbing documentary, in which the filmmakers crossed the picket lines to explore the dogma, hierarchy, and corrosive message of the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) during a pivotal transition in the parish’s history.

Do these kids even know what they are doing? Photo Courtesy of ASSIST.

While filming, Phelps passed away on March 19, 2014, from natural causes at Midland Hospice house in Topeka, at the age of 84, and their cameras were there to document members of the church as they grappled with the loss of their incendiary leader and the rise of the heir apparent.

Steve Drain, a relatively recent convert to the church, denies taking the reins, but appears to be the next in line to lead the church. With the future of the church in question, in-depth interviews with the combative Drain and other members of the organization allude to the church’s continued and strengthened commitment to preach their message of hate.

NGC also interviews ex-communicated members and leaders of the Equality House, a civil rights organization headquartered in a rainbow-painted house located directly across the street from the Westboro Baptist Church.

Many members of the small congregation were related to Phelps through blood or marriage – he had 13 children, and 11 are attorneys – and the church he molded, is known worldwide known for its virulently anti-gay protests at public events, including military funerals.

The show explores various American groups, including modern Nazis; Photo Courtesy of Real Screen.

One son, Nathan, was estranged from his father and from organized religion, posted a Facebook message March 15 of this year, saying that his father had been excommunicated from the church. Later, though, Nathan Phelps said it was “unclear” whether his father had been expelled from Westboro.

According to Westboro, the church has picketed more than 53,000 events, ranging from Lady Gaga concerts to funerals for slain U.S. soldiers. Typically, a dozen or so church members — including small children — will brandish signs that say “God Hates Fags” and “Thank God for Dead Soldiers.”

Phelps was often called “the most hated man in America,” a label he seemed to relish, but in later years, apparently began to soften his views, and that was what apparently caused him to be kicked out of the church.

Fred Phelps; Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia.

CNN reported, “Under Phelps’ leadership, Westboro members have preached that every calamity, from natural disasters to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, is God’s punishment for the country’s acceptance of homosexuality. Phelps had advocated for gays and lesbians to be put to death.”

It went on to say, “Phelps began his anti-gay protests in Wichita in 1991 after complaining that the city refused to stop gay activities in a public park. He rose to national notoriety in 1998, when Westboro members picketed at the funeral of Matthew Shepard, a Wyoming man who was tortured and murdered because he was gay. Phelps and his church carried signs that said Shepard was rotting in hell.”

The Southern Poverty Law Center calls Westboro Baptist Church “arguably the most obnoxious and rabid hate group in America,” but despite that, the Supreme Court in 2011, upheld Westboro’s right to picket military funerals on free speech grounds. Congress and several states, though, have passed laws aimed at keeping church members at a distance from funerals.

A message aimed at Fred Phelps; Photo Courtesy of ASSIST.

During one of many interviews, Steve Drain said, “We don’t use machine guns. We use words.” But words have consequences, and sadly, this church has caused untold suffering to so many, especially the families of dead American soldiers, and all claiming its actions from the Bible.

Maybe they have a different version of the Scriptures than many of us, in which Jesus preached love and mixed with those who were, to so many, the bottom of the heap.

Now, the “Church of Hate,” will have to wait for their shocking behavior to be shown to the world. My personal view is that it might be better if the National Geographic Channel cancelled this particular program altogether, especially as there are thousands of good churches in the United States, who will never have their story told.

Now that would be unique. Tell a positive story about a good church. But will it ever happen? I have my doubts.

Learn more about the show at the National Geographic Channel: American Fringe

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Dan Wooding, 73, is an award-winning journalist who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 50 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and he hosts the weekly “Front Page Radio” show on the KWVE Radio Network in Southern California and which is also carried throughout the United States and around the world. He is the author of some 45 books.