Now, I'm no where near the perfect parent, so it's not from a high horse or lofty place that I'm coming from.
A while ago, a relative of mine posted a link to a story on Facebook about the Westboro Baptist Church parents that had disowned one of their daughters because she committed what must be to them the unpardonable sin. She dared to question their beliefs. She dared to question whether it made sense to live a life that is full of nothing other than spewing hatred towards any and everyone that does not follow the Bible the way that they see fit.
Now, in case you're not familiar with what Westboro stands for, allow me to fill you in a bit.
They are famous for showing up at events around the US and holding up signs that proclaim such things as "God Hates Fags" and "You're Going to Hell". And then there's their picketing of soldiers funerals because they believe that their deaths are God's doing as punishment for America abandoning it's morals.
I'm usually pretty dismissive about this group's shananagins, becoming momentarily disgusted and then moving on, but this situation with one of their children got to me.
How in the name of a loving God can parents treat this child the way that they've treated her? I understand what it means to have a faith in Jesus and to desire to live that out in the most consistent way possible. But to treat those closest to us, our family, children especially, with such flippant dismissal is abhorrent to me. I could go off on a rebuttal to all of the theological "points" that Lauren's parents made in the video, but that's not the point of this post. Maybe in another, I will. But, I guess I just wanted to express my frustration at how some people who claim the same faith as my own, could twist it in such a way and cause such great harm to their children and those around them.
Here's a very telling video I came across recently that also made my heart sink when it comes to how Christians are often viewed in our society.
Video by Brian Garcia - http://www.tacolamp.com
Why can't we be more like this?
