@jeffhamrick

Our local NBC news reported today that members of the Westboro Baptist Church have announced that they will picket the funeral of Pfc. Justin M. Whitmire this Saturday at First Baptist Church in Simpsonville.

Pfc. Justin M. Whitmire, 20, of Easley, South Carolina, died in Afghanistan two days after Christmas of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device (IED).

He was a decorated soldier of the United States Army. And let’s be clear: Pfc. Justin M. Whitmire is a hero who paid a sacrifice that so many of us cannot comprehend.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time members of Westboro have threatened to protest in this manner with signs reading “Thank God for Dead Soldiers” and “God Bless IEDs.”

There are not words to describe the despicable nature of what this church alleges and plans to do here in Simpsonville. I strongly and sincerely urge them to please reconsider and stop these hurtful and shameful protests.

Here are the facts:

• God does not hate soldiers, “fags,” and others as Westboro literature claims. In fact, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
• “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:8). To make these accusations and protest a private family funeral is unbelievable, unloving, and ungodly.
• Love is the standard for those who claim to believe. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13:34). He reiterates the same thought in John 15:12 and John 15:17. Paul told the Christians in Rome: “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor” (Romans 12:10).
• Pronouncing this kind of judgment is serious business. “Judge not, that you be not judged,” Jesus said. “For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:1-3).

I guess what I find most offensive and disturbing is that “church people” are doing these things; and “church people” out to know better.

So to the people of Westboro Baptist Church, I say: “Please stop these protests. Stop them now. Don’t come to Simpsonville to disrupt the funeral service of this fallen soldier. Allow his family and friends to grieve unmolested by insensitivity and intolerance. Put away the hateful signs and instead carry the Good News of the Gospel to those who don’t know Jesus Christ.”