Hello, I am a college student at the University of Oklahoma. My assignment is to learn more about a culture or organization that I do not understand. I have a few questions that I was hoping you could answer.
Hello Mr. Rimmer –
Thank you for your email requesting answers to your questions. I have been given the honor of answering them for you, and you will find the answers below underneath each of your questions.
Thank you.
Thankful member of Westboro Baptist Church
1. What is the foundation of your church?
The foundation of Westboro Baptist Church is the word of God. God, in His infinite wisdom has, in these last days on earth put His church in Topeka, Kansas – the Westboro Baptist Church, the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Consider this verse: Matthew 16:18 – And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Those are comforting, instructive words for the servants of God at Westboro Baptist Church. We have been given an unction from God, 1 John 2:20 – But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. Unction: an act of anointing, especially as a medical treatment or religious rite.
2. What is your response to those who believe your church is based on
hate?
Every word that Westboro Baptist Church speaks regarding hate pertains to God’s hate, which is a perfect hate and is not a human hate – and simply means God’s determined purpose to send the vast majority of mankind to hell. It is one of the attributes of God which means that it is perfect. You must understand God’s attribute of hate to understand God’s attribute of love. God’s attribute of hate is spoken of much more often in the word of God than God’s attribute of love. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary that the servants of God speak of God’s hate as we stand before this wicked and perverse nation with the standard of God in our hands. Furthermore, we have no business putting anything before your face that would remotely speak to any human hate. Consider these passages that may cause you to understand God’s hate:
Romans 9:4: Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; 5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. 6 ¶ Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: 7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. 8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. 9 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son. 10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; 11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) 12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. 13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. 14 ¶ What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. 15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. 18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. 19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? 20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, 24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
Psalm 5:4-6: For thou are not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.
Proverbs 1:22:How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? 23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. 24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; 25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: 26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; 27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. 28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: 29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: 30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. 31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. 32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. 33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.
These passages are but a tithe of what you will find in the word of God that discusses God’s hate and are very instructive. It is our duty as the servants of God to give each of you these words. If we don’t your blood will be on our hands. It is supremely irrelevant what the heathen that inhabit this nation call us, or what they think of us.
3. Why do you choose to not use politically correct terms?
Politically correct terms will take you to hell Mr. Rimmer. It’s not our job to make the word of God palatable for you. It’s our job to tell you the unvarnished truth of God. We have a duty to preach to you, in season and out of season – that is when it’s popular and when it’s not – that is with words that God has given us in His word whether you like it or not. We have a duty to cry aloud, spare not and show you your transgressions and your sin. We have a duty NOT to be ashamed of the word of God. The fear of man bringeth a snare. Using politically correct terms is EXACTLY what the false prophets that litter this land use and that is why this nation is doomed. Consider these passages:
2Timothy 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
Isaiah 58:1 ¶ Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
Ezekiel 16:1-2: Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,
Psalms 119:6: Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.
Luke 9:26: For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.
Mark 8:38: Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
Jeremiah 8:9: The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?
Proverbs 29:25: The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.
The false prophets of this land that are determined to speak politically correct to the heathen of this land are in big trouble. Consider Jeremiah chapter 23 to get a good understanding of what God says they do and what God is going to do to them. Jeremiah 23:1-40:
Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD. Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD. And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land. Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness. For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right. For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD. Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD. And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err. I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD. They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it? Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD. Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD. And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the LORD? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the LORD. And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD, I will even punish that man and his house. Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the LORD answered? and, What hath the LORD spoken? And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man’s word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God. Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the LORD answered thee? and, What hath the LORD spoken? But since ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD; Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD; Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence: And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.
4. Are you at all trying to achieve a shock factor to gain publicity
and recruit more followers?
Our duty is to publish the word of God where God would permit us to do so. There is no better way to get these words before your eyes and in your ears than to publish them. Therefore, we picket; have websites; write/sing parodies; speak on the radio and television and in newspapers; twitter; Facebook, etc., etc. It is glorious to behold all of the ways that God has put our hand to, to deliver His word to this wicked and perverse generation. The words that we use are straight from the Bible and/or are Bible concepts. The reason they shock you is because you hate the words; you don’t want to hear or see the words. We have no power or desire to “recruit more followers” as you say. We don’t own salvation. Salvation is strictly and only within the power of God. Furthermore, we have no desire or power to convert the devil. God has determined from eternity past who are His elect and those that are, are the only ones that will receive His word out of the mouth of His servants with thankfulness and be pricked in their heart. So, we do not care how these words land on your hearts. Our job is to publish. Consider these passages of scripture:
Psalms 68:11: The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it. Westboro Baptist Church is the greatest publishing company in the world. =)
Hebrews 4:12: For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
1 Timothy 4:1-2: Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.
Acts 2:37: Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
John 10:2-5, 27-28: But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.. . . My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
5. Do you believe the Bible may be interpreted in different ways?
The Bible is not open to any private interpretation. Consider these passages:
2 Peter 1:20-21: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Revelation 22:18: For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.
6. Do you perform any philanthropy?
Every day when we go out onto the streets of this nation and tell you the plain word of God we are performing the greatest kind of philanthropy. We do all that we do, traveling; speaking these words; singing these parodies; picketing, etc. without asking for one red cent from anyone and are very happy to do so for this is not a vain thing that we do, this is our life and should be your lives, if you had a proper notion of what your duty to God is. Other than this, we do volunteer work at the schools where our children attend and in our work places. Consider this passage:
Deuteronomy 32:46-47: And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law. For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.
7. About how many members are in your church?
About the exact amount that the Lord put here at this time.
8. Do you ever experience any hate crimes?
Every day. =) There is definitely no respect for the members of Westboro Baptist Church’s diversity. But, we are happy warriors for the Lord and happy for the lot that God has given us and we will continue to deliver these words for all the days and in all the ways that God will permit us to. Consider these passages:
Lamentations 3:57-66: Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not. O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life. O LORD, thou hast seen my wrong: judge thou my cause. Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their imaginations against me. Thou hast heard their reproach, O LORD, and all their imaginations against me; The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day. Behold their sitting down, and their rising up; I am their musick. Render unto them a recompence, O LORD, according to the work of their hands. Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them. Persecute and destroy them in anger from under the heavens of the LORD.
1 Corinthians 4:9: For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.
9. I understand that you do not support the military, but do you not think that the members of their families need time to grieve and picketing could be done elsewhere?
The short answer is no. There is no more important place for the word of God to be seen than at the funerals (actually highly publicized pep rallies) of the soldiers being killed by God for the sins of this nation. These soldiers that are dying are the children whose parents taught them from the time they were old enough to understand that God is a liar; that it’s okay to be gay; that they can live like the devil and that God will still love them; that carefully made sure that when there was an opportunity to see the word of God from the servants of God at Westboro Baptist Church, that they didn’t see it and told them without hesitation that we were wrong, crazy, looney, fringe, etc. so that they wouldn’t consider the truth of God. Then these parents sent their children over to the battlefield in Iraq/Iran to fight for this doomed nation; to fight for fag marriage; to fight for the sins of this nation. These parents and every other person who had any influence over these soldiers lied to them all their days and failed to fulfill their duty to them and were very instrumental in their path to death and hell. They need to be preached to. They need these words more than they need air to breathe or food to eat. When they go in to worship the dead bodies, our duty is to tell them the truth of God. They’re not dead; they still have time to repent if God would have mercy upon them and permit them to. The dead soldier is in hell – no more opportunity for them. This message is for the living. The word of God is the only hope there is. If we fail to tell them the truth when God has given us the opportunity to do so, we have failed in our duty to them and their blood will be on our hands. Consider these passages:
Ezekial 3:17-21: Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou has delivered thy soul. Again, when a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.
Ezekial 33:1-9: Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand. So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, f thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
God is the number 1 enemy of this nation. He is fighting against this nation. If God is fighting against you, there is no hope. America is doomed. These words need to be said and they need to be said at the time when these subjects are being discussed and thought upon – such as when these pep rallies take place upon the death of a soldier. Here is a good description of what God has done in causing the leaders of this nation to drag this nation into a war that they cannot win:
Jeremiah 21:5-10: And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath. And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence. And afterward, saith the LORD, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy. And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death. He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey. For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.
God is killing the fruit of this nation:
Isaiah 13:17-18: Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children.
Nahum 3:1-3 & 10 : Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not; The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the pransing horses, and of the jumping chariots. The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear: and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of carcases; and there is none end of their corpses; they stumble upon their corpses: . . . Yet was she carried away, she went into captivity: her young children also were dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets: and they cast lots for her honourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains.
Jeremiah 9:20-22: Yet hear the word of the LORD, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbor lamentation. For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets. Speak, Thus saith the LORD, Even the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman, and none shall gather them.
This isn’t even a close question – when God kills the soldier and lays out an opportunity before His servants to preach His word to those connected to that soldier that failed to tell him the truth, and to this wicked and perverse generation – we are going to be there as there is not a better, more important place to be to deliver God’s message to the living.
10. Lastly, is there anything else you would like to share with me to better educate me on your church?
The members of Westboro Baptist Church desire to serve our King while we dwell on this earth and to fulfill our duty to our fellow man as laid out in the word of God. Our duty is to love our neighbor as laid out in the scriptures at Leviticus 19:17-18: Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD. I refer you to Ecclesiastes 12:13-14: Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. These are the last words written by the wisest man to ever live, Solomon. These words sum up perfectly what the duty of every man is. Every person in this earth has the same duty as the servants of God at Westboro Baptist Church do to study the scriptures daily and to have a good, clear understanding of the commandments of God as laid out in His word.
Thank you for your time.
You’re welcome.