Unlike his Bible-thumping dad, Nate Phelps likes Lady Gaga’s music and feels sorry for Mel Gibson.
Phelps has also been hired as the executive director of the Alberta branch of the Centre for Inquiry (CFI) Canada.
CFI is an atheist charity that promotes “skeptical, secular, rational and humanistic enquiry.”
In recent months, Phelps, 51, garnered international attention after speaking out against his father’s hatred and intolerance messages and in support of gays.
Last May, Phelps spoke with Xtra about growing up in a Christian fundamentalist household. He talked about being angry with the homophobia spread by his father, the infamous Southern Baptist minister Fred Phelps. He also spoke about the physical and psychological abuse he suffered as a child and how he helped create a healing and support group called Life After Fundamentalism.
In a phone interview with Xtra from his Calgary home, Phelps says he is taking on this new spin in life as head of CFI Alberta to show the world people can be atheist and still be happy. He feels he can help like-minded and disillusioned people who had the Bible rammed down their throats while growing up. The fear of going to hell for abandoning beliefs can be traumatic for many, he says.
My favorite part of this story is knowing just how incredibly pissed off this lunatic will be when he learns about this. I mean even when he is not learning that his son supports atheists and homosexuals he is completely unhinged.
Just check out Reverend Phelps during one of his usual quiet Sunday services.
I will NEVER understand how somebody so obviously suffering from a mental illness can attract even a small group of followers. Which reminds me, I wonder how many of those congregants contributed to SarahPAC as well?
I was looking for Sarah in the audience. I'm sure she is there.
ReplyDeleteAnd this is exactly why a theocratic government is so dangerous:
ReplyDeleteImagine someone as obviously sick-in-the-head as this fellow knowing the launch codes.
Right on par with the Muslim extremists.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing his son kept his sanity growing up in this crackpot's household. Any parent that sybjects their kid to this guy's rant and raves should be subject to child abuse charges.
This illustrates how dangerous sexual repression can be. Phelps' cock cravings have driven him absolutely insane.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, the guy called Bush a jackass, he can't be all bad.
The Phelps cabal should be charged with hate crimes.
ReplyDeleteAnd please tell us that Matt is gay. : )
Its pretty sad that in self defense the son of this puke has had to go as far as he has, directly to atheism...but who could blame him?
ReplyDeleteI've been preaching myself, to those whose mangling of the Christian faith has caused such reaction in others, that if just ONE person is turned from their personal path with God, due to another's hatred and fear, that the perpetrator's chances of seeing anything "Heavenly" in the afterlife, is pretty well gone.
That doesn't seem to stop any such people, so I've concluded they don't really CARE.
Most of Phelps followers are his family. He really has little following beyond that. At least one daughter is a lawyer who specializes in free speech law.
ReplyDeleteFull disclosure: I'm conservative, I attend church, I live in Wasilla, and yes I know Sarah.
ReplyDeleteThis Phelps guy is a frickin' idiot!! No actual Christian would support ANYTHING this whack job would say. He just uses the term "Baptist" to give himself some credibility. The article uses the term "Southern Baptist" which is a very specific denominational organization. Phelps' church is not affiliated with them in anyway.
WakeUpAmerica: Palin has been very vocal in her support for the military. Her son is in the Army. Think about it... Hate her if you like, but at least make your criticism accurate. It'll make you look less bitter, and add more weight to your legitimate criticisms.
OT, have cameras been outlawed in Alaska? How is it that there are no current pictures of Bristol? Seems very odd that there have only been pictures of their vehicles.
ReplyDelete@8:42, huh? My tongue-in-cheek comment had to solely to do with the extrremist hate rhetoric that Palin spews. While she may not hold the exact same opinions as this nut job, she certainly vomits out the same quantity of hatred. As for her "support" of the military, I call bullshit. Sarah is pure and simple an opportunist. She supports the military only in so far as it serves her purposes, just like anything else she claims to support or love. As for hating her, nah. I only feel repulsion for her. It's the same reaction I have when I change my granddaughter's poopy diaper. Yuck.
ReplyDelete@8:42, you are right, who would want to be associated with this Phelps nut. It is only a coincidence that there are so many similarities.
ReplyDeleteSarah would never admit to how similar to the Taliban she can be, either. What is that, her son is in the Army? I think that is HER SON WAS IN THE ARMY, WAS. If he is still in the Army he is getting special treatment and there is something very suspect and wrong. Why was he snooping on Joe McGinniss? Why is there NO similarity to Sarah Palin's son and hard working decent soldiers? The military is one of the most secret of all government. Something is very wrong with the whole son is fighting for her freedom of speech meme.
Some of the DOD workers were caught purchasing subscriptions to child porn websites using their official military email addresses, according to the 94-page Flicker report.
Department of Defense: You need to read about the son of this right wing case. It would help you understand how they will destroy evidence and just shift deviants and pedophiles to another base instead of a proper tribunal. These people are not unlike the Catholic Church cover ups. The same cast of players do the PR and damage control. Tammy Bruce, Bill O'Reilly, Hannity and others. There is no lie these people will not tell and nothing they will not scrub. After blaming gays and greens the Pentagon rushed to destroy all evidence. "The 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan shuttered the pages on Friday. The Pentagon managed to immediately cleanse all evidence of the MySpace pages, including whatever copies and cached versions were kept by Google and the Internet Archive."
His mother is proud, that is what she says. This boy was a victim of a "Jesus Camp" style growing up. We use to call his mother "Mrs. Phelps." She was just like Sarah and wouldn't associate with Phelpls yet they were so much alike. The king of all military cover most likely goes to John McCain and his lifetime of military.
Anon at 8:42, Palin's kid joined up to avoid JAIL time. HUGE difference from someone who joins because they want to.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for her support, yeah right. Just enough to get something out of it and then see ya troops.
Yeah Palin's son is/was in the military. He had to join or go to jail. How patriotic!
ReplyDeleteThe tours of duty last much longer than he was gone and most of the soldiers have had to go back for 2 or 3 tours. Why was he home after such a short time and hasn't gone back?
About Phelps, being raised in that kind of fundamental religious atmosphere I can relate to what his son says.
I recall being terrified as a small child by the red faced preacher in front of the church screaming about "going to hell".
I've seen tapes of toddlers from that group spewing the garbage they promote. It's sick! As far as I'm concerned it's nothing more than child abuse.
Oh and his daughter, the lawyer, is just as crazy as he is.
Hey, 8:42, the only reason Sarah's son joined the military is because a judge "suggested" he should after Track's disturbing vandalism (and other things). Track's acts could have endangered school children, so let's not let the flag waving go crazy over his "patriotism," okay?
ReplyDeleteElizabeth was absolutely right: Fred's congregation is almost exclusively his children, their spouses and his grandchildren. The folks you see in that old clip of him "preaching" are his family - there because they are terrified of leaving the compound. Like all cult leaders, he has spend a lot of energy instilling fear and hate in them.
Matt has had two great blogs. The newest is at:
http://n8rphelps.blogspot.com
His older blog which has an excerpt from his book and copies of his speeches is at:
http://natephelps.com/9101.html
Fred Phelps was an attorney which may explain why he has avoided child abuse and wife abuse charges. He knows how to manipulate his family to avoid anyone telling the truth - even if he has to resort to physical violence to do so. You'd think that because his compound is in Topeka, the state capital, law enforcement would be more effective in nailing his hide to the proverbial wall, but the issues of religious freedom, domestic abuse and threats of legal retaliation have combined to insulate him thus far. I am so glad Nate got out of there! I am even more grateful that he lives in Canada, away from his abusive father and siblings.
Nate is a very well-read, intelligent and articulate man who is passionate about enlightening people about the dangers of fundamentalism. I encourage everyone to read what he has written.
This man is SICK! Thank God his son got away from him. Too bad he rejects God just because his father is a frightening freak.
ReplyDeleteMy husband grew up in Topeka and knew the Phelps kids. They have all suffered mental and physical abuse and/or inherited the crazy from old Fred. Those who escaped are the lucky ones. Mrs. Phelps has perhaps suffered the most.
ReplyDeleteThey do, however, more good than they'll ever know. They've made people think and have conversations they never would have had and this is a 'take sides' issue where very VERY few end up with the Phelpses.
Having trouble with a link, but search for "Coming out for one of their own," a Washington Post article and one of the best things I've ever read.
OT, but I think we now know where some of the "postage" charges went to. The Trust Fund money is being refunded and included with it is an envelope asking people to endorse and send the money back. Wow! Grifter Extraordinaire!
ReplyDeleteAnother distraction? Why is SarahPac spewing over neo-nut-con Bill Kristol NOW? He loves the war business profits and fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan is good for some pocket books. It does not matter if wars are based on oil or lies.
ReplyDeleteSome Alaskan blogs seem to have reasons to cover somewhat for Sarah Palin. Perhaps they fear tourists will stay away from the last frontier if they think it is too mavericky up there?
Don't miss this fascinating look at religion and whatnot.
Sarah's son may be suffering from a non-military form of PTSD. They may allow him to remain in the military in order to tap into the military prescription medications and medical care.
I have been coming to this site and reading posts and comments since fall 2008. Please don't think I'm a troll; I'm not. I finally decided to post today, for the first time, because I actually live less than a mile from the compound these whackjobs call Westboro Baptist Church. BTW, they are in no way affiliated with the Baptist Church! A little information: Yes, most of them are attorneys. They specialize in constitutional law, and they are SMART. Fred Phelps himself has been disbarred. They don't have "followers"; they are all family. Also, I believe they are registered Democrats. The Supreme Court is hearing a case this fall regarding whether their hate speech at military funerals violates the First Amendment rights of the families of those who died serving our country. I abhor SP, but these are the most vile people I have ever encountered in my life!
ReplyDeleteYou are correct about the lawyer daughter, the whole family for that matter. I live in a town not far from Topeka where these creeps live. I have read Nate Phelps story and I don't know how he managed to become a normal person, but good for him for getting out of that hell hole of a church. I have seen these people picketing military funerals locally. It's enough to make you sick. It's these kind of false "christians" and the ones like Sarah Palin and her ilk, that have made me decide I'd rather not have any thing to do with them.
ReplyDeleteSue in Kansas
OT New BFFs? - A source confirms that Sarah Palin will be appearing on Kate Plud 8 when the brood travels to Alaska to go camping. The c4p fundraisers must be flipping out if RAM hasn't deleted most of their comments about Kate. ROTFL!! Scarah is in tabloid heaven! She is really building up her popularity in the scandal rags! GO SCARAH, ABSTINENT-ONLY AMBASSADOR AND THE PORN MODEL AND CHRISTIAN VIDEO DUDE !!
ReplyDeleteHilarious about her latest tweets and SarahPac FAKEBOOK distractions. They are really after foreign terrorists and her non-red state domestics. Gots to fight indefinitely in Afghanistan. No more procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays or else we enter the period of consequences. Send money and save Scarah from the journolists. if you don't understand what what the Mama Grizzly is up against just ask Tammy Bruce. She has been doing the same schtick for 20 or 30 years, saving Mama Grizzlies. 2010 and it looks like she has been hired to do it for Scarah.
When the Phelps demonstrated across the street from a synagogue in NYC, the rabbi had the congregation come out and thumb their noses at them. Appropriate response I think.
ReplyDeleteI also have questions about Track's military service. Has he been discharged already? General or Dishonorable?
@11:42 AM - Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteRandall said...And this is exactly why a theocratic government is so dangerous:
Elizabeth said...Most of Phelps followers are his family.
12:08 PM Anonymous said...BTW, they are in no way affiliated with the Baptist Church!
Yes, he is a freak that had a law degree and managed some famous public relation stunts.
Another thing that Phelps has in common with Palin is that he is not serving a life sentence for some of his crimes. Most of all those against his children.
ot: July 23, 2010 Los Angeles Times
ReplyDeleteTerrorism case baffles remote Alaska town
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-adv-alaska-terrorists-20100723-1,0,5991303.story
Reporting from King Salmon, Alaska —
He was the local weatherman, sending up weather balloons twice a day above this remote community of 450 full-time residents near Bristol Bay
She was a stay-at-home mom who drove their 4-year-old to preschool, sang in the town choir and picked berries with her girlfriends.
The plea agreements state that Rockwood, 35, had become an adherent of extremist Islam who had prepared a list of assassination targets, including U.S. service members. And, though no plot to carry out the killings was revealed, he had researched methods of execution, including guns and explosives, the agreements say.
How many contribute? All of em.
ReplyDeleteAll religious extemists are dangerous. Here is my favorite protest against these crazy people. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZfZiBRFM5w
ReplyDeleteI will never understand how anyone can read the Gospels and decide that behavior would make Jesus happy. :(
ReplyDeleteThis is my favorite video about Westboro, professionally done and totally hilarious at times.
ReplyDeleteMichael Moore Takes On Wesboro Baptist