30 JUL 05: AND I'M TELLING YOU I'M NOT GOING

(BLOGGER'S NOTE: You may find this humorous, serious, or a little of both - but from time to time, we offer things to reflect upon as we keep the seventh-day Sabbath.)

The idea actually came secondhand Friday - as Robbie Watson of WRCG's TalkLine quoted WRBL news anchor Blaine Stewart. Why doesn't everyone simply ignore the picket line Fred Phelps is planning in Opelika? For starters, this is surprising - to hear a journalist openly suggest one side of an issue not be covered.

We mentioned Friday picketers from Topeka, Kansas plan a protest at the funeral of Sgt. Christopher Taylor, an Opelika soldier who was killed in Iraq. A news release claims God punished him because college students attacked their church. Isn't this an incredibly indirect way to kill those students?

But back to Blaine Stewart's suggestion: should we simply ignore the picketers from Topeka, so they'll go away? That may sound logical at first, but consider some things....

+ The news media ignored Bill Madison's hearse with its protest messages - and now he heads the Columbus NAACP.

+ Politicians accused each other of ignoring al-Qaeda - and look at what happened simply this month in London.

+ You could ignore the pain in your prostate - but if it's cancer, it could eventually kill you.

Truly in some areas, ignorance is NOT bliss. Ask any guy who's tried to find his way in a strange town without a map....

It seems to me the proper way to approach the Topeka picketers is to, well, approach them. But the homosexual community should NOT be the group doing it. The Christian community should - and with an open Bible, because the picketers actually might pay attention to that.

It's good to hear Opelika ministers are displeased with the planned picketers from Topeka. There are some good questions they should ask the demonstrators when.... hey, you can't spell that word without DEMON, can you?

But anyway: here are some questions the Westboro Baptist protesters could be asked:

+ With all the protests you do, including 15 every Sunday in Topeka alone - when you do have a church service?

+ Why do you thank God for the London bombings, when a poll released Friday showed only six percent of British MUSLIMS considered them justified?

+ You want all homosexual people executed right now? Then what sort of wimp was Jesus, when He forgave an adulterous woman in John 8??

+ If you're as ultraconservative as you sound, why are you taking antiwar stands which could get you backed by Al Gore's new TV channel?

+ If "God hates Spain" and "God hates Sweden" as your web site claims, are there any countries God likes? And why don't you move there?

To be fair: I think Westboro Baptist Church has some biblically sound points. But they get lost in a stack of fiery news releases and loud extreme language. If this church has a cafeteria, I presume the only salad dressing is "vinegar and oil" - because it certainly doesn't offer "honey mustard" in public.

Oh yes, before I forget: don't think you can live ignorant of God. He was smart enough to make you -- and if He ignored you, eventually you'd go away. Forever. I'm thankful something much smarter is planned ahead....

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