The Strange Life of Fred Phelps

Fred Phelps at his pulpit: August 4, 2002 All ... — Fred Phelps at his pulpit: August 4, 2002

The news is abuzz at the thought that the head of Westboro Baptist Church, Fred Phelps, is near death. There has been talk about picketing his funeral and everything. For starters, Fred Phelps was excommunicated from his own church last year and even if that were not the case, WBC members don’t believe in having funerals.

Some people might not be aware of this, but Fred Phelps was once a civil right attorney and even fought for the separation of church and state when Ronald Reagan appointed an ambassador to the Vatican. Believe it or not, Phelps was also a Democrat and ran for public office as a Democrat.

At some point in his life, things must have changed pretty dramatically. I don’t know how he turned from liberal civil rights crusader to anti-gay advocate and professional funeral protester, but I sure wish I did. If I had to guess, I would say that this is probably an example of the incredibly destructive power that is religion. While it is unclear why he was excommunicated from his church last year, some have speculated that he started to advocate for a less aggressive stance on gay issues. If this is true, then perhaps it is worth noting mortalities influence on morality.

There is no greater equalizer than death. We all die and that thought makes it easy to empathize with others. Empathy leads to compassion and that is where real morality begins. Maybe Phelps started to reflect on his life and realized that he has much fewer days ahead of him than he has behind him.

Fred Phelps is being hidden away from the media and some of his family so we may never know if he indeed feels remorse for the actions and attitudes of the members of the church he founded. When he dies, we may never know if he had a deathbed de-conversion. But one thing is clear. Fred Phelps is a complicated person and he has lived a strange and interesting life – sometimes on the correct side of history and other times being the head of the Westboro Baptist Church.