Westboro Baptist Church and other Christians planning to crash atheist Reason Rally in the hopes of converting souls to God

The Reason Rally, scheduled for March 24 in Washington DC, will be held at the National Mall from 10:00am to 6:00pm.  As we reported earlier last week,  featured speakers are Dr. Richard Dawkins, Tim Minchin, Adam Savage, and more.   It is said to be the largest secular event in world history–according to their site, and just as one might expect, the Westboro Baptist Church plans to protest the event.   According to their site, atheists are "fools" and to God, on the same level as "fags," but with one redeeming feature–atheists are honest about their disobedience to God:

The "atheists" of the nation are gathering together to demand that they be recognized and afforded special recognition. These fools may profess that they don't believe in God, but they will still be without excuse on the Day of Judgment. The Lord spoke of them and put them in the same category as another group of impenitent, hard-hearted sinners. Fags!  The only thing that is different about those attending this rally and 99.9999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999% of the rest of the people in this doomed nation and world is that they're honest in their rebellion. At least they don't hide behind a hypocritical, lying, false religious system while refusing to obey God's simple, clear commandments. They're upfront about their disobedience.

This nation is awash in mass murders, so called natural disasters, soldiers dying (and those that return doing so maimed and with serious mental issues), abortion, adultery, disease, etc. WBC will be there to remind the nation, atheists and lying "christians" alike, that "except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" Lu 13:3.

Moreover, the WBC is planning to protest the after-rally party at the Washington Park Hotel.  For atheists, the church has this bit of advice:

Once the rally is over the atheists plan to get together to drink and party. Revelry doesn't change the fact that you're doomed. The Lord is coming. Obviously they have the ability to organize and get their message out. They would be far better served to use their resources to warn their fellow man to obey God.

According to The Examiner, the Westboro Baptist Church were specifically invited to the event:

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church were invited to the Reason Rally by Jim Klawon, Deputy Vice President of Administration of the National Atheist Party, via a letter sent to Pastor Fred Phelps. After receiving this letter, Megan Phelps-Roper, onTwitter, wrote, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” Ps14:1 Here's lookin' at you, @ReasonRally!Your [unwarranted] pride is your destruction. Dear @ReasonRally: How gracious of you! We accept your invitation & will picket your parade of fools 3/24. Love,WBC.”

Moreover, according to the article, Megan Phelps-Roper has a message for Richard Dawkins:

Megan Phelps-Roper has a special message for Richard Dawkins. She explains,“He is a blasphemer of huge proportions. He promotes rebellion against God using the platform God gave him and will have a hot spot in Hell.”

Megan Phelps-Roper says that one or two things will happen when the Westboro Baptist Church arrives at the Reason Rally: atheists will be further condemned and their hearts will be hardened or the preaching will serve as a call to servants of God who hasn't yet heard the call. Members of the Westboro Baptist Church, Megan Phelps-Roper says, will come with many signs including 'God is your enemy,' 'mourn for your sins' and a special sign for Richard Dawkins.

The rally is being greeted by many in the religious community as a negative event–that comes as no surprise.  We have reported before that Christians are planning on attending the Reason Rally and have had some responses from various groups at GodDiscussion.   However, some Christians are being encouraged to attend the Reason Rally–as a result of the publication of a book entitled "True Reason: Christian Responses to the Challenges of Atheism:"

"This is a book to encourage, inform, and equip Christian believers. It's also bound to raise controversy," said general editor Tom Gilson. "The careful reasoning of this book will deliver a tremendous challenge to the New Atheists as they prepare for their 'Reason' Rally in Washington. And it will benefit Christians long after that, by equipping them for challenges to the faith that are bound to keep on coming," added Gilson.

 "True Reason" is co-edited by Gilson, a ministry strategist and author working jointly with Campus Crusade for Christ and the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and Carson Weitnauer, director of Telos Ministries, a campus ministry that reaches the intellectual elite at Boston area universities including Harvard.

The book is being released in conjunction with an initiative to bring dozens of thoughtful Christians to the Reason Rally, to create an obvious contrast between the Reason Rally and True Reason. The Reason Rally takes place on the National Mall in Washington D.C. on March 24, 2012, with headline speakers including Richard Dawkins, Lawrence Krauss, and Adam Savage of Mythbusters, and the rock band Bad Religion.

The united Christian outreach to the Reason Rally is being led by: Ratio Christi, ThinkingChristian.net,Reasons for God, The Apologetics Bloggers Alliance, and The Christian Apologetics Alliance.

Dakota O'Leary

Dakota O'Leary is a freethinker, and often sassy, scholar of theology and literature. She got her Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Theology from the State University of New York College at Buffalo, and her Master of Arts degree in Theology and Literature from Antioch University-Midwest. She is a contributing writer focusing on eschatology, biblical prophecy, and general religious news. Dakota is a co-host of the God Discussion radio show, offering insight to the news stories of the week. We like to call her "our in-house Biblical prophecy expert" as her articles on eschatology have received over 200,000 views on God Discussion.

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  • Deborah_B

    The religious groups feeling compelled to show up at the Reason Rally are the same as wedding crashers, in my opinion.  Why must they smear their opinion and their "need" to convert everyone where it is not welcome?  As we were discussing in a previous article on this, I don't think the religious folk would appreciate having their events crashed by secularists and atheists whose sole intent is to tell those in attendance that their beliefs are superstitious, unreasonable and need to be changed.

    It reminds me of those pious people showing up with their cardboard crosses at gay bars, and then weeping and whining that they were "persecuted" because they were not welcomed.

    The fact that so many religious folk feel that it is their privilege and duty to confront those at the Reason Rally show why the Reason Rally is necessary.  I can think of no other group other than atheists/humanists/agnostics/freethinkers who receive this kind of disrespect. 

    Glenn Beck and friends had their big godly rally at the National Mall (I can't remember if it was last summer or the one before).  There were no secularists running around with pamphlets trying to "convert" those in attendance.

    Most people give up religion after a great deal of thought and soul-searching.  I don't believe that these groups, such as Westboro and the rest of them, understand that or respect it.

    I'm sure the people at the Reason Rally will either ignore or debate the Christians showing up at the event — but I give all those Christian groups attending a 0% chance of converting any of the secularists.

    • sheldon2105

      This is how the virus is perpetuated. By constantly invading various hosts in order to infect (read: indoctrinate). Once infected, the virus is then reinforced in the new host via the bible and questionable religious experiences. Don't you find it interesting that all western religious experiences are Christian. Why not Buddhist?

      Of course, as any virus worth a damn, it becomes aggressive in defense of itself.

      It is also interesting to note the phenomenon of indoctrination in a setting that is more conducive to infection. Take children in Sunday school. When they give the correct answer to the question, that answer invariably being Jesus or God, the virus is reinforced through praise.

      Is it… Jesus?
      Yes!!!… yes, my goodness you are a smart little one aren't you! You are so clever. I am so proud of you.

      Clever indeed.

  • Broper

    You can't crash something you were invited to.  Westboro Baptist Church was invited to the event by the organizers

    • Deborah_B

      Westboro was, but not the scads of other church groups that we're been writing about.

  • JimofRichmond

    I've been an atheist for over 50 years, after having been the president of my Sunday School class, and today I live a good life, giving back to my community, without any fear of some nutty afterlife, or punishment for being a logical man. What has struck me all these years is why so many Christians do not recognize one simple fact: they are the product of geography. If they had been born in Iraq, they would be Muslim. If born in Japan,….you get the idea. But, they kid themselves that they joined this particular religion because they thought about it clearly and objectively. Bull. They followed. They fell in line. They made emotional decisions, not logical ones. But, I am ok with them and their delusions, as long as they leave me alone, which they don't seem to want to do. There is always this pressure, sometimes subtle, sometimes in your face, to change and step down to their level of intelligence. Sorry. I'm right. They're wrong. I can't prove it. I don't need to. I just got to get back to my garden, my dogs, and my wonderful family. They can go to hell. Well, metaphorically speaking.

    • Deborah_B

      I brought up the geography point with someone (I can't find the post now, I wish I could), and was told that I was being sophomoric and delusional because everyone has heard of Jesus Christ, in all lands.

      That said, I completely agree with you, Jim of Raymond, that religion — like Christianity here in the U.S. — is a product of geography.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/RMMKOUGVA3RJVUROOXAPJ3XKVU noisraell

     "If these Americans and those like them ever fully understand just how much of their suffering — and the suffering we ("jews" – the founders of communism) have inflicted on others — is properly laid on the doorsteps of Israel and its advocates in America, they will sweep aside those in politics, the press and the pulpits alike whose lies and disloyalty brought this about and concealed it from them. They may well leave Israel looking like Carthage after the Romans finished with it. It will be Israel’s own great fault."

    - Dr Alan Zabrosky, Jewish former Director of Studies at the US Army War College

    https://wikispooks.com/wiki/9/11:Israel_did_it