Editing Fred Phelps (section)

==Villainy==
*'''[[Gay Bashing]]:''' Phelps and his church's most notable activities are their attitude and actions against homosexuals. Their message of "GOD HATES FAGS" has become infamous. The church claims that homosexuality is the most deplorable of all sins. They also claim that anyone who supports homosexuality is a "fag enabler" and what they're doing is even worse. The church also blames the death of soldiers, as well as every disaster and calamity that happens, on America's, and the world's tolerance of homosexuality, and the reason they picket funerals of soldiers is to get their message across.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26582812 Fred Phelps: How Westboro pastor spread 'God hates fags'], ''BBC News''</ref>
*'''Religious Intolerance: '''Phelps and the WBC have also been hateful towards other religions as well, including Christianity, as the church views themselves as the only true followers of God. The Catholic Church is one their biggest targets, criticizing them mostly due to the sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church, and the WBC even have signs which read; "PRIESTS RAPE BOYS". They have also been critical of the Catholic Church's, as well as the Eastern Orthodox Church's use of icons. Phelps and the church have also been critical of Protestant churches too, criticizing several Evangelical preachers such as Pat Robertson, Billy Graham, and [[Jerry Falwell]], whose funeral they picketed. The WBC is also hateful towards Jews as well. They frequently picket outside of synagogues, stating that "JEWS KILLED JESUS", and even say that [[the Holocaust]] was God's punishment on the Jews. Islam is another religion criticized by the WBC, claiming that Mohammed was pedophile (which is technically true, considering he had sex with his 9-year old wife), and the church went so far to [[Quran Burning|burn a copy of the Qur'an]] on September 11, after Pastor [[Terry Jones]], another WBC target, chose not to.<ref>[https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2010/0910/Florida-church-may-not-burn-Qurans-but-Kansas-church-says-it-will Florida church may not burn Qurans, but Kansas church says it will], ''The Christian Science Monitor''</ref> They also maintain a ''God Hates India'' website, showing their intolerance for Hindus and their polytheism, admonishing them to convert to Christianity. The WBC also condemned Ethiopian Orthodoxy, claiming it to be "grounded in a big, fat lie" and is a "strange co-mingling of Jewish and pagan rituals". They also believed that a true church must be "independent, local, autonomous, and without any formal affiliation with other churches", also hating Orthodox churches for being in full communion with one another, claiming that they're not "true New Testament churches".
*'''[[Child abuse]]:''' Phelps also directed his anger towards his own family as well. Out of his thirteen children, four are estranged from the church and family. The estranged children (most notably his son Nathan) claim that their father would [[Domestic abuse|abuse]] his wife and children both physically and verbally, claiming that he'd use his fists and soon started using a mattock handle, usually hitting his children to the point of bleeding.<ref name = abuse>[https://www.kansan.com/arts_and_culture/he-would-use-his-fists-feet-and-knees-son-of-westboro-baptist-church-founder-talks/article_3db73c9e-94d5-11e7-aa52-d764c8804638.html 'He would use his fists, feet and knees': Son of Westboro Baptist Church founder talks in Lawrence about childhood abuse], ''The University Daily Kansan''</ref> The nine children who remained in the church say that these claims are false, and say that they were simply spanked as children. His estranged children also feel that the Westboro Baptist Church is simply a method to direct his anger and hatred, now that his family members are older.
*'''[[Cruelty to animals]] / Psychological abuse: '''Phelps killed a dog with a shotgun after it defecated on his lawn, and''' '''while he had never murdered anyone directly, he may have been indirectly responsible for the death of a young woman named Debbie Valgos. Valgos was a young woman who had a relationship with Phelps' oldest son, Fred Phelps Jr. Phelps Sr. did not approve of her, and even verbally attacked her during a sermon which she attended, calling her out as a whore. Fred Jr. and Debbie soon ran away together and got married. Phelps Sr. soon found his son, and forced him back to the church, where he later remarried and remained to this day. Valgos on the other hand soon got addicted to drugs, and later died from an overdose.