Fred Phelps: Difference between revisions
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===Adult Years (1947-1991)=== | ===Adult Years (1947-1991)=== | ||
Phelps began attending colleges around the country, such as West Point Military Academy, which he never attended at all, as well as some Bible schools. In 1951, Phelps was arrested for assulting a man while preaching, and was even featured in Time Magazine. | Phelps began attending colleges around the country, such as West Point Military Academy, which he never attended at all, as well as some Bible schools. In 1951, Phelps was arrested for assulting a man while preaching, and was even featured in Time Magazine. That same year, Phelps earned his Associate's degree from John Muir College. He moved to Arizona in 1952, where met his wife, Margie M. Simms. The two soon married and had their first child, Fred Jr. in 1953. In 1954, the Phelps family moved to Topeka, Kansas. During this time, Phelps got a job as a co-pastor at Eastside Baptist Church. However, the congreation wasn't too happy with Phelps. He would tell the male members that they should beat their wives if they didn't obey them. The members of Eastside tried to get Phelps voted out of the church, but failed. In 1955, Phelps was made pastor of Eastside Baptist's new branch church, Westboro Baptist. Soon after the WBC was established, Phelps broke ties with Eastside. Several members from Eastside joined Westboro, but some left after Phelps killed a dog with a shotgun after it defacted on his lawn. | ||
During this time Phelps and his wife would go on to have thirteen children. Soon, Phelps began to take intrest in becoming a lawyer, and in 1962, he began attending Washburn University. Phelps graduated in 1964, and soon founded Phelps Chartered, a law firm. While he was a lawyer, Phelps | During this time Phelps and his wife would go on to have thirteen children. Soon, Phelps began to take intrest in becoming a lawyer, and in 1962, he began attending Washburn University. Phelps graduated in 1964 with a degree in law, and soon founded Phelps Chartered, a law firm. While he was a lawyer, Phelps took up several civil rights cases. Phelps also claims to have brought the cities Jim Crow laws down. Because of racist attitudes towards blacks at the time, residents of Topeka would label the Phelps' family as "nigger lovers". According his estranged sons Mark and Nathan, Phelps was also a racist, and would sometimes use the initials, D.N. with certain clients, which would stand for "dumb nigger". In 1977, Phelps was disbarred for perjury, which involved him making false claims about a women during a lawsuit, and in 1979, he has permantly disbarred in Kansas. His children, however, continue run the law firm for him, even after his death. | ||
Soon however Phelps began to grow more abusive towards his family. His estranged son Nathan recalls that his father would usually come home in a foul mood, and would take his anger out on his family. Phelps would beat his children with his fists, knees, a barber strap, and soon upgraded from the barber strap to a mattock handle. | |||
Phelps | Phelps' health also began to get worse too. He started to take perscription drugs, and gain a large amount of weight as well. After nearly dying of a drug overdose, Phelps decied to lose weight. He started to run marathons with his family, and gradually lost weight. But even here, the abuse contiuned, as Phelps would make his family run for up to ten miles a day, and if they beat him home after they were done running, he would abuse them. Phelps would also started to make his young children go around the Topeka area and make them sell candy in order to keep money flowing into the family. He would make the children go into dangerous parts of town such as the red-light district, where his son Jonathon was attacked by a transvestite hooker. As usual, if the children didn't sell the amount of candy as expected, Phelps would beat them. | ||
=== Picketing Years (1991-2011)=== | |||
The church made headlines once againi in 2006, | Phelps and the WBC began pickting around 1991, in order combat homosexual activities at Gage Park. Although the protests started out small, and gained little attention, the church soon began gaining attention nationwide, the most notable event being the funeral protest of Matthew Shepard in 1998. Around 2003, the WBC began to protest the funerals of soilder killed in Iraq and Afganastan, claiming that they died for a doomed nation. Several laws were soon made to restrain the church protests. While not banning them from picketing, the laws passed made member keep a large distance from the funeral. | ||
The church made headlines once againi in 2006, when Albert Snyder, father of Matthew Snyder, a fallen Marine whose funeral the WBC picketed, sued Phelps and the church for invansion of privacy, emotinal distress, and other charges. Synder was soon awarded $10.9 million in damages. In Steptember 2009, the church brought the case before an appeals court, who ruled in favor of the Phelps', and Synder was forced to pay the court costs. In 2010, based on another appeal, the case was soon brought to the Supreme Court. Margie Phelps, one of Pastor Phelps' daughter's, represented the church, and in 2011, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the WBC 8-1. This case brought about much media attention, and many were disapointed by the outcome. | |||
===Final Years and Death (2011-2014)=== | ===Final Years and Death (2011-2014)=== | ||
Even after the lawsuit, the church continues to hold daily pickets, but Phelps however had started to grow absent from them, mostly due his old age and health issues in his younger years. In recent years the church has shown small signs of falling apart, due to fact that several members, mostly younger ones, have either left or were kicked out. Phelps also began to give his sermons less, on Sunday's, usually letting one of the male members | Even after the lawsuit, the church continues to hold daily pickets, but Phelps however had started to grow absent from them, mostly due his old age and health issues in his younger years. In recent years the church has shown small signs of falling apart, due to fact that several members, mostly younger ones, have either left or were kicked out. Phelps also began to give his sermons less, on Sunday's, usually letting one of the male members finish for him. In September 2013, Phelps preached his final sermon. | ||
On March 16th, 2014, it was confirmed by Phelps' estrangend son Nathan in a Facebook post that his father was in poor health, stating that he was on the "edge of death", and had been relocated to a hospice in Topeka. It was later officaly confirmed by church spokesman [[Steve Drain]] that the reports were true. Nathan also stated that his father had been excommunicated from the church in August 2013. Ironically, his excommunication came as the result of one of one of Phelps' few attempts to do something arguably benevolent, when the church's new board of elders, headed by Drain, turned on him after an attempt on Phelps' part to intervene on behalf of his daughter [[Shirley Phelps-Roper]], who had been all but removed from the church herself. | On March 16th, 2014, it was confirmed by Phelps' estrangend son Nathan in a Facebook post that his father was in poor health, stating that he was on the "edge of death", and had been relocated to a hospice in Topeka. It was later officaly confirmed by church spokesman [[Steve Drain]] that the reports were true. Nathan also stated that his father had been excommunicated from the church in August 2013. Ironically, his excommunication came as the result of one of one of Phelps' few attempts to do something arguably benevolent, when the church's new board of elders, headed by Drain, turned on him after an attempt on Phelps' part to intervene on behalf of his daughter [[Shirley Phelps-Roper]], who had been all but removed from the church herself. | ||
According to family members, Phelps died of undisclosed health | According to family members, Phelps died of undisclosed health problems shortly before midnight on March 19, 2014. Family members also stated that there would be no funeral for Phelps, due to the fact that the church views funerals as "worshiping the dead", making it unclear what will happen to him, and Westboro Baptist Church, now that he has died. | ||
==Beliefs== | ==Beliefs== | ||