Carol C -

The "organization" cited at 08 Aug 05 - 02:22 PM has been around for some time, but it's difficult for those who only see its public actions to have any understanding of what it's all about. It claims to be a "church" and the site you linked, WBC1, has a "sister site" at WBC2.

The "Westboro Baptist Church" is known locally as the "cult of Fred." It consists almost entirely of "Fred," his wife, and most of his 13 children and a few of their spouses. Fred and 11(?) of his children have been licensed lawyers. Fred reportedly gave his children no choice in the matter. Fred lost his license to practice law in Kansas many years ago. He has also been disbarred from practicing in Federal courts, reportedly in a deal in which he accepted disbarmant to avoid charges, disbarment, censure, or suspension of several of the children. He also appears to have dictated who his children were permitted to marry, at least for those who remain "in God's (Fred's) good graces," and most of the "acceptable" spouses have also been licensed as lawyers.

Fred evidently had a "divine revelation" that you can get by with almost anything if you're a "church," so he became an ordained minister many years ago. "God" subsequently revealed to him that lawyers also can do almost anything they want, and it can be profitable, so he became a lawyer.

A reporter who was hired by a newspaper to investigate the "Fred cult" some years ago filed a lawsuit to attempt to get the right to publish after the newspaper declined to print his work. The manuscript for the book was attached as an exhibit to the suit, making it a public record - until the newspaper managed to get the court to seal the records. Copies of the manuscript, obtained before records were sealed, are widely available on the web, and can be found by searching on the title Addicted to Hate.

Additional sites:
http://blank.org/addict/
http://www.baptistwatch.org/content/expose1.html
http://www.rslevinson.com/gaylesissues/features/collect/phelps/bl_phelpsmain.htm
http://www.qrd.org/qrd/usa/kansas/phelps/1994/addicted.to.hate-06.02.94
http://www.topekadiy.com/xfsection+index.category+3.htm
http://www.killcreek.com/devolution/addicted.html
http://www.baptistwatch.org/fredphelps.html

The manuscript runs over 100 pages, and while "Fred" doesn't merit the effort, as an example of how brainwashing and cult creation actually worked in one case they may be worth reading - if you've got a strong stomach. (Note that as a court record it's pretty much immune to being contested, but if you edit and publish it Fred's kids will probably sue you.)

A ca. 1994 letter from an "excommunicated" son pretty much sums up Fred.

A distrubing aspect of the "Fred cult" is that it borrows some doctrine fairly widely held, especially among those who've led recent "sanctity of marriage" actions, leading quite a number of people to actually believe that Fred has some religious purpose.

John