# Sad tale of Fred Phelps' traveling atheist son, Nate



## Berean (Feb 13, 2014)

Nate Phelps' new mission is promoting the LGBT agenda. Very sad.

Darwin Week speaker talks about leaving behind Westboro Baptist Church and hate


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## CharlieJ (Feb 13, 2014)

Using atheism to promote hate is less tragic than using Christianity to do so. I'd much rather he hold a sign that says "I hate God" than his family's infamous "God hates fags."


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## stephen2 (Feb 13, 2014)

And yet one of the most tragic parts of this story is the failure of a father. It may not surprise us knowing what we know about him, but how many times is this kind of thing repeated in homes across the continent? How many zealous (professing Christian) parents have ruined their children by their hateful neglect of parental duties? I'm very sad for this man because he is almost certainly someone in a great deal of pain. None of this will excuse his unbelief, but I shudder to think of the consequences for his father... as grieved as I am by a man taking a stand like Nate has, I am more grieved by what is almost certainly at the back of it. 

What a warning to us of the consequences for parents who pass on doctrine without life, who steep their children in theology without love, and who take much pleasure in their ministries while taking little pleasure in their families.


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## jogri17 (Feb 13, 2014)

This should be a warning to conservative Christians about the dangers of over sheltering our children and keeping them from alternative views and the world. Truth will always win over error and to try to suppress the voices of opposing views show a lack of confidence in Christ and his Word.


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## Stephen L Smith (Feb 13, 2014)

One often wonders if Phelps has a conscience re his godless behaviour.

On the insightful link above there is a link to a recent lecture given by Nate Phelps at the 2014 Darwin Week. Phelps rails against the biblical concept of "hate" and Jonathan Edwards sermon "sinners in the hands of an angry God". Thus he argues that Fred Phelps view of God's hate is precisely what the Bible and Jonathan Edwards says. It might be interesting if PB members have a discussion on this.

Its interesting this is given at a Darwin week conference. One wonders if Nate Phelps can defend a better view of morality based on evolutionary presuppositions.


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## Stephen L Smith (Feb 14, 2014)

This is the video link I mentioned above. It does reveal a lot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw9kh_p0-9s


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## davdavis (Feb 14, 2014)

This is sort of reminiscent of the whole Franky Schaeffer debacle, (aside from the differences between Schaeffer and Phelps of course.) No one it seems, ever embraces atheism and keeps his darkness under a bushel.


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## Alan D. Strange (Feb 14, 2014)

davdavis said:


> This is sort of reminiscent of the whole Franky Schaeffer debacle, (aside from the differences between Schaeffer and Phelps of course.) No one it seems, ever embraces atheism and keeps his darkness under a bushel.



Well, brother, the difference between Fran Schaeffer and the elder Phelps is so much as to make this not at all alike. The Schaeffer story is one with which we are much more familiar: son excoriates Dad and embraces some perceived "non-fundamentalist" form of Christianity, in this case, Eastern Orthodoxy. 

Whatever shortcomings Dr. Schaeffer may have had, as do we all, his son's betrayal of him and embracing Greek Christianity is of a wholly different sort than what happened in the other case: Phelps is a bitter, hateful man and his son embraced atheism. 

I not only fail to see the resemblance but find the comparison rather odd, to say the least.

Peace,
Alan


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## davdavis (Feb 15, 2014)

I think you misunderstood my point. First I would like to my clear I meant no criticism of Francis Schaeffer, but of his son. Franky Schaeffer it seems to me has clearly gone beyond just leaving Protestantism for Orthodoxy. Many of his more recent statements make it clear he is abandoning Christianity entirely. See:
Frank Schaeffer: Go To Hell, Pro-Lifers | The American Conservative
http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/blog/2013/06/frank-schaeffer-is-a-christian-atheist/
Im not sure why the comparison is odd. While most of us find Phelps despicable the son didnt just rebel against the father but attacked Christianity.
Franky Schaeffer, has used his dissatisfaction with his parents, as an excuse to abandon the faith.


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## Alan D. Strange (Feb 15, 2014)

David:

I was not aware of how far things had gone with Franky. In case you can't tell, I find him rather pestiferous and have not followed his meanderings closely in recent years (his father had a significant influence on me in earlier years). I stand corrected.

Having said that, I still do not find the comparison apposite: Schaeffer was a solid Christian; Phelps never was, being a purveyor of bitterness and hatred. Thus what the younger Phelps turned away from wasn't Christianity as such, since that is never what his hate-peddling father taught or embraced. He turned from a twisted hateful faith to an atheism professing love and tolerance for all. So different from the truth from which Franky turned as to make the cases rather different and yielding nothing by way of a fruitful comparison. 

Better to turn away from what Phelps promotes than to continue in it. Not so with Franky. 

Peace,
Alan


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## a mere housewife (Feb 15, 2014)

Caroline (who is and has worked with ex cultists) has commented on this here before -- that many people who leave cults go through an atheistic phase. They were trained to believe something about God so militantly that turns out to be completely indefensible and very destructive. In that situation for a number of reasons, atheism is a sort of default.


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## Alan D. Strange (Feb 15, 2014)

Heidi:

I, too, have noted that.

In fact, this has often struck me: many of us have particular things from which we are "seeking to get over" from our past. Many come to the Reformed faith seeking to get over, on the one hand, something like fundamentalism, dispensationalism, Arminianism, etc. while others come seeking to get over liberalism, Roman Catholicism, etc. That's perfectly understandable: we tend to react over against that which we've come to reject. 

Maturity, it has also struck me, is "getting over getting over" our past. If we stay in the "getting over" stage, being Reformed becomes a long list of what were not and an on-going diatribe against all sorts of other things. While the polemical element of our faith rightly remains (though hopefully refined), the heart of what we believe must be something quite positive, as is the gospel (Christ came to bring us into His kingdom). Maturity then is getting over getting over our past. Immaturity is being simply mired in that getting over aspect of what we left and how we continue chiefly to define ourselves over against that.

Peace,
Alan


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## Unoriginalname (Feb 15, 2014)

Alan D. Strange said:


> Maturity, it has also struck me, is "getting over getting over" our past.



I like that a lot.


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## Leslie (Feb 21, 2014)

The apple never falls far from the tree. I think the youger Phelps is just as hateful as his old man. He just changed the object of his hate.


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## Mushroom (Feb 21, 2014)

Alan D. Strange said:


> If we stay in the "getting over" stage, being Reformed becomes a long list of what were not and an on-going diatribe against all sorts of other things.


Been there, done that. God is merciful, and oh so patient.


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