God vs. Patriotism

Holy turn offs: God hates shrimp. God hates figs. God hates fags. God hates Christians and God hates America. Whoa, chill out God. \nIt sounds like he needs a vacation -- or on the other hand maybe just better followers. \nAll of these phrases are group slogans and Web site names. Just add a dot com at the end of each. \nThese are groups that arrogantly believe they can speak for God. They are so self-assured that their interpretations of the Bible are correct that they attach their messages to God's name. \nMy question is, how these groups are so sure God doesn't hate them?\nReligious fanatic groups like these tend to spout nonsensical hatred in public just to get attention. A prime example is Pastor Fred Phelps and his congregation of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan. His group has received media attention for protesting at the funerals of fallen soldiers of the Iraqi war. \nSince last June, the group has protested at more than 100 funerals. Phelps' latest protest was at the funeral of Army Sgt. Jessie Davila Saturday. His group held signs reading "God hates your tears" and "Thank God for dead soldiers." \nBut Phelps and his devotees aren't against the war in Iraq per se. Their quip lies in their belief that the Army represents a country accepting of homosexuality, according to www.msnbc.com. \nAre they serious?! Neither the Army nor the government is accepting of homosexuality. The armed forces' "don't ask, don't tell" policy and the government's backing of a gay marriage ban hardly sound like tolerance. Westboro Baptist would probably have homosexuals jailed or exiled from society by marking them with hot pink feather boas for the guys and flannel vests for the women because surely the government and society are much too accommodating.\nAs a result of the publicity Phelps and his followers have received, a new group has assembled to challenge them. It calls iteself the Patriot Guard Riders and is basically a biker gang. At the funeral of Sgt. Davila, hundreds formed a wall around the funeral procession while holding American Flags to protect the funeral from the protesters.\nBy law, Phelps' group of religious fanatics had every right to protest at the funeral of Sgt. Davila, but there are better places to get a message across. If they were more intelligent and less starved for attention, they would protest outside of the White House or on the steps of the Capitol because at least that would make sense. I doubt God is looking favorably on Phelps' disrespect of deceased young people and their families. \nThis group is like many other religious fanatic groups; it just wants to be seen. It's like a child having a temper tantrum. The only difference is these tantrums is that they are more elaborate, yet just as juvenile. The moral of this metaphor is that if ignored, these tantrums will stop and fade away.\nThe Bible can be interpreted in many different ways. If someone looks hard enough, he or she can get it to signify anything. I'm tired of religious fanatics throwing around God's name like it doesn't mean anything. These groups are just embarrassing themselves and reducing the credibility of their religion in the process. God hates that.