Fred Phelps, Founder of the Westboro Baptist Church, Dies at 84

Westboro baptist church is a virulently homophobic and anti-Semitic hate group. They regularly stage protests around the country, often several times a week. They picket schools that they believe promote homosexuality; churches, Catholic and other Christian denominations; and funerals for people who have died in a way that the church deems morally reprehensible.

Fred Phelps, founder of the church and leader of its infamous anti-gay campaign “God Hates Fags,” died Wednesday in Kansas at the age of 84.

The Phelps family was the foundation of the Westboro Baptist Church, a small virulently homophobic and anti-Semitic group that has regularly staged protests across the country. Its members believe that the US is doomed because of its tolerance of gay marriage and other policies that they feel support their views on sexuality.

They also believe that AIDS was a curse sent by God, and that the deaths of gay men and soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan are signs that God is punishing America for its sins.

Their message has been criticized by many groups, including the United Nations. But it remains a popular one in many parts of the world.

Louis Theroux visited the Topeka, Kansas-based church in 2011 to film a documentary about its members. Theroux, a British comedian, has long been a staunch critic of the church's controversial teachings and its virulent anti-gay rhetoric.

After Theroux's visit, he wrote on Twitter: "Wow, I'm astonished that Westboro Baptists can actually survive - what an incredible bunch of bullies." He was impressed by the aggression with which they approached everything, their instant access to fury and their willingness to fight - not just verbally, but physically.

The Phelps family is a tight-knit group and has weathered many storms, including a $10 million judgment in a defamation case that was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2011.

Although the Phelps family is largely the same now, membership has broadened considerably since Phelps’ death five years ago. It now includes a family from the Southwest United States, an Englishman who married a granddaughter of the Phelps family and a college student from Ohio.

They have also started sending DVDs to Jewish organizations and leaders, containing a vile anti-Semitic message that cites President Obama as the “anti-Christ.” These vitriolic attacks can be viewed by anyone online, even in countries where Westboro hasn't pickedeted.

The Phelpses also use Twitter to share their anti-gay views with the public. They have more than a thousand followers, and they have used the platform to offer an unfiltered view of their faith.

It's a strange thing to see these people, so angry and aggressive, genuinely caring about the lives of others, not just about their own. They sincerely believe that anyone who does not accept their vile beliefs will be destroyed by hell and have no chance of salvation.

Their extreme hyper-Calvinism is also a major part of their message, which they say is rooted in the Bible. They believe that if a person is elect, he will believe. They also believe that if a person is non-elect, he will have no chance of salvation. Therefore, it is their job to arouse fear and anger in anyone who does not accept their message.