Kotaku reports that the notorious Westboro Baptist Church (who you may know better as the "God Hates Fags" sign wielding congregation out of Kansas) will be in San Diego next week to protest the "idolatrous worship" taking place at Comic-Con (thanks to Shoutbox user Rodrigo Ybáñez García for the tip!).
The activity will happen on July 22. To get an idea of where this group is coming from you need look no further than comments in its schedule of events section on its web site:
Are you kidding?! If these people would spend even some of the energy that they spend on these comic books, reading the Bible, well no high hopes here. They have turned comic book characters into idols, and worship them they do! Isaiah 2:8 Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made: 9 And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not. It is time to put away the silly vanities and turn to God like you mean it. The destruction of this nation is imminent - so start calling on Batman and Superman now, see if they can pull you from the mess that you have created with all your silly idolatry.
Commentary Alert: Looking at the sign in the picture above, it is hard to understand what these protestors are talking about. Are nerds like Esau - "hairy, immoral and dumb" as this site translates the twin brothers' long ordeal? Are these protestors heirs as Jacob was? And how can they be heirs when they break the most fundamental rule of the New Testament? Namely "Thou Shalt Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself" (Mark 12:31)?
It might be time for some more Bible study, people. Still, sometimes free speech can be ugly and offensive - that's the price of having those rights. And although I don’t know what God thinks of nerds, I draw the line at dudes dressed like Wonder Woman.
Comments
Re: Does God Hate Nerds More Than Stupid People?
You forgot Wiccans and other Pagans. Either way I already have my card, Member #209 reporting for duty Ma'am!
Hunting the shadows of the troubled dreams.
Re: Does God Hate Nerds More Than Stupid People?
My bad. I should have remembered them. And I'm a "sir". Consider us even ;)
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." -Albert Einstein
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." -Albert Einstein
Re: Does God Hate Nerds More Than Stupid People?
Sign me up!
Treasure bin: Cult Hits, chea pass gaming options, and rants about gaming in general
Re: Does God Hate Nerds More Than Stupid People?
If you aren't in their church, they hate you. Sums up the whole list.
Re: Does God Hate Nerds More Than Stupid People?
No, there may be a few exceptions to that. The homeless, Jesus Christ (for now), And they would never mess with... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcxthg885ZY
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." -Albert Einstein
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." -Albert Einstein
Re: Does God Hate Nerds More Than Stupid People?
There are likely exceptions in there. For instance if you're homeless, they care if you're the "right" religion.
Re: Does God Hate Nerds More Than Stupid People?
Many of the superhero characters, within their own fictional world, have fought against becoming seen as "idols". They have attempted to become "role models", individuals who try to live up to what they consider honor and ethics and hope that other "mere mortals" will learn from those lessons and become more than what they are as well.
Yes, in certain fictional situations, there are the "Anti-Heroes" and even the more brutal heroes who look down on those citizens who do little to help themselves.
Too bad people like the Phelps clan chose the path of bigotry and hate rather than being nonorable, ethical, moral role models themselves.
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
http://www.facebook.com/nightwing2000
Nightwng2000 is now admin to the group "Parents For Education, Not Legislation" on MySpace as http://groups.myspace.com/pfenl
Re: Does God Hate Nerds More Than Stupid People?
LOL, these so-called Christians need to get their facts straight. We didn't turn comic book characters into pagan idols. We turned pagan idols into comic book characters! I remember the one part from Batman the Animated Series where Zeus is being brought into Arkham Asylum after being caught by Batman and he recognizes all the rogues gallery villains as members of the Greek pantheon. Wonder Woman and Thor are straight out of pagan mythology, not even changed hardly at all, just adapted. Pretty funny LOL.
Anyways let's not confuse these morons with real Christians please. black manta, that fiction IS "our" as in Christianity's fiction thanks to Lewis and Tolkien. There's alot of Christian philosophy in the last two Harry Potter books whether these Westboro numbskulls recognize it or not and Rowling borrows heavily from Lewis and Tolkien as does the whole fantasy fiction genre.
Christians invented the fantasy fiction genre when John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" was the second most widely owned and read book in the USA after the Bible, and it's got knights and giants and dragons and all that stuff.
Re: Does God Hate Nerds More Than Stupid People?
First they protest at Ronnie James Dio's funeral, and now this. Apparently they're getting too much heat from protesting at the funerals of homosexuals and dead soldiers, so they're showing up at places like Dio's funeral and the SDCC to see if they can get those people angered at them
(Incidentally, the case against them, Snyder Vs. Phelps, will be heard by SCOTUS around the same time as EMA Vs. Schwarzenegger, making for two VERY interesting First Amendment-related cases.)
At this point, I'm pretty sure they're doing it both for attention and the money. Phelps and his daughter are both lawyers, and are even more litigous than Jack Thompson ever was. I think it's less about what they believe, and more of a ploy to try and get people to attack them and then sue. I've heard that they bring handheld cameras with them for just that reason so it can be documented in case it should ever happen.
I also think they're just mad because our fiction is a lot better than their fiction. I wonder if that's the real reason the Christians have been pissed at comics, D&D, Harry Potter and Fantasy and Sci-Fi in general? When your whole religion is based around angels and demons and the promise of a big apocalyptic war between the two, and other people come along with stuff that sounds cooler, I guess you'd probably be pissed at the competition, too.
And is it just me, or does Fred Phelps look like the Rev. Henry Kane from Poltergeist II? The resemblance just makes him that much more creepier.
Re: Does God Hate Nerds More Than Stupid People?
"I wonder if that's the real reason the Christians have been pissed at comics, D&D, Harry Potter and Fantasy and Sci-Fi in general?"
Last I checked, I had no religious issue with any of those.
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." -Albert Einstein
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." -Albert Einstein
Re: Does God Hate Nerds More Than Stupid People?
"Please don't read about fictional characters with superhuman powers, read the Bible instead and learn about Jesus".
Says it all really doesn't it.
I bet EA wishes it had a game to promote this year with their help.
Re: Does God Hate Nerds More Than Stupid People?
not really.
Re: Does God Hate Nerds More Than Stupid People?
Personally I have no idea what you're responding to, but I find it ironic that the Phelps family are moaning about people reading about fictional characters with superhuman powers in comic books, instead of reading about fictional characters with superhuman powers in the Bible.
Re: Does God Hate Nerds More Than Stupid People?
Actually, with the possible exceptions of God, Adam, Eve and Lillith, all of the characters in the Bible actually existed.
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With the first link, the chain is forged.
Re: Does God Hate Nerds More Than Stupid People?
There's no evidence whatsoever for everyone who wasn't a king or similar. None.
Although I find it funny (and it probably says all about your knowledge of the bible) that you mention Lilith, a Sumerian goddess, that (despite the attention she's getting in other media) is mentioned in the bible exactly once, in passing, and doesn't play any role in the book.
Re: Does God Hate Nerds More Than Stupid People?
I remember a quote at school along the lines of "there's more evidence for Jesus than there is for Julius Caesar" and several other figures. Historically, there is a huge amount of evidence and it's a disservice to throw that aside out of spite for the Christian religion. There very, very likely was a Jewish revolutionary (That's the closest word I can think of, pardon me if it's in turn an exaggeration) in the Middle East who had followers and preached, indeed there were plenty of people like that from what I hear as the region was crying out for a messiah to help them against the Roman empire.
Regardless, there's nothing wrong with viewing the bible as a historical document, one that likely has many parts true - just, to the non-religious, without any of the superstitious parts. In my opinion, the bible isn't a complete lie, just overblown and exaggerated, to say the least.
Re: Does God Hate Nerds More Than Stupid People?
Based on what evidence? The only extra-biblical evidence we have of Jesus existing is in Josephus' book 'Antiquities of the Jews', which was written 60+ years after Jesus supposedly died. Josephus himself cannot have known Jesus - he was born after Jesus died. Other biblical characters have similarly poor - or worse - evidence.
Re: Does God Hate Nerds More Than Stupid People?
My understanding is that the biblical Jesus is by and large a composite of the various people running around Judea at the time claiming to be the Messiah. Was one of them named Yeshua? It's certainly not impossible. That doesn't mean he ever had any skill at carpentry, pissed off some temple moneychangers by throwing tables around, or cheesed off the local population enough that they would rather let a convicted murderer go free than him.
Re: Does God Hate Nerds More Than Stupid People?
Well, there was Mitochondrial Eve and Y-chromosomal Adam. Though they weren't the only people around, hell they didn't even live in the same time period.
Re: Does God Hate Nerds More Than Stupid People?
Actually, my favorite comic of the past year was The Book of Genesis.
Re: Does God Hate Nerds More Than Stupid People?
Christian Zealots often ignore Mark 12:31, so no real surprise with any sort of hypocrisy on their part.