You may have seen this 20/20 report about Pastor Fred Phelps and family, and previews of the Showtime documentary coming out about him called “Fall From Grace,” detailing the wrath-of-God message that he spreads.

The Showtime website doesn’t have any video of the “Fall From Grace” documentary expose on Fred Phelps, but it has these showtimes listed:

Dec 4 @ 10:00 PM
Dec 5 @ 7:15 PM
Dec 6 @ 8:20 PM
Dec 10 @ 5:45 PM
Dec 13 @ 5:15 PM

AVAILABLE ON DEMAND: Starting 12/05, Ending 01/01

Here is the 20/20 video of Fred Phelps and the “Fall From Grace” movie coming out about him.

And here’s the Fall From Grace movie trailer…

So all this preaching about the stuff God hates had me running a search on “hates” and “hated” for the stuff the Lord hates:

“ For the LORD God of Israel says
That He hates divorce,
For it covers one’s garment with violence,”
Says the LORD of hosts. Malachi 2:16

“Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” Romans 9:13

“You must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.” Deuteronomy 12:31

There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him:

1 – haughty eyes,
2 – a lying tongue,
3 – hands that shed innocent blood,
4 – a heart that devises wicked schemes,
5 – feet that are quick to rush into evil,
6 – a false witness who pours out lies
7 – and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers. Proverbs 6:16-19

And that by no means covers the breadth and scope and depth of Scriptural listings of the things that God hates, nor does it balance out those verses with the love and salvation that overshadows a contrite heart and it all…

But the whole melee over the subjects focusing on what God hates in K. Ryan Jones’ film had me thinking these things:

(1) I know that people are too quick to focus on God’s love and don’t want to hear about His wrath — are Fred Phelps’ people right?






(2) Is there not a better way to approach this? I like atheist-turned-Christian Kirk Cameron’s approach better when he talks to the average person on the street, who is either amiable to the Word of God…

Or hardened gang members poised to beat him up, but at least one listens and is repentant…

Or Kirk Cameron’s partner-in-witnessing Ray Comfort debating the “intelligentsia” that believes religion was created by human beings…

(3) I couldn’t preach Fred Phelps‘ way — I feel too sinful to look down on other folks — or is it that I just don’t want to take the hateful responses that would come my way?




(4) Jesus hung out with the sinners and tax collectors and “partied” with them, for lack of a better term. But He didn’t mince words on sinfulness…




(5) – I think a better approach would be to tell people what we’ve done wrong (and are still doing wrong in our lives) rather that focus on their wrongdoing alone. Remember that “Let He who is without sin cast the first stone…” message?




(6) - Maybe some people need this in-your-face hell-fire and brimstone approach to look at themselves…




(7) Is Fred Phelps’ preaching really of God? If so, I don’t want to criticize them, for I know that the “persecution” spoken of towards Christians in the Bible includes people persecuting you with their words.




(8) People do need to seriously know about God’s wrath, but more than that — they need to know that God is love, but that yes, He does send the non-repentant non-accepting of Jesus as Lord to hell…