Well, "Reverend" Fred Phelps is 0 for 2 in the Texas Panhandle.

See, he and his band of bigots from Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, had planned to make the trip down to protest at the funerals of two area soldiers who were laid to rest, one in Amarillo, and the other in the small community of Dimmit. But his protestors did not make the trip, on Friday allegedly because of a conflict ("so many protests, so little time"), and on Saturday allegedly because of rain. Whether those are the reasons for him not making the trip or not is not my concern. You see, that's not what this article is about.

The thing about Fred Phelps is that, while he appalls me to no end, he is the embodiment of a pervasive belief that is hidden behind closed doors and shrouded in innuendo by pastors well versed in creative writing in conservative churches all across America: that our trials and tribulations as a nation are somehow tied to our acceptance of immorality.

This belief is based on a rather spurious interpretation of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The story is so ingrained in our culture that the word "sodomy", used to describe, err, certain homosexual actions not appropriate for open discussion in a PG rated blog, is derived from the word "Sodom".

But, see, even from the perspective of a rather conservative Christian, this comparison is utterly ridiculous. You see, there's a little secret that you won't hear uttered from the pulpit of many of these churches, a verse that many of these pastors would rather do away with, and, in fact, that I have heard more than one utterly dismiss despite being an alleged "literalist". And that is the simple fact that Sodom was not destroyed for homosexuality.

Yup, you heard me right. Ezekial 16:49-50 give an explanation for Sodom's sins that is far different: Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw [good]. (KJV, as quoted from the Blue Letter Bible [www.blueletterbible.org]). Now, some have argued that the "abomination" mentioned in verse 50 was homosexuality, and they may well be right, but it stands to reason that the primary, explicitly stated reasons for Sodom's destruction should be given priority as we describe the "sin of Sodom".

Add into this the fact that God stated he would spare Sodom for the "sake of ten righteous". Now, I'm no expert, but every church that has been pronouncing hurricanes Katrina and Rita as judgements seems to overlook the fact that conservative, bible thumping churches existed in all the communities destroyed by the wrath of these storms, and that our nation has more than a fair amount of conservative Christians standing up in pronouncement of judgement of homosexuality. We're far from a nation that wholly endorses the practice.

Fred Phelps is a hateful demagogue, almost as much a caricature of conservative Christian churches as the infamous Landover Baptist church. But he shouts in the streets the same hate, the same anger, the same bigotry that I have heard shouted from the pulpits behind closed doors in conservative churches across America.

Now I don't want this article to be seen as a justification for the homosexual lifestyle. I do not believe that it is appropriate behaviour in the life of a dedicated Christian (neither, for that matter, is premarital sex, drunkenness, and a whole slew of other behaviours that are almost universally accepted in the same churches where homosexuality is condemned). But I have a TREMENDOUS problem with those who claim to be Christians who have such a hateful, judgemental attitude towards certain sins to the exclusion of others. And I respect the honesty of a Fred Phelps far more than the subtle manipulations of a Jerry Falwell or a James Dobson.