The Westboro Baptist Church is one of the most controversial "churches" in the history of the country. They are more commonly known for their hateful comments, pickets of military funerals and children's funerals and their use of hate-filled rants against the GLBT community. On Feb. 7 Miami Herald reports that two more of the church founder's, Fred Phelps, granddaughters have defected from the church.
Megan and her younger sister, Grace have been questioning their "faith" and have decided that they no longer agree with their grandfather's message. Megan, who was very active within the church and handled most of their social networking and was a highly visible member of the church speaking to the media says that her views changed when she spoke with a Jewish man that quoted Jesus to her and she began to feel that the message she was being taught didn't feel right.
Libby Phelps Alverez, Megan's and Grace's cousin whom they are staying with, says that she was taught to pray for people to die before she defected from the church in 2009. Libby says that she is there to help her cousins whenever they feel like talking. She still struggles with being excommunicated from her family and while she says she doesn't agree with them, she will always love them because they are her family.
Megan recently released a public statement saying that she appreciates all the support and love that her and her sister are receiving. She grew up in a world where everything is "us vs. them" and the "Them" has turned out to be a lot more understanding than anyone told her they would.
Taylor Rios, a mother of three says this about the girls defection, "I think it took a lot of courage for them to leave that evil cult once they realized the truth. It is horrible that they had to grow up believing such lies. Hopefully they can take this experience and make the best of it by loving others."
Steve Drain, a representative for the Westboro Baptist Church, says that the girls have rejected the lord and that they are going to hell if they don't stay with their family. The Phelps family now considers the Phelps-Roper sisters betrayers and they have been cut out of the family's lives forever.
What do you think of such hateful parenting tactics to preach such horrible messages to children? How do you feel about the Phelps-Roper sisters defecting?
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