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Westboro Baptist Church Attacked By Kirk Franklin, Dared To Protest His Concerts

By Meaghan Ellis
Published on: 15:01 PST, Jun 23, 2016

Westboro Baptist Church has been at the center of controversy in the wake of the highly-publicized Orlando shooting and now they’re facing a new battle. Apparently, Kirk Franklin is fed up with the hateful propaganda Westboro has labeled as Christianity.

According to Christian Post, the Grammy Award-winning gospel artist strongly opposes the idea of associating Westboro Baptist Church with Christianity and he recently voiced his frustrations. Despite having no affiliation with any Baptist denomination, Kirk Franklin still wants the world to know Westboro is no example of any form of Christianity.

On Friday, June 17, Kirk Franklin took to Twitter with a few bashing tweets criticizing Westboro members for their plans to protest the funerals of the Orlando shooting victims. He also verbally attacked the pastor of Westboro Baptist Church for his leadership and the hateful acts he’s encouraging members to engage in.

“So a church from Kansas called Westboro is planning on picketing the funerals of two men killed in the Orlando massacre…. Let me address,” Franklin tweeted to his 1 million followers on Friday. “Whoever your pastor is, he is the dumbest, most hateful ignorant man to ever lead ANY church. There is NO form of Godliness in this act… and a continuing issue of why the world sees us as hateful and judgmental.”

However, Kirk Franklin didn’t stop there. He even dared the members of Westboro Baptist Church to attack him and protest his concerts. He also urged the members of the cult-like church to read the bible from start to finish, refrain from judging the victims and their families, and allow them to mourn in peace.

“You fill it with hate and disease. PLEAS PLEASE respond! Please show up to one of my concerts protesting, PLEASE! We love Jesus, but… Just pleas come. This is a sad day for the faith I love…. Read the ENTIRE Bible, and let those parents bury their children. #WackChurch,” he added in follow-up tweets.

Kirk Franklin’s attack on Westboro Baptist Church follows a string of reports about the church’s controversial weekend. As expected, many of the Westboro members did travel to Orlando, Florida, to protest funerals over the weekend. Holding signs that read, “God Sent The Shooter,” among numerous other hateful statements, the members made their presence known, but of course, they were met with opposition.

According to Christian Post, an overwhelming number of local citizens banned together to shield grieving families from Westboro Baptist Church protesters all around the city. It has been reported that the citizens who supported the grieving families were described as angels in the wake of the series of funerals — literally. Supporters dressed in white to portray angels standing guard as homophobic Westboro protesters attempted to troll the funerals. In many locations, angels stood hand-in-hand to block protesters. The angelic white costumes were reportedly created and donated by the Orlando Shakespeare Theater.

Many angel supporters of the victims have also shared their perspective of the disheartening protests, explaining the significance of their presence.

“I think our presence here is just to show support for the families of the victims and we want to make sure that we’re an ally,” a supporter named Suzanne Draper said, according to BBC.

The costumes helped to block protests and due to the size of each individual costume, many of the Westboro protesters were not visible due to the board-like barriers the angels created. For quite some time, Westboro Baptist Church has stirred controversy for its seemingly contradictory views. Although the bible tells Christians not to judge others, they adamantly insist on condemning those who are not necessarily in the will of God.

[Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images]

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