Russell, As a devout Christian, I am embarrassed and appalled at the behavior of the two gentlemen from the Westboro Baptist Church. They are entitled to their opinions, but please do not think that they speak for all Christians, because they certainly don’t. I think you hit the nail on the head when you spoke of love and tolerance being the message God was trying to get across. As a matter of fact, Jesus himself, gave us a new command in the gospels: Love one another. No “buts” in that command. Not all Christians believe sinners go to Hell — as a matter of fact most of us believe that Jesus died so that the rest of us could have eternal life. I also don’t think we know who’s going where — lots of people talk the talk but don’t walk the walk, while others, such as Ghandi, let their lives speak for them. Who are we to judge? I also don’t believe that homosexuality is a sin — if God created us all, and gays are born gay, didn’t God create gay people AS WELL AS straight people? But what do I know? I just do the best I can every day, make mistakes(sin) as all people will, and try to do better. When I get it perfect, maybe then I can worry about judging everybody else…
Well done Russell, amazed you kept a lid on that and kept the love as a focus. It must be interesting and difficult to have those discussions and make TV as well. I am not a Christian any more but I still follow some of the ideals. Nice work. :)
I’m horrified by the members of the Westboro Baptist Church. I am an Evangelical Pastor and am ashamed of people like that who distort Scripture to spread their message of hate.
You are correct that the Bible teaches about God’s love and His love for ALL sinners (which we ALL are.) I do have to correct one thing though… you will never find in Scripture the idea that God/Jesus taught tolerance of sin. There is no possible way to look at the Life of Christ in the Bible and get that idea. And it is true… the Bible says that those who don’t put their faith in Jesus Christ will go to hell. This invariably forces one to ask themselves the question… How can a loving God send someone to hell? Let me share an example with you that may help to understand the teachings of the Bible…
Imagine you created a band of robots that could act and think for themselves for your pleasure. Imagine one day they decided to turn on you and began destroying everything in your home. They set things on fire, damaged your belongings, kicked the dog… etc. What would you do to those robots that you created? Most of us would gather them together, melt them down to scrap… completely destroying them and putting an end to their rebellion.
Now consider this… According to the Bible… God created humankind with the ability to choose whether or not we would follow Him. The Bible says that mankind rebelled against God, contaminating His entire perfect creation with the effects of sin. According to our response above… what should God have done? He should have completely destroyed His rebellious creation on the spot! What does the Bible say He did? “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever would believe in Him, would not perish but have everlasting life.”
God loved us… his rebellious creation so much… that He came to earth as one of us… Jesus Christ… and allowed Himself to be put to death at the hands of HIS creation… paying the ultimate penalty for OUR sin… so that if we believe in and follow Him… our sin can be forgiven and we will one day experience eternal life in heaven with Him. And the Bible says that those who don’t believe in and follow Him… will be separated from Him for eternity in hell. So how is this loving? He could have ended it all from the get go… but He (GOD) gave His life for us… but the choice to follow is ours. If we spend eternity separated from God in hell… it’s not because God didn’t love us… it’s because we chose to reject His gift of love.
Now the next part… Part of following in Scripture… is yielding your life to Christ and moving towards living a life of holiness according to His standards. If a person is okay living a life of blatant sin… it should cause them to ask whether or not they are really FOLLOWING Christ and His teachings. That is why people will say that it is not possible to live an openly homosexual lifestyle… because it is in direct opposition to God’s teachings on a holy/righteous life in Scripture.
All in all… Jesus loved everyone. When you read the accounts of his interactions with those who were the greatest sinners of His day… you don’t see a Man who spoke words of hate to them… you see a Man who always spoke the truth… and always spoke it in love (NOT the “love” of the Westboro Church). It is up for each of us to decide if we will accept His offer of love and salvation by choosing to believe in and follow Him.
I wholeheartedly apologize for those 2 guys that claim to carry the message of Christ. One day… they will stand before the Lord and have to give an account for their distortion of His Name.
So sad…..
I am a Christian, and I am so sorry for some of what your two guests said. They spoke some truth, but it was twisted and mixed with hate. The Bible DOES NOT say God hates the sinner, but it does indicate He hates the sin. The Bible clearly tells us of Gods love as well as His warnings against sin. But He is patient with us, wanting us to learn of Him and as we grow in Him He is the one who works righteousness in us, we shouldn’t be pointing fingers & condemning anyone. We shouldn’t tolerate sin, but we are to love, be kind & patient toward all people. How can you teach or lead others away from sin and helping them realize that there is a Loving God who wants a relationship with them when the image portrayed is a God of Hate?
EXAMPLE:
“Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. ‘Teacher,’ they said to Jesus, ‘this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?’ They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, ‘All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!’ Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, ‘Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?’ ‘No, Lord,’ she said. And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I. Go and sin no more’” (John 8:1-11 NLT).
Jesus clearly acted in love toward the Pharisees who were condemning the woman as well as the one who had committed the adultery (and I wonder why the man in that adultery wasn’t in the mix). Jesus told the woman to “go and sin no more” which clearly indicates that it is the sin not the person that is bad. Jesus obviously acted in love, not hate.
I pray that anyone who has been treated badly by a Christian and made to feel unloved by God, that they can look past the Pharisee and see the Christ.
Russell, yes, the Bible was penned by men, but was inspired and lead by the Holy Spirit. I got what you were saying. But, we take it by faith and when we read the Bible allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us, we begin to see in different places, put to paper by different people, the consistency of Gods character, love, and will for us. It is the fortelling of, the life of, and the gift of Jesus as well as the promise of eternity.
Russell, I admit I don’t watch your show, someone I love passed this episode to me to see. I almost cried. I saw your willingness to hear what they had to say, and you were given bits of truth wrapped in a massive wad of hate. I am so sorry.
I think they were trying to help, because real love is truthful and if you love someone you would go to them and try and help them. But they didn’t see the condition of their own heart or actions. Their own frustration and lack of understanding, patience and love on their part came across as hate. I don’t think they intend to be that way, their own lack of understanding the love & heart of God is not there. They have some growing to do. And we have to remember to examine our own selves.
Wow, I still find it hard to believe there are people like this sharing the world with us! Did enjoy your clever and insightful interaction with them Russell, see you in Melbourne!
isn’t Shye Echo “judging” fat lazy and judgmental people in his comment? don’t fight fire with fire or cast stones if you don’t want stones cast back at you. it is the same thing. you hate westboro…westboro hates you….you judged the guys from that church the guys from the church judge you…there is no difference at all. all are sinners according to the Bible. both sides are hateful and judgmental to the other.
I watched this the other night on YouTube & I have alot of new respect for Russell…he’s truly an amazing person…I just think he is a true Christian & if I was to believe in god m views would be just like him! He put these guys in there place…his sense of humour is amazing Aswell x
Russell, As a devout Christian, I am embarrassed and appalled at the behavior of the two gentlemen from the Westboro Baptist Church. They are entitled to their opinions, but please do not think that they speak for all Christians, because they certainly don’t. I think you hit the nail on the head when you spoke of love and tolerance being the message God was trying to get across. As a matter of fact, Jesus himself, gave us a new command in the gospels: Love one another. No “buts” in that command. Not all Christians believe sinners go to Hell — as a matter of fact most of us believe that Jesus died so that the rest of us could have eternal life. I also don’t think we know who’s going where — lots of people talk the talk but don’t walk the walk, while others, such as Ghandi, let their lives speak for them. Who are we to judge? I also don’t believe that homosexuality is a sin — if God created us all, and gays are born gay, didn’t God create gay people AS WELL AS straight people? But what do I know? I just do the best I can every day, make mistakes(sin) as all people will, and try to do better. When I get it perfect, maybe then I can worry about judging everybody else…
Well done Russell, amazed you kept a lid on that and kept the love as a focus. It must be interesting and difficult to have those discussions and make TV as well. I am not a Christian any more but I still follow some of the ideals. Nice work. :)
It’s Russell that we know and love :))) Hilarious!
He does connect with those bigots on some humal level, well done Russell for sharing the love.
You are so awesome Russell! I just love you. Don’t tell my husband : )
I’m horrified by the members of the Westboro Baptist Church. I am an Evangelical Pastor and am ashamed of people like that who distort Scripture to spread their message of hate.
You are correct that the Bible teaches about God’s love and His love for ALL sinners (which we ALL are.) I do have to correct one thing though… you will never find in Scripture the idea that God/Jesus taught tolerance of sin. There is no possible way to look at the Life of Christ in the Bible and get that idea. And it is true… the Bible says that those who don’t put their faith in Jesus Christ will go to hell. This invariably forces one to ask themselves the question… How can a loving God send someone to hell? Let me share an example with you that may help to understand the teachings of the Bible…
Imagine you created a band of robots that could act and think for themselves for your pleasure. Imagine one day they decided to turn on you and began destroying everything in your home. They set things on fire, damaged your belongings, kicked the dog… etc. What would you do to those robots that you created? Most of us would gather them together, melt them down to scrap… completely destroying them and putting an end to their rebellion.
Now consider this… According to the Bible… God created humankind with the ability to choose whether or not we would follow Him. The Bible says that mankind rebelled against God, contaminating His entire perfect creation with the effects of sin. According to our response above… what should God have done? He should have completely destroyed His rebellious creation on the spot! What does the Bible say He did? “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever would believe in Him, would not perish but have everlasting life.”
God loved us… his rebellious creation so much… that He came to earth as one of us… Jesus Christ… and allowed Himself to be put to death at the hands of HIS creation… paying the ultimate penalty for OUR sin… so that if we believe in and follow Him… our sin can be forgiven and we will one day experience eternal life in heaven with Him. And the Bible says that those who don’t believe in and follow Him… will be separated from Him for eternity in hell. So how is this loving? He could have ended it all from the get go… but He (GOD) gave His life for us… but the choice to follow is ours. If we spend eternity separated from God in hell… it’s not because God didn’t love us… it’s because we chose to reject His gift of love.
Now the next part… Part of following in Scripture… is yielding your life to Christ and moving towards living a life of holiness according to His standards. If a person is okay living a life of blatant sin… it should cause them to ask whether or not they are really FOLLOWING Christ and His teachings. That is why people will say that it is not possible to live an openly homosexual lifestyle… because it is in direct opposition to God’s teachings on a holy/righteous life in Scripture.
All in all… Jesus loved everyone. When you read the accounts of his interactions with those who were the greatest sinners of His day… you don’t see a Man who spoke words of hate to them… you see a Man who always spoke the truth… and always spoke it in love (NOT the “love” of the Westboro Church). It is up for each of us to decide if we will accept His offer of love and salvation by choosing to believe in and follow Him.
I wholeheartedly apologize for those 2 guys that claim to carry the message of Christ. One day… they will stand before the Lord and have to give an account for their distortion of His Name.
So sad…..
I am a Christian, and I am so sorry for some of what your two guests said. They spoke some truth, but it was twisted and mixed with hate. The Bible DOES NOT say God hates the sinner, but it does indicate He hates the sin. The Bible clearly tells us of Gods love as well as His warnings against sin. But He is patient with us, wanting us to learn of Him and as we grow in Him He is the one who works righteousness in us, we shouldn’t be pointing fingers & condemning anyone. We shouldn’t tolerate sin, but we are to love, be kind & patient toward all people. How can you teach or lead others away from sin and helping them realize that there is a Loving God who wants a relationship with them when the image portrayed is a God of Hate?
EXAMPLE:
“Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. ‘Teacher,’ they said to Jesus, ‘this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?’ They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, ‘All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!’ Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, ‘Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?’ ‘No, Lord,’ she said. And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I. Go and sin no more’” (John 8:1-11 NLT).
Jesus clearly acted in love toward the Pharisees who were condemning the woman as well as the one who had committed the adultery (and I wonder why the man in that adultery wasn’t in the mix). Jesus told the woman to “go and sin no more” which clearly indicates that it is the sin not the person that is bad. Jesus obviously acted in love, not hate.
I pray that anyone who has been treated badly by a Christian and made to feel unloved by God, that they can look past the Pharisee and see the Christ.
Russell, yes, the Bible was penned by men, but was inspired and lead by the Holy Spirit. I got what you were saying. But, we take it by faith and when we read the Bible allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us, we begin to see in different places, put to paper by different people, the consistency of Gods character, love, and will for us. It is the fortelling of, the life of, and the gift of Jesus as well as the promise of eternity.
Russell, I admit I don’t watch your show, someone I love passed this episode to me to see. I almost cried. I saw your willingness to hear what they had to say, and you were given bits of truth wrapped in a massive wad of hate. I am so sorry.
I think they were trying to help, because real love is truthful and if you love someone you would go to them and try and help them. But they didn’t see the condition of their own heart or actions. Their own frustration and lack of understanding, patience and love on their part came across as hate. I don’t think they intend to be that way, their own lack of understanding the love & heart of God is not there. They have some growing to do. And we have to remember to examine our own selves.
Hey Russell, remember when you baby sitter stuck his finger up your bum? Maybe you need to be a little less tolerant. ;)
Wow, I still find it hard to believe there are people like this sharing the world with us! Did enjoy your clever and insightful interaction with them Russell, see you in Melbourne!
The correct translation of the original hebrew text reads:
“And with a male, thou shalt not lie down in a woman’s bed; it is an abomination.”
To me, this says nothing about someone’s sexuality but being true to the one partner.
Aren’t Gluttony and Sloth sins?
Looks like the two representatives of WBC have been doing a good bit of sinning.
Both of them are overweight and look as though they do nothing except sit around and point fingers at the “sins” of others. Truly shameful!!
Each person should look at their own lives against what they call sin before telling others how sinful they are!!
What do they say about living in glass houses?
Hi Russell! I really admired your composure and true bodhissatva-attitude toward the Westboro gentlemen and their brand of judgment. They are continuing their campaign to condemn anyone who is not in their “image” including American Marine servicemen killed in action… http://www.wdsu.com/news/local-news/new-orleans/Westboro-Baptist-Church-announces-plans-to-protest-La-Marine-s-funeral/-/9853400/17865680/-/qshutnz/-/index.html
They have a quote from the Bible (I’m sure) to justify this unfeeling behavior…
isn’t Shye Echo “judging” fat lazy and judgmental people in his comment? don’t fight fire with fire or cast stones if you don’t want stones cast back at you. it is the same thing. you hate westboro…westboro hates you….you judged the guys from that church the guys from the church judge you…there is no difference at all. all are sinners according to the Bible. both sides are hateful and judgmental to the other.
I watched this the other night on YouTube & I have alot of new respect for Russell…he’s truly an amazing person…I just think he is a true Christian & if I was to believe in god m views would be just like him! He put these guys in there place…his sense of humour is amazing Aswell x