In light of Westboro Baptist Church's recent display of anti-gay and anti-patriotism flags in a protest in a neighboring city in California, Christian evangelist Ray Comfort posted pictures of the church's flags, which read "God Hates F-gs" and "God Hates America," exhorting Christians to distance themselves from the organization. He called the infamous church "anti-American" and "soldier-hating," and Facebook proceeded to ban him for having posted things which "don't comply with the Facebook Community Standards," threatening that he might become "permanently unpublished."
Westboro Baptist Church is infamous for picketing public events such as concerts and funerals - most notably those of military personnel and celebrities - with anti-gay, anti-soldier, and anti-Jew signs. The church has also gained recent publicity for its founder's decline in health - Fred Phelps is reportedly nearing death and is spending his last days at a hospice in Kansas. Phelps was reportedly excommunicated from the Kansas church some time ago for advocating "kinder treatment" of a church member who had had a conflict with the board of elders.
The Baptist Church is not affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention or with the Baptist World Alliance, and both denominations have denounced its crude antics.
"Christians should be known by their love, not their hatred," Comfort says - the message he was trying to get across in his Facebook post; thankfully, Facebook has since lifted the ban. Comfort encourages fans to follow him on Twitter and to use www.raycomfort.com if he were ever to be kicked off of Facebook permanently in the future.
