As many of my readers know I have enjoyed the distinct privilege of serving as a chaplain in the United States Military for 17 years now. The first seven of those years I was an Army light infantry chaplain; the remaining ten have been with the Air Force. In that time I have ministered to many families who have lost loved ones, and performed several funerals with military honors.

Ordinarily the American public is appreciative for those who have given their lives to insure the protection of our personal freedoms and liberties. They have the utmost respect for the fallen service member and their family, and they lift them up regularly in their thoughts and prayers. Christians should stand at the fore of showing their appreciation as they appropriate the words of Jesus that there is no greater love shown than that of self-sacrifice (Jn. 15:13). And yet apparently this (among other things) is lost on the members of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas.

This so-called “Christian” church believes that the United States is under God’s judgment due to its toleration of homosexuality. The church’s small membership believes that almost any death short of old age and natural causes is God’s punishment for not condemning the gay lifestyle. So they picket and protest military funerals by holding signs that read, “God Hates Fags” and “Thank God for Dead Soldiers.”

And apparently these pathological publicity hounds have began to move beyond just military funerals to any service where they can put their ignorance on full display. For example, church members showed up at the funeral of Elizabeth Edwards last year as well as that of 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green, who was killed in January’s Tucson shootings.

There is no definitive count on how many military funerals they have rudely desecrated, but they crossed a line with one family when they showed up at the 2006 services for 20-year-old Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder in Westminster, Md., who was killed while serving in Iraq. Albert Snyder, Cpl. Snyder’s father, sued for damages, saying church members had turned his son’s funeral into “a circus.” His case went all the way to the Supreme Court where, in an 8-1 decision, the court upheld the right of the “church” to protest on the grounds of the First Amendment.

Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the 8-1 majority, noted that the protesters were on public grounds a thousand feet away. “Such speech cannot be restricted,” he said, “simply because it is upsetting or arouses contempt.” Justice Samuel Alito – the sole dissenter- said, “Albert Snyder is not a public figure… Mr. Snyder wanted what is surely the right of any parent who experiences such an incalculable loss: to bury his son in peace.”

Fair enough. As a matter of law and civil liberty I get the argument regarding free speech. But something Matthew Snyder’s father said really hit home with me. He said to reporters, “My first thought was eight justices don’t have the common sense God gave a goat.”

And neither do some Christians apparently. Its ironic that Westboro Baptist Church hides behind the civil and legal liberties of the nation it considers so ungodly. The hypocrisy drips like goats milk.

Some “Christians” baptize their self-righteousness by claiming they are just “following the Bible.” I’ve seen this a lot when it comes to matters of mercy and forgiveness. They cherry pick a verse here and there to maintain their anger – all the while overlooking the big picture of what Christian living is really all about. Jesus responded to the Pharisees who practiced such wax-nose theology by saying, “…you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.” Very simply, the spirit of the law is eclipsed by a heartless application of the letter of the law.

Sadly, churches like Westboro Baptist are independent, and are a law unto themselves; there is no accountability beyond their local church. As such they are immune to being prosecuted – at least they are in this world. Thankfully they are in the minority and their folly is evident to rational people.

In behalf of the families of our wounded and fallen, I thank you for the love and support you have shown them. It does not go unnoticed and it means so much. As I alluded to above, taking a single verse here and there as a basis for a belief isn’t usually wise.

But If you want to take one verse as a guiding principle, here’s one: “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Gal. 6:10)

(Yes, Westboro Baptist, that really is in the Bible.)

Marty Fields is a minister in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and serves as lead pastor of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Laurel, Mississippi. The article first appeared as a column in the The Review of Jones County (MS) and is used with the author’s permission.