Yesterday, I had the opportunity to hear Nate Phelps speak. He’s the son of Fred Phelps, the leader of the Westboro Baptist Church, and his speech was about what it was like to grow up in the Phelps household and as a member of the Westboro Baptists. The event was hosted by Calgary’s Center For Inquiry and all I can say was it was an incredible experience.
I’ve talked about my own experiences stepping away from my faith and how difficult a process it was. Well, I got nothing on Nate Phelps.
In a very passionate presentation, he explained the abuses of his childhood and what I would call the growing Calvinist insanity of his father. The idea of someone having the balls to escape such an experience boggled my mind. When I came out as an atheist, my parents were saddened but continue to pray for me. Nate had to leave home in the cover of night knowing that he would likely never be welcomed back home again. There were many times listening to him talk that I felt myself awed by the life he had lived in his childhood, and to the details of the beliefs of the Westboro Baptists.
One of the commenters during the Q&A described her own experiences with a schizophrenic patient and wondered if Nate had ever considered this as a possible cause. Personally, I wouldn’t assume this to be a case of schizophrenia (though I’m no psychiatrist) because while delusions of grandeur and persecution seem to be present in spades, the traditional cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia like poor concentration and difficulty expressing thoughts just aren’t there. However, there’s clearly something deeply wrong with the man.
I’ve often said that I think deeply held faith is it’s own insanity, albeit a generally benign one. But combine that with the negative behaviors (Nate says that Pastor Phelps is or was a big user of amphetamines and barbiturates to the point of hospitalization due to exhaustion) and the overall paranoia of the man, and this starts to create a picture of mental instability that may well explain a lot of his behavior.
The question that usually comes up when one looks into the way this church runs is about whether or not they should be prevented from their particular manner of protesting, that it crosses the line from free speech to hate crime. I’ll officially weigh in on this one; I think it’s wrong to do what they do, but I think the greater threat is to removing their right to do it. I would hate to see these people at the funeral of someone I loved, but the rights that I share with them to speak my mind and to assemble are more important than the diatribes they would throw at me. Though I’d be sorely tempted to take a mattock handle to the old bastard.
If you get the chance to see Nate speak, I highly suggest and recommend it. I walked away with a true sense of awe that anyone could live through what he lived through and make it through the other side. While poking around, I found that Atheist Nexus has a copy of a very similar speech he gave in 2009, so if you’d like to read it, please do.
Thanks, Nate. I can’t imagine it’s an easy life you’ve had to lead, but I sincerely hope it gets better and better every day.
Jim
