Religious extremism comes in many forms: 10-23-17

Over the weekend here on the blog, I wrote about a trip I took last week to New York to visit the 9/11 memorial sites. And I spoke about the darkness of misguided religion that led to the terrorist attacks on that day in 2001.

But Islam is not the only faith that people can twist -- and have twisted -- into something ugly and dark. It's what the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., has done to Christianity, too.

One reason I know about this personally is that before Fred Phelps, the church's leader, died a few years ago, he arranged for his church to pick me personally five different times. One almost-picket situation was actually related to 9/11 when he blamed me for my nephew's death that day (he said it was because I favor equal rights for LGBTQ people) and threatened to picket his funeral, though he never showed up.

At any rate, just as now and then a former follower of al-Qaida or ISIS or Boko Haram or other Islamist terrorist groups breaks away and sees the light, the same thing can happen and has happened for some Westboro Baptist members, including members of Phelps' own family.

The British newspaper, The Mirror, has just published this story about one such person who broke away from the church and found a new life as a nurse and then a fitness coach.

Like any good British tabloid, The Mirror has jazzed up its report with semi-racy photos of Lauren Drain, the woman who, at age 21, got booted out of the church before she could leave it on her own, which she says she would have done.

Before Lauren, her parents and siblings joined Westboro Baptist, "We were taught that the only thing waiting for us was hell, death, disease and destruction if we chose not to join the church."

If you have to be frightened into a faith community, run. That's theological manipulation based on the idea that God is deep into retributive justice, not restorative mercy.

Lauren is married now, and says her husband has "been extremely supportive and understanding of my past, and has helped me through all the tough moments in my life."

That's exactly the kind of understanding and love you won't get from an Islamist terrorist group or from the Westboro Baptist Church or any other extremist religious group.

Teach that reality to your kids and grandkids.

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A NEW U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE VATICAN

Newt Gingrich's wife, Callista Gingrich, has been confirmed as the next U.S. ambassador to the Vatican. One nice thing about the job is that she'll probably never have to help negotiate an agreement that would disarm the Vatican of its nuclear weapons.

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P.S.: In commemoration of the upcoming 500th anniversary of the start of the Protestant Reformation, a KC area Catholic church and an area Lutheran church are going to hold a joint prayer meeting at 7 p.m. this Sunday. Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Overland Park and Ascension Catholic Church will host the service at Holy Cross. Details are here.