Westboro Baptist Church speaks for God?

BACKGROUND. Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) has recently made news by disrupting prominent funerals to publicize their concern that America is suffering God's wrath because we as a nation have not discouraged prideful homosexual behavior. It is true we give God many reasons for wrath, including failure to confront awful public sins, but WBC arrogantly proclaims God's wrath for Him, and painfully disrupts funerals to do so.

Westboro Baptist Church claims many sufferings by Americans (including Iraq war deaths and the Amish girls killed recently) are due to God's wrath against America for our public acceptance of prideful homosexual behavior. WBC has not read what happened to Job, a godly man who suffered greatly, and his three "friends" who arrogantly claimed Job must have deserved God's wrath (Job ch 30-37). When God appears in answer to Job's cry for help and understanding, He says to Job's three friends, "I am angry with you..., because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has." (Job 42:7, NIV)

WBC hopes to inspire repentance by disrupting funerals. They have not read, "Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.... Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:17-21, NIV)

WBC has strayed so far from ordinary understanding of the scriptures, it seems reasonable to suppose they may have a human "special" teacher who arrogantly promotes human teaching over the personal responsibility to know God's Word for oneself. This would not be possible if their members truly loved God and His Word with their whole heart and mind. Becoming a "special" teacher or deferring personal understanding about God to one is exactly what Jesus warned against when he said:

"Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’

“Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters. And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father. And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah. The greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." (Matthew 23:5-12, NIV)