Faith, hope & love... | Nate Phelps | TEDxYYC
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- Опубліковано 21 сер 2014
- This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Faith, hope and love, “and the greatest of these is love” says Nate Phelps, son of Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church. A powerful examination of these concepts and their meaning in our lives.
Nate Phelps is the son of Pastor Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church, which gained infamy from their protests at soldiers’ funerals around the United States. He is the sixth of thirteen children, and was taught his father’s extreme version of Calvinism from an early age. This was accompanied by extreme physical punishments and abuse, extreme dietary and health requirements, and other extreme expectations. Nate left home at midnight on his eighteenth birthday, and moved to California where he built a new life away from his family. He later moved to Canada, and only recently began speaking out about his story after a chance encounter with a reporter while driving a cab in Cranbrook, British Columbia.
Nate has now spoken about his story to many groups around North America, and even returned home to Topeka in 2010 to tell his story to the people in his hometown. Today Nate lives in Calgary, Alberta and works for the Center For Inquiry. He is a vocal LGBT advocate, and speaks out against the dangers of religion and child abuse.
He is currently working on a book which covers his exceptional story, and is the subject of an upcoming documentary film.
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3:10 "I left all that I knew because of all that I knew". Translation: everything that he knew and had experienced was so bad, that he was willing to take his chances and jump into a black hole to escape it. That takes profound courage beyond human imagination!
This man was raised in a home environment where it would have been extremely difficult to develop his individualism, curiosity, and empathy, but still came out a good man. A great man. Much respect for this brilliant and kind human being.
Nate, showing that the apple does fall very far from the tree. love this speech
@@Corfaisus //// Faith -- another name for "make-believe".
@@Corfaisus Don't tell others how to cope with their trauma.
Okay?
@@Corfaisus This religion is a hate cult. It is a blood hate cult. But it is cloaked with love. It is self delusion. And it all reflects the self. Same part of the brain that identifies with the self. "That's why god hates the same people you do." Faith means nothing. It is an excuse. We live our lives based on reality and humanity. Faith does not lead to truth. I don't need external pronouncements to guide my life.
This is a real man; a man brave enough to stand up against the bigotry of his family whom started the infamous Westboro Baptist Church, and various other churches, for people who struggle with the right to be themselves as a person. This man is a hero.
My mother was supposed to be on the second plane that flew into the World Trade Center. Thankfully she got sick and had to cancel. I never would have imagined I would ever be grateful for my mother getting sick but that one time I was - had she been on board I would have been left an orphan. My father left before I was born so for the first seven years of my life it was me and my mom. I had my grandmother and great grandfather but it would have crushed me to lose the only parent I had.
A big man with a giant heart and a beautiful mind, not only great for hugs, but of true example of what love is. Thanks Nate for your powerful voice...
Who is Nate Phelps? A REAL man. A REAL human being. What all people should aspire to be like. It not only takes courage and bravery but also maturity and compassion to realize the views that you grew up with were hateful and wrong and that you must do better. 18 is still very young and its really admirable that such a young person can become so brave that they leave all they ever knew behind and choose a life of spreading love and hope in contrast to the hate and negativity that they grew up with and were raised to believe. You are a true hero Nate Phelps and I am sorry that your sister Shirley does not see life the way you do. Maybe if she did her heart wouldn't be so cold.
I'm not against religion, even though I'm an atheist. I don't believe in God, or other deity; however, I *am* against religious extremists who use their religious book to justify hatred and violence against their families and hatred towards the world around them.
My feelings exactly! :)
Jason Carpp so true man
Preach!!
@@Skyler_Momoko "Preach!!" ?
I’m also against religious extremism and I am a Muslim born and raised in the US I feel so much pity for victims of religious extremists who fall into atheism not realizing that the God they were taught to worship it’s not how God actually is God is a loving God he forgives our sins
I applaud the courage and resilience it took to leave the cult of your family.
Having heard ex-members of the WBC speak publicly on these platforms, such as Megan and Nate Phelps I'm always surprised by the level of their eloquence and compassion when delivering their talks/speeches. It's utterly spellbinding, what a way with words.
Wise words. Thank you, Mr Phelps ;)
You can make the biggest miracles... speak the language of the angel ... give your life for the poor but if you have not love you are nothing ....
Thank you for that wonderful talk, Nate. America is rooting for you. I am rooting for you. Keep telling the truth.
Oh wow! The kind of "speech"/ "talk" I have not heard for a while. Absolutely amazing!
I was a very devout Christian for years. I have attended many Churches and met many Church groups.. Babtist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Independent and even sent my son to a Christian school in his middle school years.. Sadly, I can this this without a doubt, I have met nicer, kinder people outside of the Church. Just because people go to church does not make them nice people. With that said, why would I continue to subject myself to this. I will probably never go back again.
Then you can come back to God by visiting a mosque and ask Muslims questions about God and what it means to be a good person.
You are experiencing a spiritual awakening. Keep moving forward. God is with you. ❤️
@@mudcreekpottery thank you, God bless.
Religion doesn't make people better, it seems to make them better at being self-righteous.
@@paullovio7909 //// There is another religion that practices love -- except some find the hate in the Koran just as the WBC did in the bible.
Love and reason are the most important virtues inho.
Great ted talk Love is crucial Love is the greatest thanks
Best wishes with your mission of love and common sense, sir. I really admire and respect you!
'faith is one of the greatest threats man faced today' !!!! truth
Reason will triumph...
One is never to late to find the truth. This man found it, and it wasn't in a holy book. His eyes were opened - knowledge set him free!
Hello. Your past people were there for the funeral of the death of my nephew, who died in Iraq. No worries. I love you and respect you. You are yourself and not your past. Keep talking. ❤️
Tracy Chastain he left the church before they started picketing funerals my love so he wouldn’t have been there x
He does not need your forgiveness or acceptance. You say 'no worries', but thank goodness he is not worrying. If he was, he would not be standing there, shameless. I am sorry for your loss.
Faith is a wonderful thing.
If used alone, it is not.
This should be shown at every church.
Blinded usually stay blind. Otherwise they would develop themselves.
All religions are man made, just like the abuse this incredible Man endured. You're amazing
Your right on both accounts, I knew and worked with Nate after he left his home in Overland Park Kansas. Just one thing I would add God is not man made.
Religion is man made. God is not. We are still going to be held responsible to God. Especially this guys father.
Surprised this doesnt have more views!
I love the way a religion based on 'love god and love thy neighbour' gets the blame. People will use anything as an excuse to get away with bad behaviour - not just religion. Religion is a problem only when people misuse it. Please let us as humans take a little responsibility and stop just blaming everything else for our wrong actions.
+karenKristal It is a very powerful motive for hate, because it has so much to offer. When individuals leave a faith, do they tend to become more or less hateful? more or less judgemental? Despite the supposed core tenants of each faith being love and understanding. The idea that you are a chosen minority that is enlightened on the path to paradise while your brothers and sisters are doomed to hell for their dissent, creates a toxic pride that should be swept away in the process of leaving faith. I have never met more hopeful and positive people than those who left islam, for example. Maybe that's anecdotal, I don't know.
+David Karlsson "When individuals leave a faith, do they tend to become more or less hateful? more or less judgemental?"
Depends completely on the individual. People who leave a fundamentalist version of Christianity but keep their fundamentalism in the context of atheism are sometimes quite hateful and judgmental toward Christians or even religion in general. Also, people who leave one ideology and adopt another are often the ones that felt most unsatisfied in their former beliefs, so it's not surprising that the life of such an individual would change for the better in some ways in connection with such radical paradigm shift.
karenKristal oh honey, you need to go back and read the Bible!! Happy are those who bash the little ones against the stones!! Marry your rapist!!! Rip babies from thy womb?? Read the book!
Religion isn't the prime cause of terrorism, that mostly goes down to the individual. However, religion can often act as a justification for the acts that they do amd that is why I believe religion generally causes more harm than good
The problem here is that that version of “Christianity” is the mainstream version. The religion has been sadly corrupted and lost from God’s guidance
I didn’t know he lived here in Calgary!
God bless you in Jesus name Amen
This is my great uncle
he is great. indeed
I am really sorry for the hurt that Nate still carries. It is impossible to know exactly what he went through without living it but I can somewhat understand, from his description, how he can feel this way. He is right - Jesus says in Matthew, when asked what s the greatest commandment, "love your neighbor as you love yourself." It is easy to pull out the examples of the folks that take "religion" too far - Christian Science people like the ones he describes for instance. It is also easy to take any scripture and lift it out of context to support ANY position you want - for or against God. Though I do not agree with his feelings, I hit "like" because I support his right to express his opinion.
👏👏👏
Dumb parents!
They can believe in God all they want but to go to such extremes by not calling a doctor going sending him to the hospital is just pathetic!
Most religious people wouldn't even do that.
So true I am a Muslim but I am very logical
Wonder why it took them till 1991 to be introduced to the world?
They were founded in 1955.
They started picketing in 1991, they didn't do any of that before 1991
They actually did alot of civil rights litigation early on and were very politically active, both locally and nationally. Check out "Hatemongers" documentary, I found it on You Tube.
Is there an article about the boy who died? I'd like to research it. I'm writing a book on toxic theology.
he said his name. did you make a note of it ?
So you are the man? You got the answers.
But if the byproduct of faith is positive outcomes (e.g., giving of your time to volunteer for the less fortunate), is that a bad thing?
But that shouldn't need faith. Love and morality is what leads one to help others.
I see no reason for faith to be involved in those things. Basic human compassion should do the trick
If you require a religion to do good things, then by all means have your belief. But don't pretend that spreading the idea in the hope it encourages charity is not worth the harm that comes with these organisations
Plenty of non religious people volunteer their time and money to the less fortunate as well
positive outcome from faith is only just good luck.
Such a pleasant and nice man. I pray he will meet the true Jesus. The One who loved him so much that He died for him. Jesus came to love people. Not condemn them.
How unmoving.
Lol
we should stop placing "and" between faith or hope, faith stands alone, i believe hope is for those who lack faith. when we find faith, you have less need for hope. i have faith in god's plan, i can hope for comfort until then.
Well put bro. I'm struggling with my faith and this was really helpful
My faith gives me hope. In my worst moments when I felt no hope, what gave me hope was turning toward God and my faith. They may be mutually exclusive but to say there is no correlation between the terms is incorrect as well.
Faith does stand alone.
Hope actually has a purpose.
@@Moriningland are you an atheist yet pal
Dang dog this vid has so little comments
Not the greatest of speakers, but a great message nonetheless. And that's what's important.
he spoke courageously. A great speaker. Eloquent and real.
Meghan, Grace, Zach, and Libby left the church as well. Meghan went from being super Christian to becoming a non-believer in Christ. Wow!. Well, we just have to wait to judgment day to see which church is the only right church since every church believes that they are the only right/true church.
damien Smith Lauren drain also left as well
What if they're all wrong...when do we find that out?
DS////// Since there is no religion in heaven--- no religion is the right religion. With the bible - eat the meat and leave the bones. The WBC worshiped the bones.
@@rosiehillier4904 Yes, she is a nurse and has gone into body building.
There is a difference between terrorism and cults to faith. Cults (like Nate grew up in) are violent, intolerable, unforgiving ect. Terrorism is also like a cult but goes on to be murderous.
The only time a religion isn't a cult is when it's yours. The only difference is perspective.
They are millions of guys like this. Everyone has a theory. We live in a fallen world. We as humans are fallen creatures. We are deeply flawed. However God is sovereign. We are not. We are pitiful. Trust the Lord.
he is one jacked up dude.
Men and women will not marry or be married to each other in heaven (Matthew 22:30).
There will be no childbearing in heaven and God will give us a name and place better than sons and daughters (Isaiah 56:4-5).
Marriage between men and women is a form of this world that will pass away (1 Corinthians 7:27-31).
Earthly marriage is a representation of our union with Jesus in heaven and it will be infinitely better (Ephesians 5:31-33).
Yes
I just want to come out and say to anybody that is looking through this comment this act of hatefulness and hatred towards any person of any gender is not what Jesus Chris would want we cannot hate God for what mankind is doing to itself people who are standing on street corners holding signs of hate are what Jesus Christ taught against this is not real Christianity please pray and get down on your knees if you are seeking the Lord ask him for forgiveness for we all sin and you are looking to better yourself and your life please read scripture and study the Bible before you brush away Christianity I really hope this helps a lost soul I hope it helps anybody just anybody at all understand just a fraction of what true love in Jesus Christ is i pray and hope that you reading this can try to understand that those people that are calling other people those names in hatred and claiming that they are Christ followers are very very far from that please pray for this matter and this nation
No. You are going too far. It was their perception of God. You aren’t to blame. We all have our time. We are just a vapor... Sadly, most of us do not pass in our sleep. You are doing penance, I get it. But don’t throw out the baby with the bath water. Move on and be helpful where you can. Do not be their poster child. ❤️
He's not talking about about the good side of it
Maybe he never experienced the good side of it.
Thats like being in an abusive relationship and when you escape and try to press charges they say "you didnt mention all the good things I've done for you" like no wonder, the bad outways the good in this case.
What good side? He grew up in a fundamentalistic, maniac, fear mongering cult.
Just because his dad was a nut doesn’t change the fact that Jesus Christ is Lord. My friend don’t turn your back on the only true and living God. I pray for you.