Westboro Baptist Church is planning a protest outside the Cathedral Church of St. Luke in Orlando today, the group’s website says. (I am not linking there because its address uses highly objectionable language.) USA Today reports that the GLBT Community Center of Central Florida has obtained a permit for a counterprotest. At least one other LGBT group from South Florida is planning to join in order “to conquer their hatred with our love.”

I used to live in Orlando. If I was still there I’d be showing up, seeking to conquer Westboro’s hatred with God’s love.

The Westboro group is widely known for barging in on others’ deeply significant events, especially funerals, to bring a message that “God hates *$%#*” — and here they use one of the more pejorative terms available to describe gays and lesbians. They claim to be a church, which I suppose is possible under the broadest legal definition of the term. They claim to be Christian, which may or may not be true of their individual souls (God alone knows), but is a completely false description of their public message. They claim to represent God, which is simply untrue.

Six members of their group plan to come to Orlando. At least sixty news outlets have reported on their plans in advance, according to a Google news search. It’s hard to think of any six other people who have so besmirched the message of Jesus Christ. The media is only too glad to hand them the microphone.

Westboro’s message is partly true, which is what makes the wrong part of it so hard to combat. The Bible and natural law do teach that marriage is for a man and a woman, and sexual intimacy is a gift given by God for use within that marriage relationship alone.

And Westboro is also right to say that God hates, but He doesn’t hate what they say he does. He doesn’t hate people who sin; if He did, He would hate us all. The Scripture clearly says that He loved the world so much that He gave His Son for us, (John 3:16) and that He even loved us while we were still opposed to Him (Rom. 5:8).

God doesn’t hate sinners, but He does hate being misrepresented by people speaking falsely in His name. The Bible is replete with warnings against false prophets and false teachers claiming to be God’s people. They do as much damage to God’s mission as God’s outright enemies, if not more.

LGBT groups are planning to protest Westboro there. I am unaware of any Christian groups with similar plans. That may not mean there are no such groups: it’s hard to be confident the major media would bring us the story if there were.

But I’d be there to protest Westboro if I could. I can’t, so  here I raise my counter protest. God hates being misrepresented by unloving people who call themselves Christians, seek to draw attention to themselves, and distort His message of mercy, grace and forgiveness. God hates what Westboro Baptist Church does.