PERRY, Iowa—Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Davis was killed in Afghanistan on May 7 when his Marine battalion came under heavy attack. After he was shot the first time, Davis fought back with heavy machine gun fire to protect the rest of his unit.
The medics who ripped open his shirt saw the tattoo first: “Death before dishonor.”
None of this mattered to the members of Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., who picketed the hero’s funeral, kidnapping attention and causing significant embarrassment to members of First Baptist Church in Perry.
“We’re the only Baptist church in a town of only 8,000 people,” says Pastor Chris Tjapkes, explaining that members of First Baptist lived next door to Davis, who had enlisted in the Marines before graduating from Perry High School in 2009.
In response, the Iowa church passed a support resolution for the deceased Marine’s family—and then passed a formal resolution of censure against Westboro Baptist Church.
“We call upon the pastor and members of the Westboro Baptist Church to repent of the sin of being an offense and stumblingblock to the lost and to cease these demonstrations that bring great shame upon the precious Name of Jesus,” the resolution said.
“We completely disagree with their tactics and how they smear Christianity,” Pastor Tjapkes said of Topeka church. “We had to do something to distance ourselves, so that people in our community understood that it was not our church doing this. We were in total disagreement with the picketing.”
Tjapkes was later invited to write a guest column in the Perry Chief newspaper, in which he offered condolences to the deceased Marine’s family.
“The ironic thing is that this kid died for their right to picket his funeral,” says Tjapkes. “But that’s America. When another church causes embarrassment, you can’t really stop them, but you can rebuke them.”
