Phelps family’s black sheep now a cab-driving atheist

By JUSTIN KENDALL

The black sheep of Fred Phelps’ flock, Nate Phelps, recently gave an interview to a student newspaper in Western Canada.

The Ubyssey recaps Nate Phelps’ alleged beatings at the hands of his father and his exile from the church. The younger Phelps is now a cab-driving atheist living in Cranbrook, British Columbia.

The most intriguing nugget in the story is Nate Phelps’ claim that nephews he’s never met have contacted him and told him they’ve left the Westboro Baptist Church.

“Once he made the choice, he’s cut off,” Phelps says of his nephew Tim. “Everything that he grew up with is taken away from him, and he gets to wonder if he’s going to burn in hell….[He’s] living with that shadow.”

For his own part, Phelps says, “I just want peace. I want to not wake up fearful every morning.”