If only the hand of God would truly smite the wicked.

And here is Fred Phelp's whole schtick in a nutshell:

"This will elevate me to something important," Phelps told reporters. "This was an act of futility."

Note - he doesn't say that this will elevate the Word of God, or God's message to something important. No, it will elevate Fred Phelps himself to something important.

Just another sad little man who believed he was destined for greatness and realized his life was as good as it was going to get.

Too bad he missed all the opportunities for fostering greatness from within. Had he focused on developing his own soul instead of condemning others, he might have actually done some good.

Now he's a raving lunatic with narcissistic obsession standing as evidence that God's justice is not always what we think it should be.