Unfortunately, the article was in French. I looked up what I found in English and decided to copy two articles here:
andDoes Your Pastor Believe in God?
A news report from the Netherlands points to a form of theological insanity that is spreading far beyond the Dutch. Ecumenical News International reports that church authorities in the Netherlands have decided not to take action against a Dutch pastor who openly declares himself to be an atheist.
The pastor, Klaas Hendrikse, serves a congregation of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands. In 2007 he published a book described as a “manifesto of an atheist pastor.” In the book Hendrikse argues for the non-existence of God, but he insists that he does believe in God as a concept.
As Ecumenical News International reports:
In his book, Hendrikse recounts how his conviction that God does not exist has become stronger over the years.
“The non-existence of God is for me not an obstacle but a precondition to believing in God. I am an atheist believer,” Hendrikse writes in the book. “God is for me not a being but a word for what can happen between people. Someone says to you, for example, ‘I will not abandon you’, and then makes those words come true. It would be perfectly alright to call that [relationship] God.”
While this kind of theological language may be shocking, it is not all that uncommon. For years, many theologians have been moving away from realist conceptions of theology to various forms of non-realism. In classical terms, anti-realist theologians can actually be atheists, for they do not believe that God actually or necessarily exists. They do, however, find “God” to be a useful concept.
Janet Martin Soskice defines theological realists as “those who, while aware of the inability of any theological formulation to catch the divine realities, none the less accept that there are divine realities that theologians, however ham-fistedly, are trying to catch.”
That definition is incredible helpful, for it serves to remind us that there are, on the other hand, some theologians who believe that there is no divine reality at all. Evidently, there are some pastors who also believe that there is no God, but there is a concept of God that we can use.
Most Christians would be shocked and scandalized to know that a pastor would be an atheist — and intend to remain as pastor. But in the doctrinally disarmed world of many denominations, the service of an atheist as pastor is not only conceivable but actual. In one sense, Klass Hendrikse is merely more open about his atheism than many others. Indeed, many liberal Protestants believe that God is, in the end, an intellectual concept that may add meaning to life — not a living self-existent deity who rules over all.
In Klass Hendrikse’s case, his congregation belongs to two denominational groups. Neither denominational body was willing to bring Pastor Hendrikse to a church trial or disciplinary process.
In announcing the decision not to discipline Hendrikse, the church told the congregation by letter that a disciplinary process would amount to “a protracted discussion about the meanings of words that in the end will produce little clarity.”
Such is the world of liberal Protestantism. The service of a preacher who does not even believe in God is preferable to “a protracted discussion about the meanings of words that in the end will produce little clarity.” Of course, the lack of clarity is the church’s own fault. It is not as if the issues are not sufficiently clear. A denomination that will not require its pastors to believe that God exists is a denomination that has reached the very bottom of the well in terms of theological insanity. According to the news report, the Protestant Church in the Netherlands claims that its own laws prevent the denomination from taking any action against a serving pastor.
The theological self-destruction of the church never starts with a pastor who doesn’t even believe in the existence of God. It begins with denials of one doctrine here, another there. Before long, the unwillingness of the church to call its churches and ministers to account leads to further theological concessions. The cowardice of church bureaucrats opens the door to any and all theological aberrations. The next thing you know, there is an atheist in the pulpit.
A church afraid of “a protracted discussion about the meanings of words that in the end will produce little clarity” is itself the guilty party in that lack of clarity. The church bears the responsibility to make the issues clear and to defend the faith — otherwise it isn’t a church at all.
The Dutch have become famous worldwide for their liberal approach to assisted suicide and euthanasia. In this case we see something new — the suicide of a church.
http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=3532
I would be interested in your reactions and also in your thought about the reaction of the church - is it right to let a self-affirmed atheist be a pastor?A long, drawn-out conflict within the Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PCN) has come to an end. An atheist vicar is allowed to carry on preaching after all.
Yes, indeed, a vicar who does not believe in God. And what's more: the church, which has millions of followers in the Netherlands, has agreed to hold a debate on who or what God actually is, writes Maurice Laparlière.
I grew up in the same area where the vicar in question, Klaas Hendrikse, preaches. I attended a similar church. To me, God was a man with a long beard sitting on a throne. He saw everything and even knew what I was thinking. Jesus was his son and my good friend. I could tell him everything. Every week in church, I heard complicated stories and long sermons. God and Jesus were both pretty cool, but you had to watch out: at the end of my life they would decide whether I had led a good life. Apparently a lot has changed in 25 years.
Throne
Vicar Klaas Hendrikse doesn't believe in the man with a beard on a throne in heaven. I spoke to him and asked him whether they might be any chance of God manifesting himself right there where we stood, out on the street. His response: "Well, for that we wouldn't even have had to go outside. Something could even happen between you and me, to which we would later link the name 'God'. Our hearts could open up to one another. What I believe to be God is a human experience."
Klaas Hendrikse is certainly not the first person in the Netherlands to say that God lives on earth, amongst the people and not in heaven. That God is a mixture of wonder, inspiration, a helping hand, a sick person who accepts he will not be cured or a man that asks his wife at the breakfast table how she is.
Spinoza
Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza had a similar message back in the 17th century, which made him famous. But Spinoza and his followers were not men of the cloth like Klaas Hendrikse - who's also referred to sometimes as a vegetarian butcher.
It is remarkable that Mr Hendrikse has finally been given the green light to stay on as vicar. He is, after all, an atheist. He's also become something of a phenomenon since his book Believing in a God That Doesn't Exist, was published. Busloads of believers and non-believers have travelled to hear his sermons in the city of Middelburg, capital of the coastal province of Zeeland.
Devil
Of course, not everyone is keen on the vicar. Strong criticism has mainly come from the conservative part of the church. Some orthodox believers say the devil has got into him. Others say they are deeply hurt by this 'attack on their belief'.
Mr Hendrikse says he doesn't want to take God away from anyone, and that his true message is often lost in all the fuss. He says, don't pray to be cured from an incurable disease, but pray to have the strength to see life positively.
The Protestant Church in the Netherlands is losing members. Mr Hendrikse thinks that every week about 1,000 people decide to leave the church. He says church leaders are completely ignoring this signal: "You can't keep telling the same stories your whole life, because everyone changes. No adult believes in the same way as he did when he was a toddler, or teenager."
Higher goal
The church leadership has not only decided that Mr Hendrikse may carry on preaching for two more years until he reaches retirement. It has also decided to hold a debate on the exact role of God in everyday life later this year. Something that has never been done before. As a result Mr Hendrikse says his highest goal has been attained.
Research by Amsterdam's VU University shows that one in six vicars in the Netherlands no longer believe in God in the traditional way. Up and down the country pews are emptying, meanwhile buses keep on pulling up outside Klaas Hendrikse's church.
Radio Netherlands Worldwide
And I just wanted to show you the personnality, I really was intrigued.
