When ‘Christianity’ is Pointless
by J Stonestreet and G S Morriss, The Stream:
If the Christian Bible isn’t true, Christian morality is not good, and the Christian God doesn’t exist, why be a Christian?
Certain beliefs ought to disqualify a person for certain jobs. For example, a vegetarian probably shouldn’t be the lead chef at a steak house. A pacifist wouldn’t make a good general. And an atheist shouldn’t be a pastor. At least, that’s what you would think.
Atheist Pastors a Protestant Church
A liberal denomination in the true north is giving that last bizarre scenario a go. The leadership of the United Church of Canada has settled a years-long controversy by voting to allow Reverend Gretta Vosper, a self-proclaimed atheist, to keep her post as lead minister at West Hill United Church in Toronto.
In her sermons and in her book With or Without God, Vosper has made it clear she doesn’t see the Bible as the authoritative word of God. She views “God” as not a personal Being, but as a metaphor of love, compassion, and beauty. Each Sunday, members of West Hill United Church replace prayer with “community sharing time.” They then sing hymns that have been rewritten to make room for secular tastes.
The head of Reverend Vosper’s denomination says he’s happy with the decision to keep her. She prefers to emphasize “inclusiveness” over the most basic belief of the Christian faith — namely that God exists.
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