An "Atheist Pastor"?

When my wife returned from a visit to the Netherlands a few years back, I realized this was not a conservative country. Prostitution and sexual promiscuity were accepted as quite normal, with many of the 'ladies' showcased in storefront displays. It stood to reason that the Christian Church likewise would be a similarly 'open' institution, lacking the strong absolutes we are accustomed to in the States. However, even this story in the April issue of Christianity Today surprised me:

'ATHEIST PASTOR' ALLOW TO KEEP POST
The Netherlands - A special church assembly has decided that a Dutch preacher who wrote a book titled Believing in a God That Does Not Exist can keep his preaching post in the towns of Middelburg and Zierikzee. Klaas Hendrikse, a pastor in the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, claims in the book that he believes in the idea of God but not in the existence of an actual God. The assembly said Hendrikes's views are similar to those of other liberal pastors in the denomination, which will hold a meeting later this year on how to talk about God.

Unbelievable! Perhaps it is time we send missionaries to the Netherlands to help them in learning "how to talk about God." But will they let us actually use the Bible to do so?

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