Can an Atheist be a United Church Minister?

[Angelina]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/gretta-vosper-united-church-minister-atheist-1.3506390

Controversial indeed! :huh:

 

[StanJ]

Not a real one, but then again some ministers aren't real Christians either so....

 

[Angelina]

We'll see what the outcome will be for this lady. I can't believe a Minister of a Church, which is the body of Christ, can be an atheist? :unsure:

 

[Angelina]

What's the point in leading a Church when you do not believe in God???

 

[StanJ]

What's the point in leading a Church when you do not believe in God???

Well as this involves the United Church of Canada it does not surprise me even a little as they are probably the most liberal Church in North America when it comes to actual theology. I can't see anybody actually growing in the Christian faith in the United Church.

Plus, in my opinion, this denomination does not actually represent true Christianity and definitely not the church.

 

[Angelina]

Are they mainline? or just newish as a Church body. We have United Churches here but they seem very traditional.

 

[StanJ]

Are they mainline? or just newish as a Church body. We have United Churches here but they seem very traditional.

The United Church was founded in 1925 as a merger of four Protestant denominations with a total combined membership of about 600,000 members: the Methodist Church of Canada, the Congregational Union of Ontario and Quebec, two-thirds of the congregations of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, and the Association of Local Union Churches, a predominantly prairie-based movement. The Canadian Conference of the Evangelical United Brethren Church joined the United Church of Canada on 1 January 1968.

Basically their fall into a liberal state and many into apostasy started with the merger that created them. I copied the above from Wikipedia so you should check out the Wikipedia article to see just how bad that denomination is when it comes to biblical Orthodoxy.

The following link will give you the current indication of what denomination is like now and how it continues to falter and fall away.

http://news.nationalpost.com/holy-post/the-split-in-the-united-church

 

[Angelina]

When a Church "evolves away from core Christianity" it then becomes another "social advocacy group" indeed!

 

[OzSpen]

We'll see what the outcome will be for this lady. I can't believe a Minister of a Church, which is the body of Christ, can be an atheist? :unsure:

Angelina,

She claims the church (presumably meaning the denomination) gave her the tools to help her reach this decision, 'It has created who I am. It has been a major force in my life. It has taught me what I know. It has given me the tools to explore. It has demanded that I do that and so I've done that and here we are.'

I can believe that. Many denominations are equipping their seminary graduates or those who attend ministerial seminars for theological liberalism that destroys a credible Bible. What does that leave? Humanism, anti-supernaturalism, naturalism, postmodernism and now atheism. The slippery slope is evident.

Oz

 

[justaname]

I think the question would be better phrased if "should" was used instead of "can." Obviously she "can" because she is, even if only for now.

An atheist is not given nor is able to equip the saints for the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ. She should be removed immediately without question.

 

[Lady Daffodil]

How could an atheist be ANY kind of minister? They don't believe in God at all. :wacko:

 

[OzSpen]

How could an atheist be ANY kind of minister? They don't believe in God at all. :wacko:

It happens when the denomination allows such a person to be a minister. What's a minister anyway? A servant to the people? I've worked with many secular people who are kind and considerate of others. If the denomination permits such people to become ministers, it will happen over and over.

However, they are not Christian ministers, in my understanding of Christian.

Oz