“I don’t have a lot of hope at this point in time. Because we want the same thing | Sara PascoeGretta Vosper: ‘I do not believe in a theistic, supernatural being called God.’Gretta Vosper: ‘I do not believe in a theistic, supernatural being called God.’here is not one mention of God during the 70-minute service at Toronto’s West Hill United church. The median age of the congregation is around 60 years, but members range from toddlers and teenagers to Jack, the four-year-old mutt who sniffs around in the back row. Some eight years later, vexed by the archaic language, imagery and stories of the Bible, she delivered an off-the-cuff sermon in which she deconstructed the idea of God. In my hospice work, I visit many people with dementia who are losing the knowledge of who they are and the life they have lived. Praise Jesus! “We’ve been doing this for 15 years and I’ve been really public about my beliefs.” She sees the review as a betrayal, as the path she has forged is a logical one in a church that has always prioritised moral teachings over doctrinal beliefs.
“When they came knocking on the door, it was kind of like, ‘Really?,”’ says Vosper. The decision to carry out the review upsets many at West Hill. I have no doubt there are many more of them in the pews of churches on Sundays, and I suspect there are probably more than a few Atheist Preachers. Vosper was ordained in 1993, during which she was asked if she believed in God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Bibles are nowhere to be seen.
I don't expect many of you to agree with me, but I think having some openly atheist preachers in the world, is a step in the right direction. “The Lord’s Prayer was the last thing in the service that still held them to previous generations of church,” says Vosper. A longtime Tennessee pastor recently made a public announcement that he is an atheist. Praise Jesus! A preacher and an atheistic barber were once walking through the city slums.
The service begins with a nod to the First Nations land on which the church stands and goes on to mention human rights in Saudi Arabia, Syria and Palestine. Her appeal was denied last month. 1) Atheist: Bernie Dehler Bernie was raised as a Roman Catholic, and became a born-again Christian in 1984. Her push to bring that conversation within the walls of the church – a role she describes as “irritating the church into the 21st century” – has already cost her some $60,000 in legal fees spent on an appeal to halt the upcoming review. In 2013, moved by the case of Bangladeshi bloggers facing persecution over their reportedly atheist views, Vosper began calling herself an atheist. “I felt it was an act of solidarity,” she says, likening it to the use of the word feminist to in the 1970s. In 2013, moved by the case of Bangladeshi bloggers facing persecution over their reportedly atheist views, Vosper began calling herself an atheist. After 25 years as a growing evangelical Christian, Bernie became an atheist in 2007. “But that ruling is really a signal that maybe this is not the church that I advocated for, that I’ve championed.” 'Good without God': Nebraska atheists take over nativity to promote toleranceWhy don’t all the religions gang up on faithless heathens like me? If God was as kind as you say, He would not permit all this poverty, disease, and squalor.
“There are very strong opinions from those who support Ms Vosper, and from those who reject her statements absolutely,” said the Rev David Allen of the Toronto conference. The large steel cross – one of the few remaining religious symbols in this church – is hidden behind a cascade of rainbow streamers.The church ‘taught me to critique the Bible as a human construction’, says Vosper.
It was a moment that forced Vosper – for the first time since she came out as an atheist – to confront the fact that she may not be able to find a balance between her beliefs and her career. What followed was years of Vosper and her congregation retooling the service at West Hill. Nebraska preacher Hank Kunneman of One Voice Ministries, last seen showing off “proof” that God cured his acne, now says that True Christians™ would never vote for a Democrat..