The head of the largest Protestant denomination in Canada, (United Church) created a stir about two years ago when he let it slip in an interview, that he did not believe that Jesus rose from the dead.
I may have mentioned this before on this thread. I was raised Catholic and have attended exactly one Protestant service. I was in college, it was Easter, and the church was Unitarian. I was amazed when the subject of the sermon was that Christ didn't rise from the dead. Of course, I'm not horrified by that as you are. It only makes sense to me. But having heard that sermon fairly early in life, I don't have any difficulty considering someone of that belief to be a Christian. Funk, on the other hand, goes much further: "We should give Jesus a demotion. It is no longer credible to think of Jesus as divine." Well, I'm an outsider looking in, but I find it hard to imagine one could deny the divinity of Christ and still be a Christian. That's just too bizarre for me.
This allows them to continue to collect their salaries, while pulling the wool over the eyes of their own sheep. Many people left when they understood what was taking place, but many understood, and stayed.
I wonder if you're not being too hard on them. After all, someone has to minister to those who don't buy the literal Bible bit. Isn't it better for Christianity that they stay in the neighborhood of the fold than drift away altogether. Heavens, they could end up like me. <g> I recognize that most people don't have the temperament to be agnostics or atheists. They need to maintain some of the tradition of their childhoods, the comfort of prayer, and the feeling of being part of their communities. This Liberal Christianity enables them to have those things, which is good for them, and it allows them to be counted in the Christian column, which is good for Christianity. No?
Karen |
