The disbelief in which United Church minister, Rev. Gretta Vosper, revels puts to shame the sincerely cherished uncertainties harboured by most the devoutly doubting Anglican cleric. Sad to say, her pious dubieties have become too much for even the United Church of Canada: they may defrock her. Never fear Rev. Gretta; frocked or not, you could almost certainly find employment plying your insights of incertitude on one of the many Anglican facilitated conversation circuits.
From here:
TORONTO — An ordained United Church of Canada minister who believes in neither God nor the Bible said Wednesday she is prepared to fight an unprecedented attempt to boot her from the pulpit for her beliefs.
In an interview at her church in the Toronto suburb of West Hill, Rev. Gretta Vosper said congregants support her view that how you live is more important than what you believe in.
“I don’t believe in … the god called God,” she said. “Using the word gets in the way of sharing what I want to share.”
Vosper, 57, who was ordained in 1993 and joined her east-end church in 1997, said the idea of an interventionist, supernatural being on which so much church doctrine is based belongs to an outdated world view.
What’s important, she says, is that her views hearken to Christianity’s beginnings, before the focus shifted from how one lived to doctrinal belief in God, Jesus and the Bible.
“Is the Bible really the word of God? Was Jesus a person?” she said.
“It’s mythology. We build a faith tradition upon it which shifted to find belief more important than how we lived.”
Is the Bible really the word of God? Was Jesus a person? Is the world real? Do I really exist? Am I really here? Am I? Am I? Hello??
We can only hope that when it comes to the crunch, God doesn’t believe in Gretta Vosper
The beliefs, or lack of them, of Greta Vosper have been known for a long time. That the United Church of Canada has taken so long to deal with this matter speaks volumes about the United Church of Canada. In my opinion, the UCC has gone from being a huge, strong, vibrant Christian element in Canadian society, to being a sick, dwindling joke, and the sooner it disappears the better.
“…her congregation stood behind her until a decision to do away with the Lord’s Prayer in 2008 prompted about 100 of the 150 members to leave. The rest backed her.”
If I didn’t know better I wouldn’t believe it. It was the doing away with the Lord’s Prayer that made 2/3 leave? What on earth were they thinking and doing before that?
I will repeat what I said under another thread some time ago though, that there are a handful of UCC congregations across Canada that do not much conform to the UCC policies and attitudes, and remain Christian in their theology and teaching. I consider them courageous in their faith and their defiance.
I take it that you mean that they remain Christian in their theology and teaching.
Referring to the handful,
They were putting up with the apostasy that was going on in that church.
But when the Lords Prayer was removed from the services, that was the straw that broke the camels back. Enough, 100 people said.
In my own Church, St. Timothys in Copper Cliff, Ontario….we had a pair of new pastors that replaced the Lords Prayer (during Lent) with the pagan “New Zealand Lords Prayer”. Most of the Congregation was silent on the matter. Sad to say that our Church has been run into the ground….not enough people passionate about the Gospel, me thinks.
The United Church has long since abandoned any semblance of being Christian and now worship “political correctness” and the ACoC is quickly adopting this policy. We sincerely pray for conversion and repentance but that is highly unlikely particularly in the ACoC where the Primate and many in the House of Bishops are apostate.
The only thing that surprises me is that her Church objects to her stance strongly enough to take any action. Maybe it should do a survey of the beliefs (or otherwise) of all their other ministers, and consider some more unfrockings – it would require them to think out, and define, exactly what they believe. For many Churches, this exercise would be a very useful thing.
I grew up in the United Church Of Canada & family wasn’t too religious either. Anyways, I’d found out about a Presbyterian Minister who used to be with the United Church for a while. He’d mentioned that ‘The Basis Of Union’ The 20 Articles Of Religion are one of the finest. The United Church’s Sunday School Program was -the best too- so much that the Anglican Church Of Canada took it on. Many strengths are here in the history. The Dominican Monk Martin Luther & his influences too otherwise called, ‘The Lutheran Winds’, & that they did; Furthermore, The -Winds Of Martin Luther did blow around the world! Now, about Rev Gretta Vosper, it’s God who judges! I have my own spiritual aptitudes too as well as she has her’s. How did I end up how I am? I conclude by offering Rev Gretta Vosper up to The Father that ‘Thy Will Be Done through Jesus Christ Of Nazareth. Amen.