Dutch pastor says he can believe in a 'God who doesn't exist'

A Dutch Protestant cleric who describes himself as an "atheist pastor", saying he does not believe in God's existence, has become a publishing success in the Netherlands, reports ENI Daily News Service.

The Rev. Klaas Hendrikse published a book at the beginning of November entitled "Believing in a God who does not exist: Manifesto of an atheist pastor", which by the end of the month had gone into its third printing.

In his book, Hendrikse tells how his conviction that God does not exist has become stronger over time. He suggests, however, that it is still possible to speak of God, but in this case it refers to the quality of a relationship rather than the existence of a divine being.

"The non-existence of God is for me not an obstacle but a precondition to believing in God. I am an atheist believer," he states in the book. "God is for me not a being, but a word for what can happen between people. Someone says to you, for example, 'I will not abandon you' and then makes those words come true. It would be perfectly alright to call that [relationship] God."

The Volkskrant newspaper, a secular daily, compared what it called Hendrikse's "bizarre outlook on life" to that of a vegetarian working as a butcher.

Hendrikse has been a pastor for more than 20 years at one of the Protestant congregations in the southwestern town of Middelburg and also in a nearby village. The congregations have been part of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands since it was formed in 2004 as a union of one Lutheran and two Reformed denominations.

They congregations also belong to the Association of Liberal Protestants (VVP), an interest group within the Protestant Church.

The general secretary of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, Bas Plaisier, has criticised Hendrikse for treating Christian belief as a "dogma that can be put out with the rubbish". Still, the denomination is not planning at present legal or disciplinary steps against the pastor, Plaisier said.

"What we as a church, church board and synod can do now above all, is to give personal witness of our faith," said Plaisier at the church's general synod in November while reacting to the publication of the book. "We do not need to embark now on legal, organizational lines of action. That does not suit us and is also not very effective."

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[01/03/2008]

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