Yes, there really is a book with this extraordinary title. And even though the author categorically denies the existence of God, he remains the minister of a mainstream protestant church in Holland! You can read the whole story by following this link from the BBC website:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14417362
Here you will read of the Rev Klaas Hendrikse who presides over the Sunday service at the Exodus Church in Gorinchem, central Holland. It is part of the mainstream Protestant Church in the Netherlands (PKN), but Mr Hendrikse tells people to “Make the most of life on earth, because it will probably be the only one you get!”
Klaas Hendrikse doesn’t believe that God exists at all as a supernatural being. And he describes the Bible’s account of Jesus’s life as “a mythological story about a man who may never have existed”
So, why is he still the minister of a mainstream protestant church – especially after traditionalist Christians have called for him to be removed from his office?
The answer is frightening. A special church meeting decided his views were too widely shared among church thinkers for him to be singled out. A study by the Free University of Amsterdam found that one-in-six clergy in the PKN and six other smaller denominations was either agnostic or atheist. Klaas Hendrikse is not just an odd-ball cleric with no followers – he is one of a growing band of atheists still holding office in so-called Christian churches.
If you ever doubted the truth of Scripture read 1 Timothy 4:1: “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.”
If there ever was a time for a modern day Jeremiah, Ezekiel or Elijah to arise it’s now. We are living in days when Satan doesn’t need to attack the church from the outside, for its own members are destroying it from within. The apostate church is with us now – and we can’t look at Holland and isolate ourselves from what’s happening there as if that’s only their problem – the evidence of similar beliefs and practices, growing in all our western nations, is there for all to see. For example, according to a recent survey in the USA only 43% of Americans who consider themselves Christians believe in the existence of the devil. The problem is – Jesus did!
The time has come for weeping. In Isaiah 1:13 and 15, Isaiah spoke the heart of God when he said of such people “I cannot bear your evil assemblies . . . even if you offer many prayers I will not listen.” Perhaps the situation is worse in Holland than other nations at this time, because this is the nation that has pioneered such libertarian attitudes towards all manner of sexual and moral license. The door has been opened and the enemy has used the foothold he was given (Ephesians 4:27). In the light of all this it is perhaps not surprising that establishing the work of Ellel Ministries in Holland has proved harder than in many other countries.
When the Lord raised up Ellel Ministries as a healing ministry in the North West of England back in 1986, we soon discovered that without godly order (discipleship) in a person’s life, real healing was often very elusive. Today we know that healing and discipleship cannot ever be separated – for without the willingness of heart to walk in the ways of the Lord people cut themselves off from experiencing the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. And where a Church denies the deity of Christ it is not the Holy Spirit that is at work in the midst of them, but a deceiving spirit.
How I thank God for our brethren in China and the East, so many of whom have been raised up by the Lord in the face of great opposition and persecution. They are a blessing and a challenge to western complacency – here we need to pray for God to raise up a new generation of Isaiahs, Jeremiahs and Ezekiels, to challenge both the church and the world with the reality of what we have done with what God gave us through the sacrifice of God’s saints in generations past.
Fantastic idea to start the blog. I will read it avidly. With the keys we have reeievcd from your sitting at the feet of our Lord, Peter and Fiona, we have been able to Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls Jeremiah 6:16. As I have learnt these ways, I have been transformed (still needs lots more!) and blessed by our Heavenly Father, through your obedience. Thank you. Father, bless this initiative!
Sure! I will be pleased to hear your thinking
Blessings
Peter
Dear Peter!
My father was a realist who believed in God but because of people’s bad behaviour did not believe in Jesus. God gave me a revelation that I’ve never heard before but it explains why Jesus had to die. Would you like to hear it? Kind regards, Marie
Thanks – I agree Jesus would have dialogued happily with atheists, as I do. But he wasn’t very happy with those who wore the clothes of religious office, but didn’t actually live the lives their religious position required of them! I’m intrigued that as an atheist you are happy to refer to people who do bad things as sinners. Sin is a concept which requires belief in God – the word only has any meaning if you believe in a God whose very nature defines what is holy and, therefore, what is sinful! I find it hard to conceive of how a person can live his life by the Bible without coming up against the need to believe in the God who the Bible talks about on almost every page.
Hi all, I found this page through google.
I am a young atheist. I simply do not see any reason to believe in a deity. But I love the teachings of the Bible, and live my life by them. I don’t understand why you think this guy is doing the devil’s work. In a world with rapists, thieves, and other sinners, I don’t understand how this man is doing wrong. He’s trying to bring catharsis to people’s lives, and as has been said many of his congregates are agnostic themselves. Better to have an open discussion about it than shame people into silence.
I simply don’t understand the fear here. What would Jesus do? Would he reprimand somebody for trusting their reason and being honest with themselves? No, he would have befriended atheists and led by example.
Peter, Rose,
Yes, this is SO tragic, and yet we knew it was coming. I grew up in a traditional church as a minister’s son, even served as an elder for many years, before Father opened my eyes to the hypocrisy and I got born-again, baptised in water and the Holy Spirit and forced out of the church. Then the search began! The rubbish I came across in various “spirit-filled” churches was frightening. Talk about things taught by demons!
Thank you Peter for being straight-down-the-line, adhering to God’s Word only and not getting swayed by worldly temptations and presures. The Lord bless you!
Dear Peter,
This message was like an arrow straight to my innermost being … I have felt this for SO long now and here, in our town & surrounding areas, we (myself with a few other believers) have found it very difficult to find a “home church” due to the half truths and false teachings that seem so widely accepted amongst professing Christians! It seems that such has been the mixture WITHIN the four walls of so-called “church” that the waters have become murkier than ever, toxic! to the point where few seem to be able to recognise the truth even when it’s presented to them. It is tragic and my heart has grieved over this for many years now! Thank you for such a timely message … it is such a relief to know that “we’re not the only ones” sensing this. Very trying times we live in, but God is SO faithful! Many blessings to you. Rose
This minister in particular, and all his congregation along with him, need to go back to square one. The most productive first thing to do is to have a series of lessons from a faithful Bible scholar that reveals to them the authenticity of the entire Bible. Once the scriptures have been shown to be valid, read and study them again from cover to cover. Then follow what Christ and the apostles teach. The Old Testament’s purpose in these last days is to reveal God’s way of dealing with man, and to cover the history of his covenant with Israel that led to the Messiah and his gospel, which enables those who believe and accept and follow it to have eternal life in heaven instead of hell. The New Testament is Christ’s law that applies to us.