The Doubting Bishop

Is it just me, or is this really stupid. . .

Danish bishop states that he doesn't believe in God. Or heaven. Or eternal life. WAAAY back in 2003. The church does the logical thing and suspended him. He retracts his statement, and is reinstated. Then he says it again, and they suspend him again. Now he's shocked by the decision. He's fighting to keep his job -- and his parishoners are behind him, saying we have to respect differences of opinion.

Ah -- tolerance. Let's keep a bishop who doesn't even believe what he's supposed to be representing, because we have to tolerate different points of view about God, especially in church. He won't resign -- I guess working for a boss you don't believe in has some advantages:

Me: I'm not coming in to work today, boss. I'm going golfing.
Boss: No, I need you to . . .
Me: Great! Thanks! See ya' later!
Boss: Hey! I was talking there!
Me: Huh? Did you hear something? Must have been the wind. See, I don't believe in you anymore. You don't exist.
Boss: Then you're fired.
Me: See, that's the best part. I don't believe in you, so I can't hear you firing me. See you on Monday!

That's even better than working for yourself. I've worked for myself before, but I quit -- worst boss I ever had. Never gave me a day off or anything.

I seriously don't understand why the guy wants to keep working for a cause he has no faith in -- what's the point? The point is this: job security. In Denmark, Lutheran bishops are employed by the government, not the church. Think the government is going to fire a bishop? Doubt it, especially with his parishoners behind him. He's not going anywhere. And he doesn't need to put a lot of thought into his sermons -- or does he think that his non-existant god is actually going to speak through him? It doesn't matter much what he says -- no eternal life on the line for himself OR his parishoners. ANd the parishoners have to love having a bishop who doesn't keep bugging you about what God thinks about things, or what you should do to serve God, or things like that. Win-win situation short term.

Lose-lose situation for eternity. If man wasn't so short-sighted, the people in Denmark would realize this.

{edit} I forgot to link to the article. BBC News has it here. Christianity Today has had a few things about it, if memory serves me correctly.

Posted by Warren Kelly at June 18, 2004 08:42 PM