Believing in a God Who Doesn't Exist!

I thought I must have read the article wrong but I didn't.  A pastor in the Netherlands has written a best seller entitled Believing in a God that Dosen't Exist: A Manifesto of an Atheist Pastor.  Pastor Klaas Hendrikse has been pastor of the Protestant Church for over 20 years.  He says that he believes in the concept of God but not an actual God.  He says, "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 article from Christianity Today says the church assembly decided the pastor may keep his preaching post in part because his views are "similar to those of other liberal pastors in the denomination."  No need to worry though because the assembly "will hold a meeting later this year on how to talk about God."  And I thought the emergent church had problems!

Front cover of the book.