Atheist pastor leading a Christian church will go undergo review in Canada

A Christian church in Canada has a minister who does not believe in God, and this has raised the question if it should even be calling itself a church.

"I do not believe in a theistic, supernatural being called God," said United Church of Canada minister Gretta Vosper, as quoted by PJ Media. "I don't believe in what I think 99.99% of the world thinks you mean when you use that word."

Vosper has led the West Hill church since 1997 and, according to the report, there are no Bibles there. Of the relgious symbols remaining is a steel cross hidden behind rainbow streamers. A service, which lasted one hour and 10 minutes, made no mention of God.

The United Church of Canada, the largest Protestant denomination in the country and the second largest Christian denomination in Canada, was founded in 1925, and its beliefs centers on the Bible. has allowed gay men and women to become ministers, and has been ordaining women for eight decades. However, the report says ordaining women is different from ordaining women who do not believe in God. With Vosper's stance as an atheist, a review will reportedly be carried out to see if she can remain as a minister.

Vosper was ordained in 1993, having said yes when asked if she believed in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirt, but she reportedly spoke metaphorically. Around eight years since, she delivered a sermon that took apart the idea of God.

"Our hymns and our prayers and the way that we did things, they all reinforced this idea of a supernatural divine being who intervened in human affairs," she said, as quoted by The Guardian. "I just took it apart – I was not willing to continue to let (my congregation) think that I believed in that kind of God."

The Lord's Prayer was removed from the service in 2008, after which attendance dwindled to 40, down from 120, and now up to 100. There were subsequent criticisms and questions of her, an atheist, being a minister in a Christian church. She will face a panel of five laypeople and ministry personal to defend her views.

"There are very strong opinions from those who support Ms Vosper, and from those who reject her statements absolutely," Rev. David Allen of the Toronto conference said.

Many who like the way Vosper handles the services are against the review, calling it "disgusting" and "hypocritical." Another said that "West Hill is the future of what religion will be like." Vosper's services focuses more on moral teachings along with community-building rather than Biblical teachings.