One in six clergy in holland either agnostic or atheist.

[fr0d0]

Somehow this doesn't surprise me. I wonder what the percentages are like in the UK...

Cultural Christians... millions

Ordained... my head just imploded

[Rev. Rye]

Only liberal west coast script monkeys would write such a prayer. Probably communists too, and gay.

Would you believe the writer's next project would be America's very own answer to Triumph of the Will, John Wayne's The Green Berets?

[The Grand Nudger]

Obviously came to his senses.

[Minimalist]

John Wayne's The Green Berets?

A shit actor in a shit movie.

[Justtristo]

Makes sense, really. Bart Ehrman cannot be the only person who studied this shit backwards and forwards and came to the reasonable conclusion that it is bullshit.

Of course, once you have gone through the trouble of getting a "divinity" degree there isn't much else you can do with it except fleece the sheep. It becomes just "a job."

There is nothing else you can do with a divinity degree apart from being a church pastor, at least some employers look favorably towards those who have done Liberal Arts degree because they would have done a fair bit of critical thinking.

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

Only one-in-six?

That's depressingly low.Why in the Church of England (Episcopalian) being an agnostic or atheist is a distinct advantage for clergy.

I understand that among the congregation,only one in three is an actual believer and there has not been a believing Archbishop of Canterbury for over 300 years.

[Rev. Rye]

John Wayne's The Green Berets?

A shit actor in a shit movie.

He's not that bad an actor, especially when he was paired with John Ford (like in The Searchers). I mean, if you're going to cast a character who's both a world-weary badass and also something of a paternal figure, he's pretty much the go-to guy (Of course, if you're dispensing with the latter, Clint Eastwood is good as well). That said, Green Berets was complete shit and considering that he was trying to play a true hero in one of the most senseless wars in our history, he only managed to make himself out to be a complete anachronism. At least he made True Grit the same year, and his performance there worked.

[Minimalist]

Yeah - I always get confused between him and Lawrence Olivier.




I seem to recall a review of Green Berets which called it "Wayne's personal statement on the Vietnam War made in words of one syllable or less."

[Faith No More]

Why would a person be a member of the clergy if he/she is not religious?

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

Why would a person be a member of the clergy if he/she is not religious?

Well,traditionally it's been a petty lucrative and downright convenient gig.

For the poor,it meant getting fed every day,not freezing death in winter and possibly learning to read.

The aristocracy would send recalcitrant females into nunneries,with no say in the matter. As time went by, the aristocracy had a new option for the most stupid younger son:they sent him into the church. This quaint ,pragmatic custom has only recently died out.

PLUS the English universities of Cambridge and Oxford originally qualified a young man for the clergy,with a classical education.Many took the cloth and got a parish,which came with a 'living (tithing being mandatory by law)
A clergyman did bugger all, so had the time and means to follow any other interest he chose,although drinking, gambling ad whoring were frowned upon. I'm thinking of Darwin's remarkable family and the Augustinian monk Gregor t Mendel.

Today,, I would think a lack of belief would be virtually required for the infestation of con men and common thieves who give humbugs a bad name,the televangelists. Then there's clergy for a whole bushel of REALLY loopy beliefs.EG the US lunar religious right, Mormons, and of course Scientology.

One more factor no church wants you to know: Most churches lose LOT of clergy when previously naive and idealistic young people reach early middle age,start asking embarrassing questions and having regrets.

Of the good brothers who beat the living fuck out of me, a full 80% left the order. My favourite was brother Athanasius, a gentle soul who never hit anyone. At age 38,he eloped with the school librarian.

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TANGENT :Trivia:
In the Republic Of Ireland, in the 1950's there was one Catholic priest for every 200 people. Like I said,it's lucrative gig ,especially if you were poor.