There are certain things you expect to hear from a pastor. Comfort in hard times. Encouragement to stay the course. Maybe even a bold call to live according to Scripture.
What you don’t expect is a pastor standing up and declaring that the Bible itself is the problem.
But that’s exactly what happened when UCC Bishop Yvette Flunder, the senior pastor of City of Refuge United Church of Christ in Oakland, California, delivered a message for the Center for Public Theology & Public Policy. In it, she openly called the Bible “problematic” and argued that Christians need an entirely new testament to replace the ones we already have.
Yes, you read that right. A third testament. Because apparently two thousand years of Scripture just aren’t cutting it anymore.
Take a look:
Pastor: “I’m of the opinion that we need a third testament because the Bible has become problematic.” https://t.co/eDRyvltiFT pic.twitter.com/KaWv8mz6zr
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) April 20, 2026
Flunder, who also serves as the Presiding Bishop of The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, didn’t stop there. She went on to say that the New Testament itself is “not the Word of God.”
Her exact words: “It’s words about God. Come on now. But is it the Word of God? No.”
She then pointed to specific passages about slavery and about women keeping silent in churches as examples of why the Bible needs to be revised. Her solution? “We need to pull that page out.”
“The New Testament is NOT the word of God’
UCC Bishop says we need a ‘Third Testament’ because the first two are ‘problematic,’ and contain bad theology.
As a result, “we need to pull those pages out” pic.twitter.com/zlkl51SyyD
— Protestia (@Protestia) April 20, 2026
Let’s be clear about what’s happening here. This isn’t some random blogger on the internet. This is an ordained bishop in a major Protestant denomination telling her congregation that the foundational text of Christianity is flawed and needs to be replaced.
Protestia had more on the story:
Bishop Yvette Flunder, senior pastor of City of Refuge United Church of Christ in Oakland, California, and Presiding Bishop of The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, made the controversial remarks during a message for the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy.
Flunder argued that biblical texts addressing slavery and women’s roles in churches represent problematic theology. She specifically referenced passages commanding enslaved persons to obey their masters and instructing women to remain silent during worship services.
Regarding Scripture’s authority, Flunder stated that “it’s words about God. Come on now. But is it the Word of God? No. It is not the Word of God.”
The United Church of Christ has long been considered one of the most theologically liberal denominations in America. They were the first major denomination to ordain an openly gay minister back in 1972. So in some ways, this kind of statement isn’t entirely surprising from a UCC bishop.
But there’s a big difference between progressive theology and outright telling people that the Bible is not the Word of God. That’s a line that even many liberal Christians are not willing to cross.
Flunder identifies as a “womanist” theologian and a proponent of liberation theology. She is the founder of the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, which describes itself as a “trans-denominational coalition” celebrating “radically inclusive love.”
The reaction online has been swift and strong. Believers across denominations have pushed back hard against the idea that any human being has the authority to declare the Bible inadequate and propose a replacement. Many pointed out the obvious: if you don’t believe the Bible is the Word of God, you’re not really preaching Christianity at all. You’re preaching something else entirely.
And they’re right. The Bible has endured for thousands of years. It has survived persecution, book burnings, and countless attempts to discredit it. It doesn’t need a replacement. It needs people who are willing to actually read it.
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
