| Vrijzinnige Geloofsgemeenschap NPB | |
|---|---|
 Symbol of the Vrijzinnige Geloofsgemeenschap NPB, a flame. | |
| Abbreviation | NPB |
| Type | Liberal religion |
| Origin | 1870 from theNederlands Hervormde Kerk |
| Number of followers | 4385.[1] |
TheVrijzinnige Geloofsgemeenschap NPB (English:Liberal Community of Faith NBP) is aliberalChristian denomination in theNetherlands, a member of the Dutch Raad van Kerken (English:Council of Churches) and theInternational Association for Religious Freedom. NPB stands forNederlandse Protestanten Bond (English:Netherlands Protestant Association).
The NPB has the structure of an association and consists of sixty independent local communities (2004) that call themselves by the neutral wordafdeling (English:section).[2]
The Dutch Protestant Association NBP was established in 1870 byCornelis Willem Opzoomer,Cornelis Tiele and others. It came as a reaction of liberal Protestants to theConfessionele vereniging (English:The Confessional Association) created in 1864 and Orthodox Protestantism.
From the NBP came theCentrale Commissie voor het Vrijzinnig Protestantisme (English:Central Committee for Liberal Protestantism) that established theVPRO (1926) and was involved in theLeidse Bijbelvertaling (English:The Leiden Translation of the Bible) that was used by Dutch liberal Protestants for decades to follow (1914).[2]
There can be significant differences between local communities constituting the association. Some are based uponreligious humanism, some uponChristian Universalism and some uponliberal Christianity. All liberal-minded people may become members of the association regardless of membership in other Christian denominations, whether they are baptized or not or adhere to a certain creed. In liberal Protestantism the Bible is not seen as the Word of God in a literal sense, but rather as a document - a collection of meaningful stories - witnessing to the love of God. It is also striven to connect faith with the insights of modern science and with rationality.
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