Copenhagen, Denmark - A Danish Lutheran minister who was suspended after he denied the existence of God renewed his clerical vows Friday, enabling him to return to the pulpit.
Rev. Thorkild Grosboell promised he would be faithful to the "apostolic belief" but did not retract comments he made in a 2003 interview in which he said "there is no heavenly God."
Denmark's Lutheran Church suspended him because of the comments and asked the government to put him before a disciplinary labor court. In Denmark, Lutheran ministers are employed by the state and only the government can fire or send them to the court.
On May 11, Jan Lindhardt, the bishop of the Roskilde diocese, said he would consider reinstating Grosboell if he was willing to renew his vows.