4 things to know about Senate candidate James Talarico's PCUSA pastor: 'Wolf in sheep's clothing'

3. Backlash for admitting atheist into church membership: 'Spiritual rebellion'

When he admitted an avowed atheist college professor to full membership at St. Andrew's in 2005, Rigby acknowledged at the time that even he was surprised by "the intensity and tone of the condemnations" it caused.

Robert Jensen, who now serves as emeritus professor in the School of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin, described his desire to join St. Andrew's as "more a political than a theological act," according to a 2006 article titled "Why I am a Christian (Sort Of…)", which caused an uproar when it was picked up by The Houston Chronicle.

"I don't believe in God. I don't believe Jesus Christ was the son of a God that I don't believe in, nor do I believe Jesus rose from the dead to ascend to a heaven that I don't believe exists," Jensen wrote, though he noted that when he became a member at St. Andrew's, he "endorsed the core principles in Christ's teaching" while intending "to work to deepen his understanding and practice of the universal love at the heart of those principles" and pledging "to be a responsible member of the church and the larger community."

Jensen's membership prompted backlash from conservatives within the PCUSA, which as a denomination maintains that "baptism and a public profession of faith in Jesus as Lord are the visible signs of entrance into the active membership of the church."

The situation ultimately came before the presbytery, which voted 155-114 to instruct Rigby to remove Jensen from the roll of active membership and place him instead on the baptismal roll, typically reserved for children awaiting confirmation.

Jensen likened the presbytery's investigation to the Inquisition and said it drove him to tears, according to a reflection that found its way into one of his books. He claimed he was not permitted to speak during the proceedings and was made to feel that his detractors "did not want delegates to see me as [a] real person."

In his own defense of admitting him to membership, Rigby said inviting Jensen was "an attempt to build connections." He was also dismissive of placing inordinate emphasis on creeds and confessions of faith, writing, "If God had wanted us to simply recite creeds, Jesus would have come as a parrot."

"The question before my church was not whether Dr. Jensen could recite religious syllables like a cockatiel, but whether he would follow the core teachings of Jesus and learn more and grow more into Christ's universal love of which the creeds sing. This he pledged to do," said Rigby, who also noted that merely claiming to believe in God is not sufficient and that Nazis who supported Hitler did the same.

Among those who publicly rebuked Rigby and Jensen at the time was Al Mohler, longtime president of The Southern Baptist Seminary, who penned a scathing article in 2006 accusing Jensen of being "a self-anointed provocateur," whose move to join a church was likely politically motivated.

Mohler also warned that Rigby was leading his church into dangerous and potentially inescapable prideful disobedience.

"One urgent question remains — can a church that has allowed itself to move this far from theological orthodoxy ever be recovered? Time will tell," Mohler wrote. "Nevertheless, short of a miracle, such a recovery doesn't look likely. For, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church is not only a congregation that has accepted an atheist into its membership — it is a congregation that remains proud of its own spiritual rebellion."