The Vampire Has Left the Building

 
 Don't know if you caught the story over the weekend of Anne Rice, the acclaimed author of various vampire novels who years ago came back to her Catholic faith and began writing Christian books over recent years, leaving behind CHRISTIANITY but not her faith in Christ. She posted the following paragraph on her facebook page.

"For those who care, and I understand if you don’t: Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being “Christian” or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to “belong” to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else." 

Following the post a few hours after with:

“As I said below, I quit being a Christian. I’m out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.”

She reaffirmed her faith in Christ with a lack of faith in Christianity an hour or so later with the following post

"My faith in Christ is central to my life. My conversion from a pessimistic atheist lost in a world I didn't understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God is crucial to me. But following Christ does not mean following His followers. Christ is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be, no matter what Christianity is, has been, or might become."

There is much to discuss in this post and I don't know what the events were that triggered this response over the last ten years. There are areas in her post that I agree with and others that I find puzzling or more importantly wish that she would not give up on the church but work to be a voice within it. Getting mad and leaving isn't going to help anything get any better. 

Would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Mark

Comments

[David Robinson]

mark ~

thanks so much for bringing this article to my attention...as i mentioned on your fb page...i'm not sure i could have said it better...

simply said, i love God...its just the people he hangs out with i can't stand!

david

[Ron Taimuty-Loomis]

I feel Anne Rice's frustrations, but I am saddened that she is taking the "cut-and-run" approach. Although I am tempted to do the same quite often, running away does nothing to (1) help the church that is failing in its calling to flesh out the Kingdom of God, nor (2) help me to do my own part in fleshing out my own calling as a Kingdom citizen.

On the other hand, depending on the church environment one is subjected to, it may be a case of "conform, or die!!!!" in which case, Ms. Rice is better off escaping the abuse. Better for God to find her struggling in the wilderness and redeem her than for her to stay in the arms of an abuser. Since the beginning of the Faith, Christians have confused *unity* and *uniformity* ... and it seems to me that in this case, it is no different.

[Jess]

I have to say I've been where she is and it's painful. My only hope is that even though she has given up on the church, she remains in Jesus. It's only through His word and love that she can forgive and heal. Even though she may not be in church, God does the impossible and through His grace he changes our hearts and heals bitterness. I don't know what's best for her and I have no idea how she must hurt. I pray her heart is focused on Jesus and he shows her love and His plan for her. It's only through love and grace that she may heal and maybe someday reconcile with the church. When you focus on others' brokenness you present a prefect opportunity for God to use your own for His glory.

[Quentin Marshall]

I can relate to Ms. Rice. I stopped attending church services years ago for many of the same reasons. The one thing I can't understand is saying that she won't be "Christian", while still following Christ. From an etymological standpoint, that's an oxymoron. I find I have very little in common with so-called "Christians" who profess faith while acting abominably. And I don't even agree with the good and faithful examples of "mainstream" Christianity in terms of theology. But I still call myself "Christian" because the word has no literal meaning beyond one who follows Christ.