Am I the reason Anne Rice left Christianity?
“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. 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.” – Anne Rice
The tweets and comments have been flying around for a few days about her statement and the conviction that Christians should feel. I may get beat up for my opinion on this topic, but I have to say that I wholeheartedly disagree with the sentiment that Christians should feel guilty for the actions that she has taken.
A few questions for those Christians who feel like conviction should set in:
1. Are you anti-gay? There has never been a time when Christianity, across the board, has been more tolerable than it is today.
2. Are you anti-feminist? There are more females involved in ministry and Christian leadership than there has ever been.
3. Are you anti-artificial birth control? I’m not going to even explain the holes in that argument.
4. Are you anti-Democrat? A person’s agreement with a particular party should not and should never put a person in good or bad standing with Christians.
5. Are you a secular-humanist? She has a valid point. If you call yourself Christian or a Christ-Follower you can’t really call yourself a secular humanist. I don’t say that because I have anything against a person who is a secular-humanist. You can check out secular humanism if you are not sure. http://www.secularhumanism.org
6. Are you anti-science? I have great difficulty understanding how anyone that calls themselves a Christian could say they are anti-science. One of the greatest understandings of the universe is that the creator of the universe built it with such detail that science is woven into everything.
7. Finally, are you anti-life? Life is the basis of Christianity. Jesus said “…I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.”
Unfortunately, Anne Rice decided to take a very general shot at Christianity. I take great offense to her comments and do not feel any kind of conviction because of her.
To answer my opening question, I am not the reason Anne Rice left Christianity. If you are, you are most likely not truly a Christian.
jonathandaigle.wordpress.com 
This does not make me feel convicted either. I am in total agreement with you that if she were truly a Christian that she would not have any trouble in being Anti anything that is Sin. That is the problem that people who lack a relationship with Jesus have, they can’t separate sin from the people. We love the people and want them to receive the change that God has for them, but we still hate the sin and the acts that their sin produces. Christians had better not be Anti-Love, but we better be Anti-Sin!
I am so glad you wrote this so I didn’t have to. I was thinking the EXACT same thing. How can you say you love Christ but not his bride? If someone told me that they really loved and appreciated me, but couldn’t stand being associated with my bride, then… We ’bout to throw down!
Agreed! Lumping all Christianity together as broadly as she did is like saying all Muslims are terrorists. Didn’t she become Catholic? Did she have any Protestant experience at all? On another note is it actually possible to quit Christianity and not quit Christ? Not if you take those words to mean anything, it isn’t. Christian = Christlike. When Jesus Christ found the religious climate not to His liking, He didn’t boycott it but rather changed it by living differently within it.
I have just listened to her interview on NPR and it shed some light on her statement. It seems to be more of a Catholic issue.
I wish I could tell Anne Rice not to be so proud, many others have felt the same way (in whole or in part) and left the church before and will leave the church in the future. This is not a unique contribution she has made to the world of religious thought.
That being said, I understand the frustration. If you watch the news or listen to talk radio on any given day you can find people saying and doing all kinds of obnoxious things in the Name of Jesus. I am blessed to be part of a great church where there exists a diversity of opinions on all the matters Anne mentioned. At our best the Church is a family, and I don’t know any families where every member is always in agreement about everything. The issue at the local church level (where people really live out the Christian faith) is whether or not our love for God and for one another is determining how we treat one another when we disagree.
Here is her interview as recorded on NPR today. This seems like more of an issue with the Catholic than it does with Christianity in general. http://public.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/2010/08/20100802_atc_09.mp3?dl=1
Her response to me on Facebook:
I had to step away from all of it. My experience of the last 12 years was with Christians of many kinds. I have many wonderful Protestant friends as well as Catholic friends. Organized religion is not for me now. I must do what I feel is right. To do what you feel is wrong about religion does not make sense.