In an interesting move, outspoken vampire author Anne Rice, who has recently written extensively about her refound Christianity, has now announced that she no longer considers herself a Christian. From her Facebook page:
"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.
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."
Not only has Rice been a Christian, but she has also been a Roman Catholic. Perhaps that is why she finds it impossible to affiliate herself with an official church and cannot separate her own spiritual beliefs from that of the church hierarchy or its most zealous followers.
Now I can't say that I blame her. I'm embarrassed to be associated with a huge number of people who profess to call themselves Christians. I have no doubt that Jesus Christ is depressed to see what is done and said in his name. But this move also seems to be self-defeating and unhelpful. If all Christians stop calling themselves Christians, aren't we letting the bigots and religious fascists win?
"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.
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."
Not only has Rice been a Christian, but she has also been a Roman Catholic. Perhaps that is why she finds it impossible to affiliate herself with an official church and cannot separate her own spiritual beliefs from that of the church hierarchy or its most zealous followers.
Now I can't say that I blame her. I'm embarrassed to be associated with a huge number of people who profess to call themselves Christians. I have no doubt that Jesus Christ is depressed to see what is done and said in his name. But this move also seems to be self-defeating and unhelpful. If all Christians stop calling themselves Christians, aren't we letting the bigots and religious fascists win?
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