Anne Rice, a writer primarily known for her vampire novels, has quit Christianity. The 68-year-old famous author aroused controversy when she posted this message on Facebook:
"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 10 years, I've tried. I've failed. I'm an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.... 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."
I don’t know what particular event spurred Rice to such a public rejection of Christianity, but I also have to say “AMEN” to the points that she so eloquently enumerated. How much hatred is spread in the name of Christianity!
Although Jesus told us to love everybody and to judge nobody, what do many Christians, and Christian organizations, do?
• We Christians condemn homosexuals because their sexual orientation is a sin. Therefore, they should not be allowed to work in occupations dealing with our children. They should not speak of their twisted, abnormal, and sinful sexual orientation. And they certainly should never be allowed to marry someone of the same sex!
• We Christians treat women as second class citizens in most endeavors (this despite the fact that Jesus did not discriminate against women) and the Catholic Church will not allow women to become priests.
• We Christians of a certain sect (Catholics) will not allow a woman to control her reproductive system with artificial birth control.
• We Christians somehow think that being a Democrat is a huge sin and that we must stamp out this evil political party before they infect our society with their liberal (read sinful) views.
…And I could go on and on.
How many wars have been fought in the name of Christianity? How much hate has been fostered in the name of Christianity? How many people have we hurt in the name of Christianity?
I was raised a Christian and, like Rice, I remain committed to Christ. But I gave up traditional Christianity a long time ago.
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