"Today, I quit being a Christian," her posting read.
Well, bully for Anne Rice (I guess).
Her critique of the Christian Church is pointed but fair. American Christianity, having - sadly - been influenced by the Evangelical movement (truly an oxymoron, but that is fodder for other posts), seems obsessed with what it is against: "anti-gay . . . anti-feminist . . . anti-artificial birth control . . . anti-Democrat . . . anti-secular humanism . . . anti-science . . . anti-life . . . "
Yup. That certainly sounds like Christianity in the US at the beginning of the 21st century.
But is giving up on the Church the answer?
Rice states that her faith in Christ remains - she just cannot continue in the organization. I cannot make that kind of split in my thinking; it's too . . . American - too Evangelical.
I despise everything Rice lists as being wrong with the Church, and I'm certain that I could add plenty more to the list.
I hate hearing anti-intellectual voices being raised in the Church; I hate how suspicions are raised of anyone who actually considers the voices of ALL Biblical scholars - even when their presuppositions are not "the right ones." I hate how bad theology still pushes GLBTQ folk who have grown up in the Church into straight marriages. I hate the conflation of God and country; I hate how the modern culture has been allowed to run rough-shod over the Church - usually at the behest of the Church's leaders! I hate "rock-star" preachers! I hate Christian superstars (another oxymoron)!
I hate it all too much to leave the Church.
Yes, I HATE it all TOO MUCH to leave the Church.
What? Leave it to the wolves? Leave it to the vipers? Leave it to the bigots and the homophobes and the "quiver-fulls" and the Gothard-ists and the Brown Shirt popes and the meddling African bishops? Leave the Church to the very ones set on destroying the Gospel?
I think not.
Those of us most disappointed with the Church MUST stay in the Church - for the sake of the Church, and for the sake of our own faith.
We must stay and proclaim the Gospel - the Good News - not the hate-filled trash that has been shoveled out by these theological charlatans.
We must stay and continually talk about our Founder - remember? that guy who was accused of being a drunk, and a solicitor of prostitutes, and friend of the trashiest of the trash?
We must stay and talk of forgiveness and grace and peace and reconciliation and radical acceptance and radical unity.
We must stay and live out love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.
And that means that we have to extend forgiveness and grace to all those condemning hypocrites in the Church.
That's their only hope for change.
Before we leave the community of faith, we should ask ourselves "What does God want from me?"
The prophet Micah put it beautifully:
what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness [or, mercy],
and to walk humbly with your God?"
and to walk humbly with your God?"
I choose to stay and proclaim Micah's words to the rest of the community of faith.
12 comments:
"Well, bully for Anne Rice (I guess)."
I find that comment confusing and am wondering about your meaning. In the midst of a thoughtful blog it seems out of place.
what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness [or, mercy],
and to walk humbly with your God?"
Since I know few Christians who practice this, I have to agree with Anne's choice to walk away from it. The stress and aggravation affiliated with staying JUST so I can say I belong to a church isn't what it's all about. That's just keeping up with the Joneses. I can honor God and practice my faith without going along with the crowd that has become highly corrupt. - Just my take on the whole thing. Thanks for allowing me to comment. :)
I think what's at the heart of this debate is an assumption that the institutional church as we know it is the same as the church described in scripture. Simply put, it is not.
This institutional version we have, run by professionals, meeting in a building, program based, age segregated, etc., did not exist for the first 300 years of the church. You have to read scripture in context, which was a church of small, informal gatherings in homes, that met around the table and shared in each other's lives. No buildings, programs or professionals.
In that sense, there truly is only one church with one head - Jesus, not many small, "churches" with little heads. There is only one church and Anne is a part of that one, as are all who belong to Jesus.
I agree with MoJo... that comment didn't seem to go with the rest of your post, which was really good in many ways. Bottom line is, are we (any of us) willing to be humble enough to hang in there with the other porcupines in our group/church.... and suffer the pangs in order to enjoy the benefits of intimacy. The Body of Christ is just that, a body, a group, not an individual. And it's messy and painful to be part of. But I'm not ready to go it alone like Rice is doing.
MoJo said...
"Well, bully for Anne Rice (I guess)."
I find that comment confusing and am wondering about your meaning. In the midst of a thoughtful blog it seems out of place. ...
Dear Bro. or Sis. MoJo (Mother Jones is something i need to go read) Anyhow the "bully ... (I guess)" is because the author is unsure or fearful that Ms. Rice may be better of with her decision than the blogger will be with a decision to remain more engaged with the flaws of Christianity. But both are doing what they feel they must so there is no exaggerated certainty or dogmatic denunciation. As for Rice, she maybe less alone than Ms. Susan Cushman who the Church will likely oppose someday when she exceeds the bounds of what Church/Rome says women can be.
Actually I think "well bully for Anne Rice I guess" means who gives a flip. Our worldly big mouthed media seems to jump at a chance to take another punch at Christianity (or orthodox faith of any kind) when a well known person decides to exit stage left from the Church and then either announces it to the world, whispers it to someone who will announce it or lets it leak somehow. It's like another point for the Anti Church people "see??" they cry "here's another (so called) intelligent person who has abandoned the church. If Anne Rice did it (the UNSAID statements), then what are YOU all still doing sitting there in your pews like little sheep?"...that's the feeling behind her statement that I got way above and the general feeling I've gotten about this whole thing since Anne Rice announced her change of *habit* pun intended, on facebook. Are we sure this isn't an attention getting stunt to get her in the limelight again? I'm highly suspicious as to why we even care?? Another intellectual snob who cannot be obedient or faithful perhaps to a religious organization with *rules*? So we criticize and scoff and point fingers at the church as if Ms. Rice is perfect and the Church is the issue....hmmmm...nobody is THAT pure. And no organization or person is *that* bad IMHO like the Church. If it's that bad, why aren't you making a stand within the church for change, Ms. Rice? Not worth it for some reason? A man who stands for nothing falls for anything so Martin Luther King said. I'd rather stand and fight. Too many people bail out these days in our *fast food mentality* world. If we aren't getting complete satisfaction from the menu we're holding in our relationships, our church, our job, our lives...we bail and complain about it to whomever will listen especially if we get attention out of it. How Mahvelous, eh? Puke!!
@ MoJo & Susan:
Regarding my "bully for Anne" comment, point taken.
That's what I get for writing faster than I can think. Had I slowed down and reread it, I think I would have deleted it.
@ Lucy:
Yes, there are few Christians who put those words by Micah into practice (actually, I know of very few human beings of any or no religious variety who do so), but true humility requires every Christian - including me - to recognize that (all too often) we fail. If I believe in grace and forgiveness, I must be gracious and forgiving.
@ Henry:
While you are right about the church not being institutional in the first several centuries, true. However, it was also messed up in its first years - my God, just read Galatians, let alone Corinthians!!! The church is comprised of forgiven and reconciled sinners; put a couple of us together for any amount of time and things just might get messy.
This isn't a confusion of a particular organized church body with the Church Universal; I don't believe that anyone here (certainly not me) is espousing one church body over another. But, as Susan pointed out, there ARE benefits to being gathered with other Christians in a community of faith. In the community of faith, God's Word is opened - even if the preaching might be uninspiring or even wrong theologically. God's voice still rings clear, even when alien interests might work to hijack it (thus Ms. Rice's exasperation with the church). It is in the community of faith that I am reminded again and again that God has reconciled me to himself. It is in the Eucharist that I am given Christ's promises to his followers, am united in communion with God and with the community of faith. As you can see, I do hold to a sacramental theology that takes the community of faith seriously - it's not just Rome that thinks this way :)
I don't see this as just "keeping up with the Joneses" or simply going to church to say that I'm a member of a church. The community of faith is more than that.
I am delighted with the comments here. I think it goes to show that we aren't alone in questioning the direction that the church has taken.
Thanks, all!
@Renee S.- That's a rather judgmental perspective on her spiritual path. And honestly, does that make any sense: She's about to release her next book in her Seraphim series, so now she's going to alienate her audience by announcing that she's living the church?
This article was very well written. Her feelings in this announcement resonate with many of us, no matter what religion. But we each walk a different spiritual path. While some will fight and try to reform the church, others will walk away and try a different approach. She has chosen to walk away from organized religion in general, while you try to reform your own church. Neither way is wrong or bad, as long as your beliefs are pure and you continue your bond and relationship with whatever higher being you follow.
Why are you not reaching out to Anne Rice. Instead of criticizing her, be nice and show her what Jesus taught us.
You are one of the reason people quit Christianity. Even you may not think that way, you are already it.
Renee S. loves Christianity so long as she gets to be the Pharisee and pretend she is the better one (than Ms. Rice) sort of like she says Anne, I'm going to show the world your a cunt, maybe the kind that causes Filthy Rags ... Renee S, you make it so easy to see that you care about you and none of the issues Ms. Rice cited, blinded by your envy of er success or intellect? "Another intellectual snob who cannot be obedient or faithful perhaps to a religious organization with *rules*?"
No mention that Faith in and to Jesus trumps the "religious organization with *rules*?" which is what you seem to love and worship.
The Rules say no priest should rape your son, and I hope to God that if any Man or tough nun can tolerate being close to you, that its you and not your child who gets abused.
@ Fai:
First of all, I already stated that I should not have written that sentence about Ms. Rice - the "bully for her." However, other than that sentence, I used the Ms. Rice's critique of Christianity as a springboard to address my own feelings on those same topics - and my own response.
The intent was to say that there IS a different way to achieve change and to open a bit of dialog on the topic. Critique (not venomous attack, but critique) of a public figure who has openly discussed their faith, and now their despair with the humans in the Church, is fair.
The point has been made by several folks here: everyone who walks the pilgrim path of faith walks their own path. Public stories of others struggling with the same issues become places for us to reflect on ourselves and engage in conversation with others.
Just found your blog and read a bit. This was a good post. Saw you talk about depression and now haven't posted in over a month. Hope you are doing ok.
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