As most everyone knows, Anne Rice is mega-successful author, mainly of vampire novels and the like. She made news several years ago by announcing that she had become Christian and that she would only write books that would then reflect that and honor Christ.
I wondered when I heard that how long it would take her to become disillusioned with the institutional church. And quite frankly, the announcement she made last week that she was leaving Christianity didn’t come as a surprise to me; mainly because I see it happen every single day.
But before you get too worked up, go back and Google the story and find out what she really said, that she “refused to be anti-gay, anti-feminist, anti-science,” anti-on-and-on – you get the message.
But what she did say, that often gets missed in an announcement like this, is that she would continue to do what she’d been doing, and that is, be a faithful follower of Christ.
When I wrote my book, “The Renegade’s Guide to God,” the subtitle was, “finding life outside conventional Christianity.” It really is sad to see that Christians have gotten the reputation of being mad, angry, negative, and condemning.
Since when did Christianity become anti anything? My interpretation of the message of Christ is that God is for us. Yes we are broken and our brokenness causes the pain we see in the world. But didn’t Christ come to reconcile, to redeem, and to restore?
Those of you out there who interpret Christianity as a long list of rules and regulations, added to the fact that you are the morality police, need to take a clue from this high-profile follower of Christ.
The gap between following Christ and being committed to a church is growing. It shouldn’t because Christ loved the church. The church ought to be a place we run to when we’re hurting, we run to when our lives are in disarray, but there is alienation and condemnation. The church ought to be a place with joy, energy, peace and reconciliation rather than division, anger, and power-play.
Anne Rice, I applaud you as a sister in Christ, but I hope the day will come when you find a church home that will look more like the Christ you love.