Novelist Anne Rice ditches Christianity for Christ..Is this possible? Discuss

[sidney]

But didn't Christ inform us that He will send us out like sheep amongst wolves. Did He not say that because the world hated Him, they will hate us too? The Bible absolutely states that as Christians we should be righteous and stand up for justice in all sectors of society. But is it really realistic (or even Biblical) to expect our whole culture to become Christian-minded especially since the Bible indicates things will get worse?

I feel that Christ told us to spead the gospel to the nations. I don't think we can do that without opening our mouthes and sharing the truth in love. The gospel itself is very offensive and flesh doesn't want to hear it, but that is the commission that we have been given. People think that its wrong and judgemental to correct an unbeliever or correct a brother or sister in Christ, but I think it requires more love to tell the person in hopes that they receive it, even though the person may no like you for it. I'd rather someone tell me I'm on my way to destruction rather than to pat me on my back and tell me I'm doing okay, or worst just stay silent while I die in sin.

 

[explosiva9]

Hmmmm. I have spent the majority of the day discussing this topic and getting all fired up about it. It is my understanding that to be a CHRISTian means I follow CHRIST. Not the pope or Bishop TD Jakes. I'm in no way saying that they are not men of God. But they are men subject to the same temptations and frailty that all humans suffer. Which is why we should look to and focus on God.

Personally I was more upset because she is a public figure with a large following. I am worried about those who don't have Christ or those struggling with their walk. To have a Christian speak so negatively and denounce an entire religion, I feel, was irresponsible.

Everyone's walk is different. Do i think all Christians are on the up and up? It's not my place to say. But when u proclaim to follow Christ but then speak generally and negatively in such a way that it may hinder another person's journey/walk, well I don't think that that is what God would want.

I have had my issues with religion but that has nothing to do with my walk with God. The same way I fail God sometimes and stumble, so will those at the pulpit. No human is exempt. But now I keep my eye on God and pray for those around me.

I think i got off track and since I'm typing on my phone, I will stop here. Please forgive me if i spoke out of context, repeated anything, or offended anyone. God Bless

 

[explosiva9]

Just wondering, has anyone gone to her fb page and read the responses? Alarming stuff.

 

[SND411]

I honestly believe a lot of this "I hate Christianity but love Christ" is a reaction to the increase of atheistic diatribe about religion in general.

 

[JinaRicci]

Hmmmm. I have spent the majority of the day discussing this topic and getting all fired up about it. It is my understanding that to be a CHRISTian means I follow CHRIST. Not the pope or Bishop TD Jakes. I'm in no way saying that they are not men of God. But they are men subject to the same temptations and frailty that all humans suffer. Which is why we should look to and focus on God.

Personally I was more upset because she is a public figure with a large following. I am worried about those who don't have Christ or those struggling with their walk. To have a Christian speak so negatively and denounce an entire religion, I feel, was irresponsible.

Everyone's walk is different. Do i think all Christians are on the up and up? It's not my place to say. But when u proclaim to follow Christ but then speak generally and negatively in such a way that it may hinder another person's journey/walk, well I don't think that that is what God would want.

I have had my issues with religion but that has nothing to do with my walk with God. The same way I fail God sometimes and stumble, so will those at the pulpit. No human is exempt. But now I keep my eye on God and pray for those around me.

I think i got off track and since I'm typing on my phone, I will stop here. Please forgive me if i spoke out of context, repeated anything, or offended anyone. God Bless

ITA with your entire post! I think she was irresponsible. It makes me wonder what she hoped to accomplish with such a public announcement. For me the reasons she gave for denouncing Christianity only solidifies the slanted view some people already have of Christians on a whole. Rather than dissociate herself from just the people who hate both the sinner and the sin she is saying all of Christians are this way.

I also don't understand why she didn't say 'organized religion.' She of all people should have no problems expressing herself, so why specifically use the word Christianity? What does she truly believe about Christ now?

I have a lot of questions still & issues with her chosen career but I'll stop here. Thanks for posting Kayte.

Have a blessed day everyone.

 

[ClassicBeauty]

I don't think you understood my post. I'm not saying that I totally disregard other books of the Bible. I'm just saying that maybe she does, and honestly, I think that's between her and God. What I can't understand is why you would quote a letter from Paul to a young pastor named Timothy to respond to my post about her only following the teachings of Christ. Not to come off as rude, I was just confused.

2 Timothy 3

Perilous Times and Perilous Men

1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; 9 but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.The Man of God and the Word of God


10 But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, 11 persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. 12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

 

[Guitarhero]

Anne Rice is a novelist and she's using language as a way to express the spiritual situation she finds in the body of Christ. She is not being "literal." When people who are bigoted, prejudiced and down-right nasty proclaim that "we" believe a certain way, she's rejecting this. They don't have the right to represent her but she has the right and duty to represent herself in Christ as best as she can. Many people do not like labels and for good reason. Unfortunately, "christian" has become a foul word in the minds of many people and it's not through their fault nor lack of belief and love of God, it's by the horrid example that others have led, not just in their own personal lives, but through violence and oppression in the name of Christ against groups of peoples. This is the issue. Again, she's playing with words to express her disgust with that portion of christendom that refuses to realize they have been wrong and continue to be wrong and are so arrogant and prideful, they refuse to confess it and repent of it.

I'd also like to introduce that, perhaps, with all the "persecutions" against the Church, it's Christ Himself who is allowing it, not to say that the world is against His church, but that His church has been wrong and is being punished of sorts. He is correcting the children who follow His prescribed religion because they have greatly failed Him...all of them. It's my opinion that it's high time christians stop crying foul as though the wolves are encamped about them and repent of what they have done, continue to do, and will continue to do in future that is not of Christ. There has got to be transparency. For us to expect the world will turn a blind eye to our nonsense is foolish of us, esp. when "we," according to many here, are sharing the gospel worldwide so that others will turn from their sins. We are suffering for a reason, our own fault. Heaven will not be offered to everyone...only those who upheld the truth as they knew it and lived according to it.

 

[Spring]

I can understand someone becoming discouraged about the sinful lives of believers, and not wanting to be a part of that,..

but her anger and words are directed at God, because God is anti-sin and Christ tells us to "preach repentance AND remission of sins".... you can't redefine marriage as male/male, female/female inspite of the words of Christ saying God joined together male&female,... and walking in the Light of Christ...

ETA: I removed comment about abortion... my apologies

 

[Spring]

People also "hate" going to the doctor just to hear they have cancer and need a surgical operation. Who wants to hear that???? Does that make the doctor bigotted??

What grieves God and demoralizes society is when Christians in an effort to appease, white wash sin..... The only sin to them is "preaching against sin" and then of course they... and only they are qualified to "judge" - "preaching against sin" - ((as bigotted)).

As lovingly as I can put it,.. how does she interpret "unless you repent, you will likewise perish"

 

[SND411]

People also "hate" going to the doctor just to hear they have cancer and need a surgical operation. Who wants to hear that???? Does that make the doctor bigotted??

What grieves God and demoralizes society is when Christians in an effort to appease, white wash sin..... The only sin to them is "preaching against sin" and then of course they... and only they are qualified to "judge" - "preaching against sin" - ((as bigotted)).

As lovingly as I can put it,.. how does she interpret "unless you repent, you will likewise perish"

Very interesting point.

 

[Guitarhero]

I can understand someone becoming discouraged about the sinful lives of believers, and not wanting to be a part of that,..

but her anger and words are directed at God, because God is anti-sin and Christ tells us to "preach repentance AND remission of sins".... you can't be for the killing of babies, redefine marriage as male/male, female/female inspite of the words of Christ saying God joined together male&female,... and walking in the Light of Christ...

Where did she say all of that?

 

[Spring]

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

My apologies about my comment about the killings of babies.... I will edited that out of my original post.

but to the bolded...

homosexuality, secular humanism (denial of God-is she saying she embraces this and Jesus??), politics (dems & reps need God ??), science (the study of creation points to a creator ??), life (I'm completely unsure of what she means here).

 

[Laela]

I understood your post...@ bolded.

My point for posting that Scripture is that all Scripture is inspired by God. I believe Paul's Letters were inspired by God. There are red-letter Christians who only focus on Jesus' words and won't read other parts of the Bible; it's between them and God. You're right about that.

I don't think you understood my post. I'm not saying that I totally disregard other books of the Bible. I'm just saying that maybe she does, and honestly, I think that's between her and God. What I can't understand is why you would quote a letter from Paul to a young pastor named Timothy to respond to my post about her only following the teachings of Christ. Not to come off as rude, I was just confused.

 

[Guitarhero]

My apologies about my comment about the killings of babies.... I will edited that out of my original post.

but to the bolded...

homosexuality, secular humanism (denial of God-is she saying she embraces this and Jesus??), politics (dems & reps need God ??), science (the study of creation points to a creator ??), life (I'm completely unsure of what she means here).

I think she's saying that, in a pluralistic society, one cannot impose one's beliefs on another as a means to come to some conclusion about how to better human life. I do know that in secular humanism, you question freely without censorship of religious values. That inquiry supports looking at science from another perspective other than simpler creationist theories. For example, some believe the world is 6,000 years old. Are those years in modern years or are they different? 7 days to make the world. Is that 7 modern days or 7 days to God as 7 billion years to us? Is there no such thing as evolution/mutation when we have evidence that there is? There are ancient writings and descriptions about the meaning of scripture such that the creation story is largely allegory or that it at least doesn't give the entire story of creationism, step by step. IMHO, she's asking for rational thought alongside her belief in Jesus.

 

[SND411]

I think she's saying that, in a pluralistic society, one cannot impose one's beliefs on another as a means to come to some conclusion about how to better human life. I do know that in secular humanism, you question freely without censorship of religious values. That inquiry supports looking at science from another perspective other than simpler creationist theories. For example, some believe the world is 6,000 years old. Are those years in modern years or are they different? 7 days to make the world. Is that 7 modern days or 7 days to God as 7 billion years to us? Is there no such thing as evolution/mutation when we have evidence that there is? There are ancient writings and descriptions about the meaning of scripture such that the creation story is largely allegory or that it at least doesn't give the entire story of creationism, step by step. IMHO, she's asking for rational thought alongside her belief in Jesus.

Interesting point. It's kind of like the verse that says, "and the sun stood still." People accuse the Bible of being false all because of this verse because it implies that the sun rotates around the earth and not the other way around.
But then you have to question, is the Bible a scientific book or, rather, a God-inspired book meant to grip at the core of the human heart?

 

[Spring]

I think she's saying that, in a pluralistic society, one cannot impose one's beliefs on another as a means to come to some conclusion about how to better human life. I do know that in secular humanism, you question freely without censorship of religious values. That inquiry supports looking at science from another perspective other than simpler creationist theories. For example, some believe the world is 6,000 years old. Are those years in modern years or are they different? 7 days to make the world. Is that 7 modern days or 7 days to God as 7 billion years to us? Is there no such thing as evolution/mutation when we have evidence that there is? There are ancient writings and descriptions about the meaning of scripture such that the creation story is largely allegory or that it at least doesn't give the entire story of creationism, step by step. IMHO, she's asking for rational thought alongside her belief in Jesus.

Interesting point. It's kind of like the verse that says, "and the sun stood still." People accuse the Bible of being false all because of this verse because it implies that the sun rotates around the earth and not the other way around.
But then you have to question, is the Bible a scientific book or, rather, a God-inspired book meant to grip at the core of the human heart?

There are scientist who gave their lives to God through scientific study that proved a 7 day creation..... sounds like she has a problem with most of scripture (homosexuality, repentance from sin, etc..)

 

[nathansgirl1908]

I can understand Rice's frustration..this is an example of tossing out the baby with the bath water. The real CHURCH isn't an institution or building...it's collectively the people who profess Christ...and some still prefer to call themselves Christians... Followers of Christ. Claiming to "break away" from the Body of Christ to get closer to God is a selfish thought. Serving Him is about others and we tend to get closer to Him the more we serve OTHERS, not ourselves. That self-serving attitude is not of God, because God is not a selfish God. We get close to Him through fasting, praying and not through closing ourselves off somewhere and choosing not to fellowship with His Children in any form. [disclaimer: I'm not speaking about anyone in particular, or even Rice. I don't know anything about her Salvation or Walk]

Breaking away from the Church does not always mean that the person is not helping others. I think that is an unfair and sweeping generalization.

 

[nathansgirl1908]

A lot of people are suspect of the organization of religion. But always remember that God has called us to be a part of a body of believers. We NEED that support system. And with the privilage of living in america we have a church or two on every corner . It may take a while but I pray that the Holy Spirit lead you to one that can minister to your particular spiritual needs.

I am a part of a body of believers. I have friends who are very much into the Lord and it is more refreshing to talk to them and explore the Word than to go to church. One issue I have is that church programs on Sunday are becoming more and more about "putting on." As a result the programs are long and tiring. Very little of the service seems to be about worshipping God.

 

[explosiva9]

I am a part of a body of believers. I have friends who are very much into the Lord and it is more refreshing to talk to them and explore the Word than to go to church. One issue I have is that church programs on Sunday are becoming more and more about "putting on." As a result the programs are long and tiring. Very little of the service seems to be about worshipping God.

Let's not generalize. Not all churches are about putting on as u call it nor all Christians anti this or that. It's simply wrong to make general statements based on limited exposure. I don't mean to sound snippy as it's not my intention. But unless u have visited every single church around the world or have interacted with every single Christian, then negative comments should include the disclaimer of it being based on your very limited exposure and or experience. (and I'm using the term you generally, not you specifically)

 

[nathansgirl1908]

Let's not generalize. Not all churches are about putting on as u call it nor all Christians anti this or that. It's simply wrong to make general statements based on limited exposure. I don't mean to sound snippy as it's not my intention. But unless u have visited every single church around the world or have interacted with every single Christian, then negative comments should include the disclaimer of it being based on your very limited exposure and or experience. (and I'm using the term you generally, not you specifically)

I'm talking about the churches I know about. And I know about several churches. So while I'm not going to make sweeping generalizations, I WILL speak about my experiences. But it is not your place to declare my experiences as "limited."


But I will go further on this issue. When a church has gay ministers or supports homosexuality, there is a problem. You don't have to visit that church to know that. When a church is burning the holy books of other religions, you don't have to go to that church to know something is wrong. When 80% of a minister's sermons are about money and the prosperity doctrine, you know something is wrong.

 

[explosiva9]

I clearly said that a disclaimer should be added and that when I said you, I didn't mean u specifically but using 'you' in a general sense.

I'm not going to argue but considering that there are may be millions of churches throughout the world and even more ministers, everyone's opinion is limited to the few they have experienced. Even if you have visited a thousand or ten thousand, your experience is limited to those.

Obviously I have offended you in my response which was not my intention. My apologies.

 

[Guitarhero]

Interesting point. It's kind of like the verse that says, "and the sun stood still." People accuse the Bible of being false all because of this verse because it implies that the sun rotates around the earth and not the other way around.
But then you have to question, is the Bible a scientific book or, rather, a God-inspired book meant to grip at the core of the human heart?

It is a specific book but the problem is that it's not all literal at all.

 

[Guitarhero]

There are scientist who gave their lives to God through scientific study that proved a 7 day creation..... sounds like she has a problem with most of scripture (homosexuality, repentance from sin, etc..)

7 days...may not be the shortened waxed down limited hours of days we have...the point. It does not sound as though she has a problem with most of scripture...and homosexuality is considered disordered (not leading to procreation) but being one is not the sin. What about lying? That's also disordered.

 

[momi]

Sounds to me like she has a problem with the Christ of the Holy Bible and has decided to craft for herself some type of substitution.

 

[Laela]

^^^ I agree, Momi....

 

[Laela]

Let me be clear in what I said: Breaking away from the church TO GET closer to God..shutting oneself off from people. period.

That's not a generalization...I'm addressing people who do this specifically. Not those who go off to fast for a while or take a breather. I'm talking about people who don't love people.. No offense taken...

Breaking away from the Church does not always mean that the person is not helping others. I think that is an unfair and sweeping generalization.

 

[SND411]

7 days...may not be the shortened waxed down limited hours of days we have...the point. It does not sound as though she has a problem with most of scripture...and homosexuality is considered disordered (not leading to procreation) but being one is not the sin. What about lying? That's also disordered.

But what about a married couple that happens to be barren? Is that disordered?

 

[sidney]

Sometimes I feel like we waste so much time in the body debating, when really, if scripture was our final authority there would be no debate. Homosexuality is a sin, because first of all, it is fornication....the two individuals are not married but are having sex. Plus, there are about a dozen scriptures that single out homosexuality as sin. Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, 1 Corinithians 6:9-11, Romans 1:27, etc.

I think this woman is contributing more to the problem, ironically, more than she may well know. Exchanging her personal truths for scripture, which is the reason why so many people are disenchanted from christianity in the first place, because people want to cherry pick what they will and will not do, and then in the same breath judge other people. I think collectively we as christians would do well to spend more time in the word than offering opinions.

 

[SND411]

Sometimes I feel like Christ would rather have some of us NOT represent His person at all. How can you love Jesus yet hate His own Body?

 

[momi]

But what about a married couple that happens to be barren? Is that disordered?

God is the one who chooses to open and close a womb. The bible speaks loud and clear against homosexuality.


Quite frankly, before I even read the entire article I knew where it was going. There have been very few times where I have not noted a "diss" to Christianity not be linked to homosexuality in some form or fashion. Remember Carlton Pearson? Same thing... he said that he had too many gay friends to believe that what the bible says is true. Im no prophet, but I believe this issue will be the defining and dividing issue of our current era. Choose this day whom you will serve? Will it be God or man?