Response to Author Anne Rice's Leaving Christianity

On July 29, 2010, widely read author, Anne Rice, publicly renounced her dedication to her Roman Catholic faith, yet remaining committed to Christ, on her Facebook page stating:

"For those who care, and I understand if you don’t: 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."

then over the next few hours proceeded to post:

“As I said below, I quit being a Christian. 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.”

"My faith in Christ is central to my life. My conversion from a pessimistic atheist lost in a world I didn't understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God is crucial to me. But following Christ does not mean following His followers. Christ is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be, no matter what Christianity is, has been, or might become."

"My commitment to Christ remains at the heart and center of my life. Transformation in Him is radical and ongoing. That I feel now that I am called to be an outsider for Him, to step away from the words, "Christian" and "Christianity" is something that my conscience demands of me. I feel that my faith in Him demands this of me. I know of no other way to express how I must remove myself from those things which seek to separate me from Him."

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How sad is this? Even within the Church, Christianity is still known for what it isn't rather than for what it is. How does she think she can maintain faith in Christ while not remaining a member of His Church? This is so absurd. Without Christ, there is no Christianity. Ms Rice says that "Christ is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be." THE TWO ARE INSEPARABLE. This is not a debate of religion, but of the heart and mind. To leave the Church is to reject Christ for the Church is God's chosen instrument for relationship with Him. And, to further state that she feels that her "faith in Him demands" this action. Wow. Ms Rice needs to read what 1 John says about leaving the community.

This is why it is so desperately important to develop an understanding of why the Church is so important. We are to love, serve, protect, and cherish the Church, faithfully remaining pure as a body until the day Christ returns to receive His bride.