Novelist Anne Rice
When last mentioned here, novelist and former New Orleans resident Anne Rice was releasing a vook. Before that, the New Orleans Literature Examiner informed readers that Rice, most known for vampire novels, was skyping into a local bookstore, Octavia Books, to promote her latest novel about angels, another product of Rice embracing the Christian faith via the Roman Catholic Church.
What's the news now? Rice, whose new book Of Love and Evil is set for release in November, has reportedly "quit Christianity." However, as is clear by Rice's own words in more recent Facebook posts, she has not quit her faith in God nor in Christ:
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.
Some of her earlier statements on Facebook that drew much attention at the Atheist Examiner and elsewhere revealed Rice's disillusionment with organized Christian religion's political positions:
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.
On her Facebook page, Rice continues to publish feedback on her remarks. The most recent was posted at 1:00 p.m. today, July 31, and the person shares with Rice personal experience about growing up Catholic.
Rice acknowledges in one status the following:
My posts about quitting Christianity have brought in a lot of mail. Most of it is positive; a small amount is negative. But one thing is clear: people care passionately about belief. They care about living lives of meaning and significance. And that is a beautiful and reassuring thing. I'll have more on the subject in the future.
At the U.K. Telegraph, Anglican priest George Fisher writes jokingly that Rice, who for the last 12 years has been Roman Catholic, has converted to the Anglican Church. And under the headline "Pick a new religion for ex-Catholic Anne Rice?" at USA Today, the religion columnist opens her commentary saying Rice's denunciation is a "thinly veiled blast at the Catholic Church" and not a return to atheism:
Atheists should not bother rolling out a red carpet. Rice has repeatedly said she's clinging to Christ and the Bible. The AP says Rice will keep on reading and posting Bible passages and writing her fiction series, "Songs of the Seraphim."
You can see posts from Rice's Facebook page at her official website as well and her interview with the Associated Press is published here.
Comments
I think what's shocking is that people in the U.S. can't even say the word agnostic or atheist without angering a huge group of people. This is not the case in the UK or Europe. I applaud Ms. Rice's coming out on this, and of course, making the case she did. But frankly, what we believe should be private (in my view) and there is too much mention of God in the public sector.
rice is a phony
She is clinging to Christ and the Bible? Seriously, has she read it?
Anne Rice: "Possibly I still belong to the Body of Christ." www.examiner.com/x-26772-San-Francisco-Apologetics-Examiner~y2010m8d1-Anne-Rice--Possibly-I-still-belong-to-the-Body-of-Christ
Rice is a hypocrite, pure and simple.
Anne Rice is correct
Faith-in-Christ is NOT tied
to man-controlled 'Religion'
A RELATIONSHIP w/ God (as given
VIA CHRIST Jesus, God The Son) is
NOT reliant on "church" or “religion”
If Christ were on earth today, many
religious-types would ‘still’ seek to
crucify Him (just based on who He
chose as His FRIENDS -- women,
gays, foreigners, the rejected, the
poor, rich, old, young, etc)
The "evangelical" ilk (not to be mistaken
for any TRUE FOLLOWERS of Christ)
and other "church" types have basically
hijacked the Christian-'Faith' of love
to turn it into a mammon-worshipping,
power-mongering "Religion" of hate
They are more akin to being ANTI-CHRIST
(“against”-Christ) than anything related to
WHO CHRIST IS and their evil has reached
such levels that ‘All Who Love Christ’ are
turned off from these self-righteous Pharisees
GOD (thru CHRIST) HAS OPENLY
SHOWN HIS LOVE TO 'EVERYONE’
(no matter if rich, poor, gay, straight, male,
female, sickly, healthy, etc) VIA CHRIST
(not the so-called "church") WHO IS
'THE DOOR' and 'THE WAY' TO GOD
ALL ARE WELCOME TO APPROACH and
ENTER THROUGH 'THE DOOR' TO GOD
JESUS CHRIST LOVES EVERYONE
AND REJECTS NO ONE
John 3:17:
“For GOD did NOT send His Son
into the world TO CONDEMN
the world, BUT that the world,
THRU HIM, might BE SAVED
JESUS CHRIST (not “church”
or “christianity”) IS THE WAY
THE TRUTH and THE LIFE
TRUE ‘FAITH’ RELIES IN
AND IS BASED ON JESUS
AND JESUS CHRIST ALONE
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