"In a posting on her Facebook page, she [Anne Rice] said, “I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being ‘Christian’ or being a part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. 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.”
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/08/08/rev-shuler-anne-rice-christianity-quit-christ-pharisees-god-love-forgiveness/
I will be honest, the first time I read this article, I was kind of angry. In quickly skimming the article, I thought the pastor had watered down Christian faith into the "Jesus was a cool dude" attitude. "How like a Methodist." I thought. (I also had the opportunity to hear him on the radio). However, reading it again, I think Bill brings up good points.
And I'd like to bring up some other points. I think that Christians take this kind of criticism lying down too much. I suppose that statement doesn't sound like, "Turning the other cheek," but at the same time, if we were more vocal about what we believe, and not what the media wants to make it seem like we believe, then people like Anne Rice may think again before "quitting" Christianity. (By the way, I also think that if she had taken the time to sit down with a spiritual leader to voice her concerns, she may have come to a different conclusion - but I hope she at least did that and just couldn't accept what she heard).
I recently told a friend that I was afraid to put any kind of fish or cross bumper sticker on my car because I tend to be a defensive driver. I didn't want people to associate any unpleasant driving errors I committed with my Christianity. My friend told me I should put the fish on the car - "That way people will be reminded that Christians are people, too." I think we are both right, in ways. I WISH I could take my friend's advice with a clean conscience. However, there are so many in the media that jump on just that kind of behavior.
Christians are hypocrites! That is their cry. Sometimes they rightly point out a person who claims to be a Christian or even a minister but who is cheating someone. Or the unchristian behavior, more common before the 1950's, of some parents who had teenage daughters getting pregnant.
But when we don't properly respond to these accusations of criticism, by saying, "We are people, too, and we have failings," we set ourselves up for people like Anne Rice who just quit.
If we appear to be anti-gay, anti-feminist, anti-artificial birth control, anti-democrat, anti-secular humyanism, anti-science, and anti-life it is because we have allowed others to define the debate. For years we have allowed popular media to level all these accusations at us without speaking out. As Reverend Bill and my friend said, perhaps the first response to these criticisms is that we have failings ourselves. But we also need to explain WHY we appear this way.
What are all these "rules" and talk of "sin?" Well, sin is something that separates us from God. So what does that mean to an athiest? Sin is something that hurts us, hurts others, or hurts God. Could we not, as Christians, stand up in a court of law and logically defend unpopular Christian stances, such as abstinence, heterosexuality, and marriage? Are there not reasons enough for us to obey the 10 Commandments, even for a non-Christian?
I'd like to address Anne's problems with Christianity, because if she, or others, are misinformed, they need to know the truth.
Anti-Gay
Although I would like to write more extensively on this later, we'll just start out by saying Christians are NOT anti-Gay. Most Christian denominations ask that people with same sex attractions remain celebate. They define marriage as being between one man and one woman, and they extol the values of a two-parent home with a mother and a father. However, they also try (as best as we imperfect humans can do) to love both people who have same sex attraction and those practicing homosexuality.
But we have lost control of this debate somehow. The reasons we are perceived as anti-gay is mostly because we do not support gay marriage, and to a lesser degree because we support abstinence for those with homosexual tendencies. So the debate is really about sex. And in that case, it's a tired, old debate. Christians are not judging people for who they are - they are saying that sex outside of marriage is a sin, just as we would say to any heterosexual unmarried couple. Of course, there is forgiveness for sins and redemption, and chaste couples have their own problems. No one denies that. I could write forever on this, so I will move on.
Anti-Feminist
The major problem I hear from feminists about Christianity is the lack of leadership and the pro-life attitude of the church. I will address the latter in the next section. First of all, not all Christian denominations are male dominated. Many allow female pastors and elders. Some even refer to God as "Our Mother," and so on. If Anne sees anti-feminism in the Church, perhaps she should look to a different denomination.
However, her conclusion on the rest of the denominations is also false. Jesus was very pro-woman. He spoke to women and loved them and they followed him in troves! But he also chose men to be his disciples. Perhaps it was the prejudice of the day, or perhaps there was a leadership role he felt men could naturally fill. Still, many denominations choose to mimick Jesus in having men lead.
Just because men are leading does not mean that women are held in contempt. Quite the opposite. Women play a very important role in the life of all of us, and so they play an important role in the body of the church. The church celebrates the differences between men and women.
Further, as a woman, I feel there is, or can be, more power in being the "strong woman behind a strong man." When you speak quietly, more people listen, and women have been driven for centuries to do good in their communities, right wrongs, and persuade the men around them, even when they had no official rights, to take their point of view.
Anti-Artificial Birth Control
As with the last objection, this can be a denominational thing. However, having recently learned more about the objections to artificial birth control, I think it is defensible and, like the "anti-gay" issue, could probably use its own blog.
One reason artificial birth control is seen as an issue is because life begins at conception. That is the view of many Christians and it is not something that can easily be proven or misproven, so you will have to take that as our premise if you want to understand us. You don't have to agree, but it is critical for understanding. So if life begins at conception, any birth control that could interfere with that life is, well, deadly. Many hormonal birth controls can cause a fertilized egg to be rejected by the body, thus ending the life of a very very young embryo. For this moral reason alone, hormonal birth controls are rejected by some deonominations.
Secondly, artificial birth control creates the perception that sex is safe. It has created a noticeable increase in sexual activity among non-married couples, especially teens, and teenage pregnancies are soaring. If you argue that, for married couples, it is okay, you still cannot turn a blind eye to the rate of unwed mothers and STD's exploding in our country today.
Also, it creates a barrier between you and your partner and you and God. This is hard and abstract for people not brought up in it, I know. But one way I look at it is putting your needs above what God wants and above your potential children. Yes, God could make you get pregnant if He wanted to. (He did it to Mary). But he wants you to be involved and open to it. Birth control allows us to put our priorities before God's. It promotes the idea of, "I'm not ready to have kids."
Anti-Democrat
Christianity does not, or at least should not, tell you how to vote. If social positions are leaning towards Republicans, it would appear that we are anti-Democrat. But is that Christianity's fault or the Democrats? What I mean is, I think the largest reason that so many Christians are Republicans is because Republicans are friendly to Christians. So you see, it is not that Christianity is Anti-Democrat, it is that many Christians perceive Democrats to be anti-Christian. It all comes down to everyone being able to have their own vote, and to vote what their conscience tells them.
It seems to me that Christians are about as politically divided as any other group of people - with some siding with Democrats and some siding with Republicans. If the church appears to side with one party, it may be because of a certain issue, most of which are issues Anne already complained about, and which I am addressing.
Anti-Secular Humanism
I am not going to lie - right off the bat I had to goole this word, because I wasn't sure what Anne was talking about. I found a website of Secular Humanists and read their definition. I would note that they describe themselves as non-theists, so, yes, that would not quite be Christian. http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?page=what§ion=main
But in more detail, why would Christianity be anti-Secular Humanism. The "secular" part of the term is very helpful. Christians belive in a better world after this one. We hope there is something more, and therefore we ask of ourselves to give to those in need and not cling to the things of this life, which include objects, experiences, and people.
Another tenet of secular humanism is that we can reach Truth through self realization and earnest searching. But Christians believe that we cannot ever be perfect humans on Earth and that we need God to come down and redeem us and bring us to him, not the other way around. Although there are some ideas that secular humanists have that may not, by themselves, be contrary to Christian beliefs, their main points are pretty much opposite of what Christians believe!
If Anne Rice is a secular humanist, then it may explain why she was so quick to dump Christianity. If she had expanded her understanding "beyond" the church. Her last statement about continuing to follow Jesus kind of says it all. The "Jesus was a great teacher" mentality, a mentality rejected by some of the greatest Christian theologians, takes Jesus as God out of the picture. It becomes the heresy that the church was fighting against in the 4th century, alive and well today. So, no, it is not compatible with Christianity.
Anti-Science
Well, some Christians have dug the grave for all of us on this. They refuse to look at scientific evidence if they have any inkling of a suspicion that it might go against what the Bible says. However, these Christians seem to be forgetting some of the most important Christian beliefs - that God is all powerful, that He is in control, that He can do anything!
Most mainstream Christians do not see a contradiction between Christianity and science. I personally think Science supports Christianity - it shows how many questions are left unanswered! And it shows the wonders of God in his creations, and his ingenuity in how He created us! It is unfortunate that some who want the earth to be 6,000 years old or refuse to believe in the theory of evolution cannot accept that, if God is supernatural, He can also create THROUGH science. Be creative - God is!
Anti-Life
I don't know what Anne means by this. Most Christians are "pro-life" from an abortion standpoint. Many are also against the death penalty. We like to give to our fellow man so that he can live...eat, have shelter, and so forth. I cannot address her concern because I just don't understand it.
So that's my thought on some of the issues Anne, and most of the popular media, have with Christians today. That, and hypocrisy, which will always be around. Who among us are not hypocrites? I think we need to take time to address these issues so that people like Anne who are really trying to search for Truth do not reject us as biased. In the end, she may still not agree with Christianity, but at least she will not think that we are just "anti" everything good in life.
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