Author Anne Rice “Quits” Christianity

Today’s post was written by CCF Elder Steve Hutchins

It was with sadness recently that I read that Anne Rice, the well-known author, had announced that she was “quitting” Christianity. Her previous announcement several years ago that she was returning to the Christian faith of her youth had caused quite a stir in the media given the content of much of her work. Henceforth, she began exploring Christian themes in her writing with “Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt” coming out in 2004, followed by “Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana” in 2008.

I won’t attempt to address the formidable, problematic theological issues with someone “leaving” or “quitting” the faith. What I’d like to comment on are the reasons she gave for her decision. Some of those were that she refuses to be “anti-gay,” “anti-feminist,” “anti-science,” or “anti-Democrat.” Quoting from her website, “For those who care, and I understand if you don’t: Today I quit being a Christian…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.”

When I read this I was filled with the same sort of sadness I feel when I read the Gospel accounts (in Matthew, Mark, and Luke) of the rich, young man who was seemingly earnest in his desire to follow Jesus. The only problem was, he apparently wasn’t. After counting the cost, he decided against such a decision and went away despairing.

As for Mrs. Rice, in some later posts to her site she attempts to draw a distinction between following Jesus and subscribing to a set of beliefs (at least how she perceives) held by His followers. I don’t know about you but when I read my Bible I don’t read anything that I would label “anti-gay,” “anti-feminist,” “anti-science,” or “anti-Democrat.” Actually, I see just the opposite. It seems to me that this is a classic case of knocking down straw men. Sometimes it’s more useful to us to construct false reasons ready for our dismantling than to confront the real reasons for not following the Master with our all. Whatever Anne Rice’s problems are with Jesus’ followers, her real issue is with Jesus (who, by the way, calls His followers His Bride). I certainly don’t know her heart, but Christianity isn’t a buffet line (take what you want, leave what you don’t) and Jesus isn’t a designer Savior. He takes you as you are; you take Him as Lord. And that decision always has consequences.

So, I would encourage you, especially if you’ve been an Anne Rice aficionado in the past, to pray for her. If she’s truly sincere in her desire to follow Jesus (albeit without the help or association of His Church), then she should be open to the light and conviction that only the Holy Spirit can bring. That’s where our prayers should be directed for her. I remain hopeful! Through prayer, we “… have divine power to demolish strongholds…” (2 Cor. 10:4). The Gospel writers never give us a postscript on the life of the aforementioned “rich, young man.” I wonder, though, if later in his life, the emptiness of his wealth wasn’t revealed to him by the Holy Spirit. If that happened, I would highly suspect that God used other believers around him and their faithful prayers as part of His plan to call this man to Himself.

In closing, let me also say that although Anne Rice’s comments seem to be directed at another large Christian denomination other than our own, we are not immune to projecting similar perceptions on others. Sometimes we can be perceived as “disputatious,” “hostile,” or worse. We, individually or as a church, are not immune to such descriptions. Let’s guard our hearts and commit ourselves anew to acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God (Micah 6:8), realizing that we are ambassadors of our God and, in that role, our behavior and what we say matters.