Anne Rice on Quitting Christianity: Homebrewed Christianity 83

. If I could meet her in person, I would love to say "Thank you Anne Rice – for so very articulately stating what I have felt in my heart for years" !!!! One's 'Faith-in-Christ’ should IN NO WAY be tied into the man-controlled 'Religion' that so many refer to as "Christianity" (especially that apostate, psuedo-religious political-movement called 'evangelicalism') It took me forever to realize that my relationship with God (as established through Christ Jesus, God The Son) was IN NO WAY dependent on the apostate psuedo-religious movement sweeping America in the name of the "church". If Christ were walking the earth today, a lot of these same "religious" types would be the first to demand that He be 'crucified' -- and based merely on who He chose as FRIENDS (women, gays, foreigners, immigrants, the poor, the rejected, the downtrodden, the rich, men, old, young, happy, sad, and so on). The "evangelicals" (not to be mistaken for TRUE FOLLOWERS of Christ) and other "church" types have essentially hijacked the Christian 'Faith' in order to turn it into a mammon-worshipping, power-mongering, "Religion" of hate. These people are more akin to a system of ANTI-CHRIST (i.e. “against”-Christ) than to anything tied into WHO CHRIST IS. Their evil has reached such profound levels that even people who know and love Christ are turned off from them and their words (again proving these “church” types are really nothing more than anti-Christ, self-righteous Pharisees and are not even remotely related to Jesus Christ). Never again will I waste my time stepping into the psuedo-religious social-club that is known as "church" or associate myself with the political-clique that is known as 'christianity' -- because FROM NOW ON -- I realize that I do NOT "need" either in order to have a relationship with MY LORD JESUS CHRIST (in fact, those two entities were actually 'interfering' with my relationship with God) THROUGH CHRIST -- GOD HAS OPENLY EXPRESSED HIS LOVE TO 'EVERYONE' (no matter if rich, poor, gay, straight, male, female, sickly, healthy and so on) -- AND CHRIST (not the so-called"church") IS 'THE DOOR' and 'THE WAY' TO GOD!! ALL ARE WELCOME TO APPROACH AND TO ENTER THROUGH 'THE DOOR' TO GOD!! NO ONE IS REJECTED BY JESUS CHRIST !!! JESUS LOVED AND LOVES EVERYONE !!! LET’S ALL TRY TO REMEMBER THE BIBLE VERSE OF ‘JOHN 3:17’: “For God did NOT send His Son into the world – to condemn the world, BUT that the world, THROUGH HIM, might be SAVED !!!!” JESUS CHIST – and *not* the institution known as “the church” or the religion called “christianity” --- IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE!!! LIKE MANY OTHER PEOPLE – I AM DONE WITH THE CHURCH & WITH CHRISTIANITY -- AND FROM HERE ON OUT – MY FOCUS IS ON (AND FAITH IN GOD RELIES IN) JESUS CHRIST AND JESUS CHRIST ALONE !!! .

Strauss, It'd be one thing if Anne Rice left Christianity because it wasn't hip or cool. It's another thing if she left because the church advocates policies that are antithetical to the gospel. I understand why she'd leave the conservative part of the church but obviously the body of Christ is larger than that. I was more annoyed in the way this whole thing unfolded, i.e. via facebook and not a face to face conversation with her local priest/pastor.

Hey Jesus (The Bridegroom). I think you're cool and I like your ideas. Let's hang out and have a coffee or something. Oh, but do you think you can leave your wife (the church) at home? Ya.. uhm..well she's a bit embarrassing, not that great looking and I noticed she says thinks sometimes that are awkward at best. Also, she dresses kind of....well, you know a bit out of step. What? Oh some other time. Sure.. uhmm. You seem kind of irritated. Let's keep in touch?

I guess it just seemed sort of short-sighted to me. It's not as if the entire Christian tradition is guilty of these things she says. I understand if the choice is between conservative Christianity or nothing, but certainly Christianity is more diverse than that.

@Jeremy. I feel ya. I would have a bunch of nickels too! I appreciate the questions and concerns people have when they leave Christianity but I plan on staying. Of course that shouldn't be a big surprise since the podcast is homebrewed 'Christianity!'

I know this won't be received well, but am the only one who thought 'who gives a shit' when they heard she said was quitting Christianity? Thousand (hell millions) of people give up on Christianity ever year because of hurtful (and un-Christian) things Christians do and advocate. If you don't like your church body then switch. Become Protestant, or Orthodox, or Catholic. I just don't see what the bid deal is. So she dislikes the conservative things the church represents, well then change affiliation. The way to reform the church is from within the church. Giving up on the church and critiquing it the easy thing to do. If you want to see a change then work from the inside to reform. Of course if all on really wants is a privatized faith then I suppose it doesn't matter one way or the other. I just feel like if I collected a nickel for every ex-Christian I've met I'd be rich.