The Brouhaha on Anne Rice's Statement

Now that the brouhaha of Anne Rice's statement that she wasn't going to being a Christian any longer has died down. I thought I would chime in with my two cents on the topic. Its sounds to me like she's not tired of Jesus, but of the people. Here's what she said,


“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.

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.”

Isn't that the saddest thing? I understand a part of her frustration. I have worked in ministry for 20+ years and working with people can be difficult. There's a joke that says, "The church would be perfect, if it wasn't for the people." HOWEVER, being with people is also the greatest joy that can be found in this life.


I wish I could share with Ms. Rice the flip side of being with Christ followers. There is no one that makes me laugh as much as my girlfriends, especially my Tuesday night Bible study. We're a group of seven women who have been meeting for about five years. Do we always agree? No! Do we irritate each other occasionally? Yes! Do we always have the same theological opinion? No! Do love each other? Yes! Would we do anything to help one another? Absolutely!


I think of my other closest friends--the one in Atlanta, my pal in Phoenix, and my lifelines in Las Vegas--I could not do life without them. They are all Christians. Maybe Anne Rice never made those type of connections, because I believe if she had, she'd be praising Jesus for the abundant life of friendships in Christ. In other words, Christians.

In gratefulness for my Christian friends,

Susanne