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| Anne Rice: she wrote about vampires before it was cool to write about vampires. |
As a young pre-teen and throughout my teenage years, I constantly questioned my religion and God. These were the stirrings that pushed me to think outside of the box within I was raised.
This also lead me to be attracted to others who also questioned. One such author that I read religiously (pun intended) is Anne Rice.
Known for her books about vampires and witches (and the extremely erotic Sleeping Beauty series exploring sexuality under a pseudonym A.N. Roquelaure), I was also drawn to her personal search, her own quest to understand God. She, too, was raised Catholic like I was. Throughout her novels, each of her characters sought to comprehend their own relationship with God.
Does God hate me because I am a vampire? Would God loathe me for my immortality and the fact that I must kill to live?
These characters echoed her own struggle for answers.
In the early 2000's, Anne began publishing books about the history of Jesus Christ. She had reverted back to Catholicism and found peace with her childhood religion again.
Again I devoured her books. I admired her tenacity for research and the way she could relate to these fictional or non-fictional characters and their struggle with understanding the Truth about Who They Are.
I have been following Anne on Facebook for quite a while now and I love that she is so active in communicating with her readers and fans. We are able to see, firsthand, her considerations regarding gay marriage, the sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic church and how she feels about all matter of current events.
Recently, she stunned everyone by announcing,
"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. 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."
She has gone further to state that she is a follower of Christ not a follower of Christianity.
Obviously this announcement has caused quite a stir. Anne Rice will interviewed on Nightline at 11:35 E.S.T. tonight to discuss this further.
I could link to page after page of responses to her announcement but instead I will link to her Facebook page so that you can see for yourself, if you're interested.
To many, organized religion is their truth. I was there, at one time, and hold nothing against anyone's religion or faith. Most of us believe in the same God, a higher power, the universe, a True Self, or not. However, just as we all have different tastes in food to fill us when we're hungry, we all have different tastes in doctrine too. I believe we're all right and we're all wrong.
Each person's truth is true to them. It fits them. But it may not fit everyone.
Personally, I completely understand where's she's coming from. I humorously refer to myself as a recovering Catholic. I find it difficult to put my faith in God-in-a-box. I believe our connection with God goes way beyond organized religion.
I get it and I say kudos to you, Ms. Rice.
Kudos is right...thanks for the link T
ReplyDeleteI haven't been able to drink my cradle Catholic Coolaid in three years. I miss it sometimes, but not enough to go back.
ReplyDeleteBeryl
I too was raised in a Catholic home. My grandmother was quite devout and was raised in a Catholic orphanage by nuns.
ReplyDeleteFor several years prior to my divorce I was searching for meaning. Looking for some acceptance and peace within, I was SO very unhappy in my marriage. I tried returning to the church, first Catholic and then Christian, community based.
Not only did I not find the answers I was seeking I ended up feeling like a hypocrite.
I consider myself spiritual, but not religious. I figure that I'm comfortable in my beliefs, and any God I would pray to doesn't need me to do it a building surrounded by strangers.
This is exactly why I love this powerful statement that she made. Instead of feeling like a hypocrite because she didn't believe the same things, she quit them.
ReplyDeleteI love it. LOVE it. We should all honor ourselves this way.
Thanks for this, T. I'd read a little bit about this online recently myself.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't raised in a strictly religious home. We went to church on holidays but that was pretty much it. My mom considers herself Christian but it's a much more personal thing for her, which I think is as it should be.
I too, consider myself spiritual but not religious. After the 'community' I was involved with for 10 years, I don't think I could ever again be involved in any kind of organized religion. I prefer to stick to my own beliefs, which include loving myself, loving others and loving God. In my own way.
Thanks for sharing. As you may recall, I work almost exclusively with the elderly. If there is a more opinionated segment of the population, I have yet to discover it. Yesterday, I lost an hour of my life hearing that the world was evil and that gays should not be allowed to marry. This from a woman who claims to be devout Christian.
ReplyDeleteThis is why I don't go to church and haven't for a while. I refuse, like Anne Rice, to be a member of a group that claims to preach peace and love, but only if you believe the same as they do.
Hm. Maybe they read a different version of the Bible?
I've been spending my lunch hours devouring the book, "Know the Words of Jesus in 30 Days". It has helped me to put the true mission of our Savior in my mind, and helped sort through the clutter that our worldly selves attach to "religion". As a non-Catholic, I see them preoccupied with the same ritual and hierarchy that Jesus fought with the Pharisees. Yes, the path to salvation is a personal journey, and any church community should be there to enhance and support your journey.
ReplyDeleteT, sometimes when I read that you're placing all the responsibility for your peace and happiness on yourself, I wish you would turn it over to God and just let go of your worry. Open your heart to the Gospels and let it sink in.
I hate all the judgemental and political crap that the church has taken on. I was pleased to see that Ms. Rice has kept her faith in Christ. That's the focus I try to maintain, and it has helped me set aside my natural selfish and jealous ways.
Religious corruption goes back to the begining and I have a hard time with it too. I remember when I was younger it was considered taboo to question religion. Seems to me like it is becoming the norm anymore. I for one question and yet still believe or at least hope that there is something greater out there.
ReplyDeleteGood for her! And I couldn't agree more.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree, and echo what Nicki says as well. I was raised Christian and still believe what I believe, but feel it is a personal journey for me, not necessarily an 'organized' religious aspect for me. And I also believe in to each his/her own. I'd never be of the opinion to judge anyone on what they believe.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a believer at all, but I only have a problem with organized religion, not those who believe in God and/or Christ. I was very pleased with Anne Rice's announcement.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post.
ReplyDeleteI'm a devout believer in Jesus Christ and love my God with everything that is within me. But I too, do not subscribe to faith that is in a box. I cannot. I have a very unique and personal relationship with Christ, that is special to me. He changed my life. I am free. I am human and broken to pieces, but under the chaos that is the human experience, I am free. My God is a God of love and Grace and Mercy. Those who subscribe to a Christianity or Religion that preach condemnation are doing a very grave disservice to the Lover of our souls. They rob people of the Love and Grace that can be poured out to them because those hearing don't want any part of the judgment that comes along with this so-called 'Christianity'. This is not a reflection of who God is...but of the brokenness of people.
I heard a really good analogy the other day... If we go into a store and it is full of smelly, rude, difficult people who have no manners and talk smack for no reason, we may be annoyed but we're not going to stop going because the people are annoying...we're going to KEEP going because there's something there that we need.
Its not about the people who represent it...its about the Truth of who our Maker really is.
Great post, and I love Anne Rice's statement on it. You can have beliefs that don't fit inside another's box or system.
ReplyDeleteFaith I have, religion...not as much.
Good post, we need freedom of thought more than anything....
ReplyDeleteNice article. Faith is what matters most.
ReplyDelete