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. In the name of… Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.
~Famed vampire author Anne Rice, as quoted by Huffington Post, July 29
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Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
This is the same woman who once posted the now-internet-famous response to scathing reviews of her book Blood Chronicle saying that readers were “interrogating the text from the wrong perspective” and straining her “Dickensean principles to the max.” Anything she says may be dismissed as utter gibberish on principle.
That response has lamentably vanished from amazon.com, but you can still find it enshrined online in various places. Here, for example.
Anne Rice is clearly unhinged, no matter what her ever-changing beliefs are. On her deathbed, I’m sure she’ll proclaim herself a Christian once again.
Many converts to religions do defect within several years, but I wonder if Rice had been properly educated in the teachings of the Church when she ‘returned.’ When I returned years ago, I participated in RCIA, Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. In it, we spend time covering all the major teachings of the church. I wonder if Rice didn’t just pop into mass occaisionally instead of going the RCIA route. I used to read her comments on the internet frequently and it seemed to me she wasn’t fully educated and was quite willing to be led astray by the liberal media. I blocked her from my newsfeed after she called for people to join the New York Times in their crusade against the Church earlier this year. Rice liked the pageantry of the Church, but fancy bowls of incense and beautiful windows are not what Catholic teachings are all about.
Matthew 12:30
“Whoever is not with me is against me; and he who does not take part with me in getting people together, is driving them away.”
’nuff said…
Really, who cares? I never liked her books, either.
That is either one confused woman, or she needed something to boost her flagging sales and she decided to tap a new market.
To claim she accepted Christ as Lord, then to reject him – well, God already spoke on this matter:
What’s the point of all the drama if she’s not going to write anymore Vampire Chronicles?
Chris Arsenault,
I agree.
Never had any desire to read Anne Rice. Vampires are as creepy as abortionists.
I had a feeling her conversion wasn’t genuine when she, after becoming a Christian, justified the filth in her books as being OK still.
I used to be Goth, etc. and I liked her books back in the day. Now I see them for what they are. Dark, demonic, and in some cases pornographic. Profane in general.
When I read about her “conversion” a year ago, she made mention of wanting to tap into the Christian fiction market.
I’m kinda guessing the jig is up!!
CS Lewis put it very succinctly; there is no gray area around belief in Jesus:
A) Jesus was insane
B) Jesus was a liar
C) Jesus was telling the truth
You can only pick one. If you choose C, then you are a Christian. The only place we welcome waffles is on our plates, at breakfast, with syrup.
Posted by: ninek at July 30, 2010 5:19 PM
LOL, don’t forget the butter. Real butter and real maple syrup. Yum!
Interesting…..
Ms.Rice was raised as a Catholic christian, then she left the Church for like 40 years and then suddenly returned….I doubt it was ‘genuine’.
Christianity needs genuine Christians not fake ones.
Interesting…..
Ms.Rice was raised as a Catholic christian, then she left the Church for like 40 years and then suddenly returned….I doubt it was ‘genuine’.
Christianity needs genuine Christians not fake ones.
Chris –
So people who were Christians, but stop being Christian for whatever reason, can never go back? Interesting.
Anne Rice has always been a total loon. I think this is a non-story.
Totally agree, Marauder, haha. I’ve never even really seen the appeal of her book, and I am generally an “every book has its place” kind of person. Admittedly I am woefully undereducated in that specific genre, and most of what I know of sci-fi/fantasy is YA literature (which I try to be very familiar with, as I tutor high school students and spent some years working with ESL adults, for whom the fast pacing and easier vocab of YA lit are often well-suited) but I never really saw the appeal of her writing.
Alexandra, Chris was quoting the letter to the Hebrews, which addresses people who convert then revert. In context, it fits with Rice’s comment.
People who hear the word of God, accept it, then reject it, are in a worse spiritual situation than people who just never heard of God.
I’ve read most of Rice’s work, and while I like the “Jesus fiction” it lacks the ease and flow-of-words that characterizes her other books. It is clear she felt inhibited by Jesus’ fame: she couldn’t take too much literary flight from the material without making the holy family into some other set of characters.
She really laid into the church this year over the media’s coverage of the sexual abuse scandals, which is funny really in light of her actual books, rife with incest, child abuse, and much more. The series about the family of witches is especially decadent. The Catholic Church has made a lot of progress in the last 10 years preventing abuse with new protocols, training programs, and background checks. But the New York Times is never going to publish the headline: “Diocese fires 5 employees who turned out to be registered sex offenders” No, the media doesn’t want to know about solutions, only scandal. Rice joined right in with them, egging her fans on to join her too (read her own posts, her own words). So, as sad as it is to lose a lamb (at least temporarily), I wish she’d take Pelosi with her. I wish they’d both go sit in a corner and think about what they’ve done. Then, when they’ve repented, we’d like to let them come back out and play with the rest of us.
Oh, and not to forget, we are all sinners and could use a time out occaisionaly.
“My faith in Christ is central to my life. My conversion from a pessimistic atheist lost in a world I didn’t understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God is crucial to me. But following Christ does not mean following His followers. Christ is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be, no matter what Christianity is, has been, or might become.” — Anne Rice on 7/29/10 (facebook)
The quote reminds me of a Casting Crowns song. Rice’s politics are in conflict with her profession of being a follower of Christ, but her point is right on. Loving the sinner requires telling the truth and that will offend. Instead of condemnation, let’s pray for Rice. God’s grace is greater than her views and His small voice does more to change hearts than writing her off on blog entries.
I’m disturbed that this article linked to didn’t have the rest of her quote, which I believe is very important:
“My faith in Christ is central to my life. My conversion from a pessimistic atheist lost in a world I didn’t understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God is crucial to me,” Rice wrote. “But following Christ does not mean following His followers. Christ is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be, no matter what Christianity is, has been or might become.”
I’m glad Doug posted it as well – I don’t think she’s turning her back on Christ – I think she’s turning her back on what Christians have become – and I think she has a valid point.
So Rice think she can follow Christ without identifying in any way with Christians? Accept Christ and reject his followers?
It can’t be done.
Has she never heard of that Christians are the Body of Christ, to which she belongs? Or that she is a member of the Communion of Saints? Or that we are all branches, attached to Christ, who is the vine?
She was poorly catechized indeed. Or maybe just in the midst of a temper tantrum.
I’m with you, ninek — I think she needs a time out!