Anne Rice’s Dilemma

Anne Rice’s Dilemma

Approximately ten years ago, Anne Rice (the insanely popular author of The Vampire Chronicles and other books) publicly rededicated herself to the Catholicism of her youth. It was a big moment for Christians. Christians everywhere stumbled over one another to claim her as their teammate. There’s something encouraging for a Christian to be able to claim someone like Rice as a fellow believer. Rice’s popularity transcends race and religion. Her books are loved by people of all walks of life; so when she set aside her normal genres to begin writing fictional accounts of Christ’s life, Christians were thrilled.

Currently, Rice’s faith has again garnered some attention. The author recently announced on her Face Book page that she giving up Christianity in the name of Christ. Rarely does an author of Rice’s status engage her fan base in the way that Rice does. Her announcement was followed by several engaging dialogues between her and her readers. Basically, Rice’s position is while Christ is still the center of her life; she can no longer tolerate Christians themselves.

Rice has levied serious charges the Church. In her announcement, she claims that Christians are a “quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.” Specifically, Rice is refusing to be associated with a church that is “anti-gay,” “anti-feminist”and“anti-artificial birth-control.”  In the comments that followed her announcement, Rice made it clear she wasn’t speaking of just the Catholic Church, but rather the global Church that includes Catholics and Protestants alike.

The reaction to Rice’s announcement has been mixed. Some Christians have responded with love and understanding and, quite frankly, others have responded in a way that seems to validate her point. Non-Christians have reacted much in the way Christians did ten years ago when Rice became a Christian – they have stumbled over themselves to rub it in the faces of all those Christians they know. In their opinions, Rice has put into words what they were thinking all along.

Does Rice Have a Point?

Does the Church deserve the charges that Rice has levied against it? Personally, I don’t think so. She is not the first person to make such charges against us and she certainly will not be the last. Outsiders have been quite vocal about the Church’s perceived hatred of homosexuals, women, and close-mindedness. My response is that outsiders are really in no position to make such generalizations. I’m a church insider. I have gone to church the vast majority of Sundays over the last ten years or so, I am pursuing a graduate degree at a conservative Christian college and seminary, I teach Sunday school and engage with Scripture on a level most people probably never will and I can attest to the fact that the charges Anne Rice has made (and others agree with) are not coherent with the reality I see on a day to day basis. It simply isn’t true that most Christians are close-minded, hate gay people or prefer weak, docile women. There are no secret meetings where we discuss our hatred for those who believe differently from us. In fact, most of the time we are far more concerned with how we can love people better. My point is, however, that those on the outside of the church (those who don’t spend their Sundays learning the Word and hanging out with Christians) aren’t in the position to pronounce such a judgment. In my line of work, my fellow employees and I are evaluated by our supervisors on a yearly basis; the most common complaint in response of these evaluations it that the supervisors spend very little time actually evaluating our performance. I’ve even been evaluated by supervisors I had never actually met prior to the evaluation! I wonder sometimes if these outsiders have made a genuine assessment of Christianity or if they are simply pronounce us all guilty based on a small sample.

Here’s the problem. Deserved or not, the perception is there. For most people, perception is reality. Also, if we are being honest, there are some Christians who are guilty as charged. Christians such as Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church may be in the minority, but they manage to make us all look bad. The Church needs to recognize and apologize for the hate that exudes from such people. In the face of such criticism, we need to love louder than ever before!

How should the Church respond?

1. 1. With love: The Christians job on a day to day basis is to love the people that God created. Too often, we condemn the lifestyles of those outside the church without ever expressing our love for them. Scripture tells us to speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15). I’m not suggesting we turn our backs on the truth of Scripture, but I am suggesting that far too often we overlook the love. Paul taught that the comfort of Christ was supposed to fill us up and overflow to others (2 Corinthians 1:4). More than anyone we should realize that, as sinners, none of us are saved except through the grace of God and the act of Christ on the cross. God’s offer of grace is extended to everyone – even those with lifestyles we don’t agree with. In most case, we should love now and preach later. Or better yet, leave the preaching up to those who are trained to do so. If we focus on love, the world will respond.

1. 2. With Integrity: Last Sunday, my Bible study class explored the concept of integrity. Too often, charges of hypocrisy are warranted. We so quickly judge others yet fail to practice what we preach. Paul writes that we are to be the “Fragrance of Christ” among the saved and unsaved (2 Corinthians 2:14-17). In the same passage Paul writes about how God often puts His followers on display. This is a frightening concept for all of us who aren’t living as we should. How are unbelievers to respond if we don’t live as the Scriptures say we should? We should be aware at all times that we may be the only Christian someone knows as well as the only Bible they ever read. God puts us on display for these moments and it is in these moments we can shape a person’s perception of the Church. We need to strive at all times to exude the scent of Christ to a world that needs Him. Not just on Sundays and every other Wednesday … always.

1. 3. With Knowledge: We need to study God’s Word. 1 Peter 3:15 tells us to always be ready to offer a defense of our faith to those who ask. Quite frankly, too many of us have no idea what the Bible says or even what we believe. We go to church for the entertainment, the prestige, or because our mothers told us we should. We need to learn what the Bible says. Not just in bits and pieces but as a complete narrative. We need to understand that the Bible tells a story of Creation, Fall, and Redemption.  We need to understand how our belief in Christ fits into this story. How can we ask any unbeliever to embrace the Word if we haven’t done it ourselves?

Basically, Rice’s accusations should serve as an impetus for a personal inventory. The Body of Christ needs to examine itself to see where we fall short. We should strive to walk closer to Christ than ever before. To some degree I can identify with what Rice is saying. When I was a new believer I boldly told people that while I followed Christ I did not consider myself a Christian. I was afraid to be associated with how the world perceived my religion. I didn’t want to be associated with the shortcomings and the failures of those Christians who had come before me. As I matured in my faith; however, I realized that if I walked away from those failures, I was walking away from an amazing story of redemption. In the midst of such human stupidity there are amazing examples of Christ-likeness within the body of His Church. It is edifying to be associated with such people as Mother Teresa, C.S. Lewis, Abraham Lincoln, and … well, I could create quite the list. My point is this – no Christian is perfect. The global Church certainly isn’t perfect. We have made many mistakes that the world often refuses to overlook. Who can blame them when they are simply mirroring the attitudes that far too often we display ourselves? If we want the world to take us seriously, we must love them as Christ loved them; we must extend His comfort, forgiveness, and love to a world that does not know Him. We must live with integrity and exude the scent of Christ everywhere we go. Finally, we must study His Word and know what it is we believe.

Maybe then, the Anne Rice’s of the world will feel comfortable calling themselves Christian.