Interview With A Vampire--Anne Rice

Well, another one bites the dust… a Christian, that is, who has “had enough” of the church, and organized religion. "The church is just too different from Jesus." That’s their experience, personally, and it’s tough to reconcile that with the Jesus they read about in the Gospels, and with the Jesus they experience personally in prayer.

Anne Rice, author of “Interview with a Vampire,” is the most recent example. In her own words she writes on her blog in the last two days:

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 … 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.

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, not matter what Christianity is, has been, or might become.hristianity and always will be, no matter what Christianity is, has been, or might become.
Anne is not the first person to “leave the church.” She won’t be the last. But she’s part of a growing wave of folks whose numbers are increasing at an alarming rate. I understand—even sympathize with—her experience. I’m praying and thinking... intensely … what’s the answer?...

The Reason for God, part 4

Just finished reading Tim Kellor’s book, The Reason for God.

What’s really unique about Christianity? Is Christianity just another religion? Is one just as good or helpful as another? If we were born into another culture, wouldn’t we have been brought up in a different religion, and felt faithful to that?

Kellor believes there is a tremendous difference between Christianity, and other “religions.” He writes:

There is a profound and fundamental difference between the way that other religions tell us to seek salvation and the way described in the gospel of Jesus. All other major faiths have founders who are teachers that show the way to salvation. Only Jesus claimed to actually BE the way of salvation himself. The difference is so great that, even though Christianity can certainly be called a religion in the broader sense… we will use the term “religion” … to refer to “salvation through moral effort” and “gospel” to refer to “salvation through grace.”

Religion operates on the principle “I obey—therefore I am accepted by God.” But the operating principle of the gospel is “I am accepted by God through what Christ has done—therefore I obey.”

In Christ I could know I was accepted by grace not only despite my flaws, but because I was willing to admit them. The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not think more of myself or less of myself. Instead, I think of myself less. I don’t need to notice myself—how I’m doing, how I’m being regarded—so often.

This means that I cannot despise those who do not believe as I do. Since I am not saved by my correct doctrine or practice, then this person before me, even with his or her wrong beliefs, might be morally superior to me in many ways. It also means I do not have to be intimidated by anyone. I am not so insecure that I fear the power of success or talent of people who are different from me. The gospel makes it possible for a person to escape oversensitivity, defensiveness, and the need to criticize others. The Christian’s identity is not based on the need to be perceived as a good person, but on God’s valuing of you in Christ.

What's your take on religion? Worthwhile? Or waste of time?

The Reason for God, part 3

Just finished reading Tim Kellor’s book, The Reason for God.

Many who are leaving the church have found that they cannot tolerate an institutional culture which comes off as "judgmental, exclusive, homophobic, too political and hypocritical" (Kinnaman, 2007).

Unfortunately, the church has not reflected well the teachings of its Lord, Jesus Christ, in this regard. In fact, Jesus taught and lived (and died) a life that reflected just the opposite. Kellor writes:

One of the paradoxes of history is the relationship between the beliefs and the practices of the early Christians as compared to those of the culture around them

The Greco-Roman world’s religious views were open and seemingly tolerant—everyone had his or her own God. The practices of the culture were quite brutal, however. The Greco-Roman world was highly stratified economically, with a huge distance between the rich and poor. By contract, Christians insisted that there was only one true God, the dying Savior Jesus Christ. Their lives and practices were, however, remarkably welcoming to those that the culture marginalized. The early Christians mixed people from different races and classes in ways that seemed scandalous to those around them. The Greco-Roman world tended to despise the poor, but Christians gave generously not only to their own poor but to those of other faiths.

Why would such an exclusive belief system lead to behavior that was so open to others? It was because Christians had within their belief system the strongest possible resources for practicing sacrificial service, generosity, and peace-making. At the very heart of their view of reality was a man who died for his enemies, praying for their forgiveness. Reflection on this could only lead to a radically different way of dealing with those who were different from them. It meant they could not act in violence and oppression toward their opponents.

If this sounds refreshing to you… welcome to the Christian faith, and to the Jesus who established this New Life and turned upside down the established norms of human culture.

If this sounds foreign to you, or even objectionable… let’s go back and read the Gospels again and discover the roots our church.

Tell us what you think...

The Reason for God, part 2

Just finished reading Tim Kellor’s book, The Reason for God.

Question: Does the evidence point to a gradual dying out of religion in the West, or it on the rise? Not sure? Seeing signs of both? Kellor writes:

Is skepticism or faith on the ascendancy in the world today? The answer is Yes… Skepticism, fear, and anger toward traditional religion are growing in power and influence. But at the same time, robust, orthodox belief in the traditional faiths is growing as well….

In short, the world is polarizing over religion. It is getting both more religious and less religious at the same time. There was once a confident belief that secular European countries were the harbingers for the rest of the world. Religion, it was thought, would thin out from its more robust, supernaturalist forms or die out altogether. But the theory that technological advancement brings inevitable secularization is now being scrapped or radically rethought….

People are opting instead for a nonreligious life, for a non-institutional, personally constructed spirituality, or for orthodox, high-commitment religious groups that expect members to have a conversion experience.

For those of us in the Church, this has one of two effects: it’s a terribly frightening prospect that threatens our current church-culture.

On the other hand, it’s a terribly liberating prospect that paves a clear way for us to adapt the Christian faith to a new emerging culture that has different needs, different values, different perspectives on the world and new forms of mistrust of institutions, technology, government and “religion.” In other words, it gives the church (if she takes advantage of it) a way “in” to speak the language of this new culture. And learning to speak the language of the culture is always the first and most important task of any missionary that is newly arrived in a foreign culture.

What's your take?

The Reason for God, part 1

Just finished reading Tim Kellor’s book, The Reason for God.

Very well written. Provocative. Well-reasoned. Challenging. Convincing. Inclusive. Thorough.

Kellor asks and addresses such common questions as,

• “Why does God allow suffering in the world?”
• “How could a loving God send people to Hell?”
• “Why isn’t Christianity more inclusive?”
• “Hasn’t science disproved Christianity?”
• “Why have so many wars been fought in the name of God?”
• “Can you really take the Bible literally?”

Pastor Tim Kellor is a friend of skeptics, unbelievers, and doubters, who form the core of his Manhattan congregation, and writes as a best friend would write to his friend… with compassion, respect, reason, and conviction. His primary audience has been New Yorkers for the past 20+ years. A tough crowd to convince, much less to have a reasonable conversation with about God and religion. But his experience imbues his writing and he succeeds in addressing each common objection or question that people have with sensitivity, and with all the nuanced complexity that each issue demands.

I highly recommend it as an engaging primer for non-believers or new believers to understand the why’s, what’s, how’s and therefore’s of the Christian faith. I’m planning to buy several copies and give them away. It's that good.

I also highly recommend it for Christians. It will challenge you to rethink why you believe what you believe and will make you the stronger for it. It will give you much deeper insight into the breathtaking brilliance of your faith that will leave you coming away saying, “wow, what an amazing faith.”

Those of you running an Alpha course... this is a great companion!