Anne Rice, famed “vampire genre” author of several well-known and acclaimed books, recently stated publicly that she “quit Christianity”. Want to read about it? Click here. However, upon closer inspection of her forsaking “Christianity” as her stated religion, she clearly is trying to stay close to Jesus Christ. This presents a problem: it’s impossible.
Impossible, and yet quite trendy. And comfortable. And easy. And non-sensical. And unbiblical. And trendy.
From what I can gather, the movement known as the “Emerging Church” has based its premise of existence on a similar notion. Here’s the idea: Following a decapitated Jesus. There seems to be a subtle dismissal (and sometimes blatant condemning) of the body of Christ as it is as new trends in church leadership bring a new a kind of Christianity. Ironically enough, the word “Church” (ekklesia) is still in their name.
Jesus said clearly that He is the “head of the Church” (Eph. 5:23) and that His followers (mathetes) are His body (1 Cor. 12:27). And yet it seems that some people try and marry Jesus’ head without marrying His body. Again, I’ll say it: Impossible.
Anne Rice’s #1 reason for leaving Christianity? She has reached the conclusion that the word “Christian” is synonymous/interchangable with words like “anti-gay”, “right-wing conservative”, “bigoted”, “judgmental”, “condescending” and the ever en vogue “hypocritical”. To her, Christians are defined by those people who profess one thing while living something else.
So, what should someone do when they find more in the Church to condemn than celebrate? What should someone do who wants to cling to Christ but tell His followers to “take a hike”? What should someone do who has become disenfranchised by the short-fallings of those they’re attached to, by virtue of being under the same “religious” umbrella? What does someone do when they, like Anne Rice, find themselves wanting to follow Jesus, but want to have no part of “organized religion”? Here are my thoughts.
1. Remember your humanity. This one sounds simple, I admit. But if you’ll just remember the frailty of your own skin, bones, attitudes, spirit, and self then you’re a step away from remembering that every other person on the planet has the same frailties. We’re all spiritual beings wrapped in flawed and broken vessels. And inasmuch as we are all imperfect, we need to stop expecting anyone (even “Christians”) to live completely perfect lives. Do some Christians seem to place themselves on some higher pedestal where they look down on others? Sure they do. And so do some Buddhists. And so do some Muslims. And so do some Taoists. And so do some Wiccans. And so do some Hindus. And so do some Atheists. And so do some Gnostics. And so do some Mormons. And so do some Free Masons. Why? Because the one thing we all have in common is that we are all broken humans. Remember that and you’ll find yourself open to grace for others, perhaps as quickly as you receive it for yourself.
2. Remember the definition of “religion”. Let’s be clear. Jesus didn’t come to establish a religion. In fact, that is one thing that sets Him completely apart from all other “religions”. Jesus came to “seek and save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10) The idea that the final mission of Jesus was to simply establish guidelines for living is utterly offensive. Jesus’ mission was far more radical and ultimately eternal. Jesus came to reunite the Creator with His creation. If I have one thing against the Church today, its that we’re really good at producing “nice people” or “responsible citizens” and “good neighbors”. Those are good things, but if that’s all we’re producing…God help us. Jesus came to make us nice AND dangerous. Dangerous toward the “wiles of the devil”, dangerous in that we are charged with “bringing heaven to earth”. The definition of religion (look it up for yourself) is more about a sense of guidelines and rules based on a particular belief. Now, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: If what you believe doesn’t affect how you behave, then you really don’t believe it.” To be sure, living right (Jesus called “righteousness”) is absolutely an essential part of the life of a follower of Jesus. But religion speaks more about making behavior the primary issue. That’s why if you were to walk outside right now and approach the first person you see and ask them, “Do you think you’ll go to heaven?”, you’re more than likely going to hear something like this…
“Yes, I think I’ll go to heaven (if there is one). You ask, “Why do you think you’ll go to heaven?” They’ll respond, “Because I’ve basically been a good person. I’ve done more good than bad. I haven’t killed or raped anybody. I think God will let me in because I’ve basically lived a good life and tried to be nice to people.”
Our focus on “doing good” is not a bad thing (of course), its just that we’ve put too much emphasis on that being the MAIN criteria for entrance into heaven and eternal salvation. Tisk tisk.
#3: Remember grace. This one sounds close to #1, but when a person hears, receives, and is transformed by God’s grace, they MUST live a life from that point on that seeks only to communicate that grace to every other person they come into contact with. Any good Christian (and most non-Christians) can quote John 3:16 to you. You know, the one about how much God loves the world, and how He gave His only Son so that anyone who believes in Him (Jesus) won’t die but will live forever.” However, we need to know just as well the very next verse; that Jesus didn’t come to earth to condemn it, but that through Him the world (that’s us) might be saved. Where in there are we as His followers called to bring the gavel down? We are called to love the Truth, love all people, and to speak truth (Eph. 4:15) with love. Some people are really good at speaking truth but lacking the love part, and some people are so loving that they forget the truth part. Both of those are equally off.
We’ve come to this idea today that the greatest kind of love accepts everyone’s beliefs as all true, all valid, all equal. This is actually the most pretentious farce of real love as we can hold and perpetuate. “Tolerance” has seen its crest in popularity and is now engrained in our children. Tolerance says that I can say that there is a God and I’m right because I believe it. And you can say that there is no God and you’re right because you believe it. And neither of us should say anything that might hint at the fact that we’re completely illogical as long as we hold tight to our “tolerance”. Its completely disrespectful in today’s society to convey any sense of absolute. Why? Because absolutes inevitably make someone uncomfortable and God (or Allah or Buddha or the Jolly Green Giant)-forbid that we make anyone uncomfortable.
So goodbye Anne Rice, enjoy your walk into the sunset with the head of Jesus tucked under your arm. We, His body, those who love Him, love others, give grace, seek justice, walk humbly, and love mercy will be here if (and when) you get back.
*That Newsweek magazine cover was added April 2012, 2 years AFTER this post was originally written. Pretty crazy, huh?
jerrythinks. 
There’s basically three types of people that I have encountered in my life’s journey thus far…
1) Good people who “want” to be good, and are good at being good.
2) Bad people who genuinely “want” to be good, and try to be good, but struggle with staying good.
3) Bad people who “want” to be bad, and are really good at being bad.
You stated that the church is really good a producing good people, but I’ve found all three types of people inside the church, and all three types of people outside the church… and all three types, in all different types of churches. Perhaps the church is just good at attracting more people that “want” to be good – rather than actually producing much of anything more than a sense of belonging. While the church may a good place for the types that “want” to be good, and helpful for those that struggle with staying good, I’ve not found any church that can change the “wants” of a person… including Anne Rice.
True words indeed. And you’re absolutely right about the church not being back to change the “wants” of a person. That’s something only God’s Spirit can do! I do believe though that a good church both encourages a person spiritually and challenges them into more and more obedience to the call of Christ on His followers. And I’d dare say that a church that creates a sense of belonging is off to a good start, but JUST a start! After all, I can get a sense of belonging at a bar, or a ballpark, or a country club, or at home. Thanks for the comment, Myles.
I’ve found that a sense of belonging is the basic the source of attraction (and membership retention) for whatever religion people “belong to” – including Christianity. I might venture to suggest that the bar, ballpark, home, country club and church are all religions. They all have “a sense of guidelines and rules based on a particular belief”, such as, don’t cheer for the opposing team, listen to your mother, don’t burp too loud in the country club, and never wear an AC/DC t-shirt to Sunday school. “Belonging to something”, is not the same as “longing to be something” and for me, the church is not the source, origin, nor conduit of my longing.
I certainly wouldn’t think that the church is or should be the “source, origin, nor conduit” of your longing. Jesus alone deserves that place of honor and intimacy.
But I’d disagree with you on 1 point: that the church is a religion. I can certainly agree that seems to be what it has become, but in its proper understanding the Church is the people of the world who follow Jesus Christ, God’s only Son; the Bible calls the Church “the body of Christ” which returns us to the point of this particular blog post: separating the body from the head and expecting life is an unrealistic, albeit popular endeavor.
I do agree however that the activities of the church can become an idol for some. (Or perhaps better put: the church SERVICE has become a religion.) Things like worship services, a favorite preacher, a particular style of worship, choir, and the routine of “going to church” can quietly slip in and take the place of an authentic relationship with our Creator. God made us to need each other, to crave community, and to find it with Him as the centerpiece. When He isn’t, that “sense of guidelines and rules based on a particular belief” that you mentioned begins to take over and all your left with is empty religion, not passionate relationship with God and God’s people.