“Liberace was gay” has finally been knocked the #1 spot of all-time celebrity “duh!” revelations, as Catholic-turned-atheist-turned-Christian-turned-whothehellknows author Anne Rice has evidently discovered that organized Christianity is – shockingly! – NOT all that welcoming to left-leaning feminists best known for sexually-explicit romance novels about bisexual vampires and BDSM-reworkings of fairytales. Wicked shock’a, as we say here in Boston.
Says Rice on her Facebook:
“As I said below, 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.”
All of which places me in the unusual (for me) position of genuinely enjoying something written by Anne Rice 😉
MOVIEBOB CENTRAL 
Allow me to be the first to welcome Ms. Rice back to the fold of secular humanism. Praise the Godtopus, it's a miracle!
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She sounds like a nice lady.
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I'm a Christian and I'm none of the things she listed, and I know plenty of other Christians like me. She just needs to come to Portland, Oregon.
Actually I guess I'd have to say I'm anti-secular humanism, but that seems unavoidable since our ideologies are drastically different. I don't hate them or anything. That seems like an odd thing to put on the list.
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I really really really really really really really really really really really wish people would stop using “christian” as a word for “radically right-wing holly roller.” Christianity isn't any simpler than any other religion and there's so many different kinds of us that, similar to the unfortunate situation with Islam, the only ones you tend to hear about are the radical controversial ones the alarmist media loves to talk about. Christianity is, like so many things in this world, perfectly good in moderation.
Just to prove my point, wanna know some people who are also christian?
Jessu Otaku and Linkara.
None of what Ms. Rice mentioned is inherent in Christianity, and if she thinks it is then she's been hanging out with the wrong christians, and just for the record, they're the ones I'm mostly pissed off at.
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@ Samuel. THANK YOU.
I don't know about you guys, but where I live, most people can be described as “uneducated agnostic”. I have nothing against agnostics… I have a lot against lack of education. Example: I got into a LONG argument in which the opposite party was convinced Islam is older than Christianity but still more barbaric… Quick, do a Google check: Islam is 600 years YOUNGER. Don't even get me started on the barbarism argument.
The same goes for Christians. There are ass-hats, just like any other group of humans in history, but you can't judge the whole by the actions and words of a few.
When it's all said and done, the question really should be “does the Bible's message have some good merit?” I don't think anyone can argue that the core message of forgiveness is something worth preserving.
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@ Samuel as well, Exactly!
Why would someone even jump into a religion without any reassurance. She's just hanging out with the wrong crowd.
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You know, maybe I'm confused, because I'm Christian and I'm not anti-any of those things. But I guess it must be an entire religion's fault that Anne Rice can't handle difficult ideas.
Sorry Anne Rice, the problem isn't Christianity, it's you.
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Not sure about all this, I don't have anything against spirituality on an individual basis but I don't trust organised religion.
It just seems like too many weak willed people are manipulated in the name of god.
Why not just make it personal? There's no need for conformity.
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@ Andrew:
As much as I agree it's up to the individual to work out their relationship with the divine, whatever their view of the divine is, I also believe that a healthy religious community can be a positive force in helping one articulate their faith.
The key to any healthy faith, IMO, is having an equal part reason. I once heard a saying I'm quite fond of: “Faith and Reason are like shoes on your feet: You can walk further with both.” So yes, organized religion can be bad. But with a good community and equal parts reason and faith, there is good to be found in an organized religion.
The real problem is spotting the troublemakers and keeping them from polluting a good thing. There are two things I have faith in: 1) God (whatever he/she/them/etc. is)does have a hand in our lives, even if it's a subtle hand; And 2)Humans will constantly fuck up a good thing.
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@Samuel and John
I SO agree with you.
There are a couple things I don't understand regarding religion though.
1. Some of the most popular comedians of the contemporary age are either atheists, agnostics, or secular skeptics, such as Seth McFarlane, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, George Carlin, Bill Hicks, and Matt Groening. Why is it that this part of the population is considered funnier than comedians who ARE part of a religion? Is it because they have little to no moral qualms offending the views of theists or what-have-you? I would go into the “Draw Muhammad Day” thing, but that's thin ice already.
2. Generalization. Why DO some secularists tend to paint pictures of religious people as a whole as brainwashed barbaric schizophrenics, based on the actions of a few? I found this one quote that kinda irritated me: “Science flies people into space; religion flies people into buildings.” That is a generalization/stereotype in my book. Not all Muslims want to hijack aircraft and crash it into the Pentagon. Not all Muslims behead American reporters(Daniel Pearl) or Dutch filmmakers(Theo Van Gogh).
Science isn't the end-all, be-all savior of civilization either. The Manhattan Project, anyone? Or how about the ethical ramifications of being able to genetically engineer a “perfect” baby while it's still in the womb? (I actually heard about this).
The door swings both ways.
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so what surprises me is if Rice was *already* a lapsed christian, she presumably was so because she disagreed with it all…. so why did she then go back? just seems kinda ridiculous to quit, rejoin, then quit again, and take it seriously. Who is she, Brett Favre?
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