Recently, an author named Anne Rice has been making headlines exclaiming that she has "quit Christianity." This is a woman who's written novels ranging from vampire fiction to historical books on the life of Jesus.
One may assume this could mean that she is quitting her faith altogether. But, several people do this in different religions every day, so why the big fuss?
Rice has actually taken the "relationship, not religion" aspect of looking at her faith. She had a strict Catholic upbringing that she abandoned, then later returned to. But now, she has decided to leave the Catholic church and no longer give herself the label of Christian.
Rice actually has a point here. But I believe she has her terminology a tad mistaken. The definition of a Christian is one who follows Christ. Rice still follows Christ, but doesn't want to associate herself with Christianity?
Let me give a brief explanation of what Christianity is: To know Christ, and to make Him known. As long as you are growing in your faith, then you're on the right track. It is NOT about repetitious prayer, incense, denominations, traditions, or etc. created by people.
I'll be the first to tell you, that yes, many churches today are corrupt and have no vision, despite what was written in their charter. However, there are a few churches that base upon what Christ wanted for the Church, not meaningless traditions. That is one of the reasons I chose my church, Church of the Highlands.
If I could speak to Rice, I would tell her, yes, you are a Christian. You can't follow Christ and claim to not be a Christian. But at the same time, you're on the right track when it comes to your main focus being on a relationship with Him.
Rules and regulations don't get you to Heaven. That's an ancient Hebrew way of looking at things, because that is what they had to do. Jesus came to CHANGE that! He wants to know you for you, not your endless rituals.
Source
http://life.nationalpost.com/2010/08/05/father-raymond-j-de-souza-anne-rice-wants-christ-without-the-christianity/
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