quitting the church
On July 28th author Anne Rice quit Christianity. She made the announcement publicly on facebook. It has caused quite a stir and media outlets big and small have spent a good amount of time talking about her decision. Noted pastors and theologians (Brian McLaren and Mark Driscoll to mention two) have weighed in and the blogosphere has been abuzz with reactions, affirming and violently opposed.
I find the conversation that has grown out of Anne's announcement more interesting than the announcement itself. That Anne recognized and articulated an incongruity between the teachings and life of Jesus and the various expressions of Christianity throughout the world is hardly shocking. For as long as there has been a church it has failed, failed to be the embodiment of God's love for the world. The church is not perfect nor has it ever been perfect, instead it waits for, longs for, and lives into the promised perfection of God's future.
This is why we come together as the church, as Christians. It is not because we think we have it all figured out, that we have all the answers. We come together as church to hear again the story of God that transforms communities. We come together to become (again) the people for whom God entered into this broken, confused, mean and nasty world. We come together to see (again) a different world, the world that God intends. And for better or worse this happens in communities, in bodies gathered together, so while we can get really mad and sad and fed up with what the church has done and continues to do, I don't think we can quit. Thoughts?
We are chosen
Two things -
1). We don't choose God; God chooses us, and brings us into the family of believers. We may think we can make ourselves unchosen (maybe like we can "unfriend" on Facebook), but I think that God has more to say about the situation than we do.
2). We belong to each other in the family of God. You can ignore your family, but you're always still part of your family, and your family is part of you. There's no individual choice in the matter.
Martin Luther (and Paul) would say that our salvation has been predetermined by a gracious God. You can't really quit.
Dave Michel
Quitting what?
I've known more than a few people that have come and gone from Christianity for the same sort of reasons. My impression is that tends to be due to misunderstandings and sometimes overly optimistic expectations of what Christianity is.
We as human beings are self-destructive. We prefer quick fixes and instant gratification instead of and frequently at the expense of permanent solutions and long-term successes. We seek physical and emotional pleasure in excess, even when it brings ultimate harm to our bodies and our relationships. Many major religions involve complex systems of curtailing or outright forbidding these behaviors that come so naturally to all of us; limiting how we use money, emphasizing monogamy, controlling what we eat and drink. Yet there is very little anyone can do to change what we WANT to do if we could get away with it.
Following Jesus doesn't 'magically' make all this go away. Knowing that you are loved by God does however change a few things. God cares how you treat your body: your body is a holy creation, unique and important, and it should be treated as such. God cares how you treat the soul inside that body: it too is a holy creation, and will exist for eternity. The same goes for the bodies and souls of the people around you. By harming and destroying these things we become harmed ourselves, but God loves us so much that God chooses to heal that harm by making it no longer eternal.
Following Jesus means we desire and actively seek to rise above these behaviors and help others to do so as well. Following Jesus means we work hard to undo the present harm we do to each other to demonstrate our attempts at loving people like God loves us. And above all, following Jesus means loving God back for not letting us destroy ourselves.
Does anyone who calls themselves a Christian do this perfectly, even proficiently? Hardly. Being a Christian doesn't mean you are no longer human.
Are there those who don't call themselves Christian and strive for these same things? Yes. And are there those who call themselves Christian and do not? Unfortunately yes.
I don't know what 'quitting Christianity' means. Being "quarrelsome, hostile, [and] disputatious" were never Christian goals. What did she fail at, and what, more importantly will Anne Rice (and others like her) do differently now? Will she stop loving other people? Will she stop loving herself? Will she stop loving God? Because God and the followers of God's son Jesus will never stop loving her.
anger toward God and church
I am so sad to know that people get away from God in moments when they can get the most of knowing his great love for us.
God will always, forgive our anger and welcome us with open arms.
Let's pray for the angry and far away from God and church.
Let's not preach them, but love them unconditionally as God would have or still does.
God uses our pain to clean our sins and takes us to seat close to him for eternity.
This is our life in the world, full of tentations, lock of money and evil.
In the eternal life God promises, freedom from hunger, and freedom from dependence in material things.
This life is a bridge to it, and faith will make us stronger to overcome illness and problems, if we believe God is planning for us a free of pain eternal life.
Let's believe in God's promises and love.
Community and the Life of the Spirit...
This is an important discussion. And our expectations—what they are, or what we let go of—likely determine our responses here.
For me, churches and forms of religious institution live, to the degree they are truly alive for people, in order to serve the life of the spirit. Yet it easily can become the other way around: people's lives and explorations of spirituality serving an institution. There is understandably a back and forth, some element of reciprocity involved, yet when the balance tips backwards it seems clear that churches can do severe damage in the normal desire to secure their survival rather than risk it in serving... other deeper callings.
At the same time, religion and churches get a bad rap in this sense: I don't think one can be spiritual without community. In some way, in some form, we derive our beings, including our spiritual beings especially, in dialog and concert and communion—even confrontation—with others. Or some form of “other,” in the vast mystery of its many manifestations. What can seem the lone spiritual quest actually cannot be so solitary.
And I believe, hey, of course we can leave a church or a group if it no longer serves us; yet a great “church” would never be so small that it could not include whatever we would leave for, in order to search for something else. But sadly, sometimes the integrity or the freedom or the support for such seeking would not seem to be there for someone. And churches, as human organizations, do outright damage to some people at times. An ideal church would understand and accept—even support—any movement to or from that supports healing and wholeness for any and all. But, as the saying goes, our arms are too short to box with God...
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