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Jeff
Joined:
10/5/2005
Total Posts:
674
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Anne Rice's meltdown
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Posted:
7/31/2010 9:02:10 AM
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Keeping my personal opinions on this to myself, it looks like Anne threw a bit of a online temper tantrum at the direction of the Catholic Church. She has renounced Christianity, though she has not renounced Christ.  I wonder if this means she's going back to Lestat now.
http://blog.beliefnet.com/omeoflittlefaith/2010/07/anne-rice-quits-christianity.html
I'm not dumb. I just have a command of thoroughly useless information.
-Calvin
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Joined:
11/9/2006
Total Posts:
91
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RE: Anne Rice's meltdown
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Posted:
7/31/2010 11:54:40 AM
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Interesting. And that's all I'll say as well. Too touchy of a subject to say more.
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The Dude abides
Joined:
6/21/2003
Total Posts:
11,890
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RE: Anne Rice's meltdown
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Posted:
7/31/2010 1:49:04 PM
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I don't think that qualifies as a temper tantrum.
I also don't think you can be dedicated to Christ in the way she describes and not be a "Christian" technically.
But I believe that conservativeism - especially in America - in politics and in social viewpoints have essentially hijacked much of Christianity and turned it into something that is not Christ-like.
I grew up Catholic. It was in my time at Catholic school that I realized that I disagreed with most of the social teachings of the Catholic church. I did not believe that gay people were evil, or that women were less than equal to men, or that using a condom condemned you to an eternity in hellfire. I did not believe in conservative politics, and I believed that scientific discovery had more worldly answers about the world and the universe than blind faith. Like Anne Rice, apparently, I still hold to these beliefs.
In the Gospels (the ones that were, you know, selected for publication by a secular council hundreds of years after Christ walked the earth), Christ preached compassion, humility, and love to all people. Very few Christians today practice these things. I think that is what Anne Rice is speaking out against.
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Jeff
Joined:
10/5/2005
Total Posts:
674
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RE: Anne Rice's meltdown
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Posted:
7/31/2010 2:00:36 PM
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I completely agree, well, except for the last part about the Gospels, but that is conversation for a different place and time  I have a problem with this though. What it seems Anne is doing is trying to pick and choose from her religion. It doesn't work. Also, she is blaming the entire congregation on the actions and words of a few and I find that deplorable. If you have a problem with a specific individual or their teaching, you address them. Not take it out on the whole body. Do we stop being Americans because we don't agree with the current legislation on immigration, drugs, etc., etc.? No, we voice our displeasure with what is going on and fight on.
The whole post had the makings of a tantrum to me. She has been in the Catholic church for how long and she is just figuring out they don't like the gay folks? Or that they are against abortion and birth control? Instead of quitting, why not fight back? Also, what Catholic is anti-life? And, anti-secular humanism??? Isn't that aetheism anyway? Its the belief in humanity not a god or God?
I don't know. To be honest, I'm not going to lose any sleep over the fact that Anne Rice is angry at the Catholic church. I've been angry at them for years. That doesn't mean I walk away from my faith and let them win. I just don't like that she is acting like this is all Christians that are like this. That is not true.
I'm not dumb. I just have a command of thoroughly useless information.
-Calvin
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The Dude abides
Joined:
6/21/2003
Total Posts:
11,890
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RE: Anne Rice's meltdown
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Posted:
7/31/2010 4:22:29 PM
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What it seems Anne is doing is trying to pick and choose from her religion. It doesn't work.
I think that does work. Growing up, my godmother was always what called a "cafeteria Catholic." She takes the parts she likes and leaves the parts she doesn't. I don't see anything wrong with that.
At the end of the day, Anne Rice can have whatever beliefs she wants and call herself whatever she wants.
I don't know much about her aside from the few books of hers I've read, but her posts there seemed rational and fair to herself.
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Black Staff Admin
Joined:
1/20/2003
Total Posts:
13,966
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RE: Anne Rice's meltdown
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Posted:
7/31/2010 7:06:59 PM
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What it seems Anne is doing is trying to pick and choose from her religion. It doesn't work.
According to who? Because the things she had to say exactly line up with God's Word. It's the religion -- a fallible creation of Man -- that has led so many millions astray. I happen to be amused that she finally came to this realization, a realization I had when I was 14, one that so many others have not.
Just my opinion, of course.
"I'm not for hire, and I don't get to choose my path." -- Sider Ament
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Militant Liberal Badass
Joined:
2/3/2003
Total Posts:
5,502
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RE: Anne Rice's meltdown
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Posted:
7/31/2010 8:09:29 PM
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Take every religion and analyze its dogma. Every major religion in the world, then break it down into groups, from the countless Christian religions: Syrian/Aramaic Orthodox, Coptic, Roman Catholic, Russian, Greek and Armenian Orthodox, the older Cathars, the countless denominations of Protestant Christian religions and find the places that they all agree and you'll find very little similarities other than they all profess an allegiance to Jesus Christ or Issa.
Among followers if Islam there are Shiites, Sunni, Kurds, Sufi, etc. and that very eccentric Druze religion that is peripherally related and they don't agree on everything. Among Jews there are Orthodox, Hassidic, Conservative, Reformed and even "Jews For Jesus", and many many more variations. Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Shinto, Zoroastrian, Wiccan, Animist, you name it. With almost every world religion there are variant ways that people worship and believe and this can potentially lead to disagreement and conflicts if people choose to make it so. Or we can simply recognize that each person or group of religious people has found their own way of worshiping and respecting their creator. And some choose to believe that there is no supreme intelligent spiritual being or beings in existence.
Is it worth arguing over?
Anne Rice still professes to believe in and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, but since she has separated herself from her particular flavor of Christianity, she now says she is no longer Christian. I don't understand her logic there, but since spirituality is a personal path, I can't really question her about it because it's just none of my business.
"Those that live by the sword are often shot by those of us that don't."
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Jeff
Joined:
10/5/2005
Total Posts:
674
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RE: Anne Rice's meltdown
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Posted:
8/1/2010 11:21:34 AM
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Because the things she had to say exactly line up with God's Word. It's the religion -- a fallible creation of Man -- that has led so many millions astray.
That is your opinion that its a fallible creation of Man Shawn. I know, I'm in the minority here in my beliefs and won't get into it again. As this isn't a religious forum, but i take issue with that statement because I still believe Scripture to be the inspired Word of God and am a born again Christian. I just don't see it that way that you do.
Is it worth arguing over?
Nope, not at all. Like you said, its Anne's path, not ours.
I'm not dumb. I just have a command of thoroughly useless information.
-Calvin
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Joined:
6/17/2008
Total Posts:
2,269
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RE: Anne Rice's meltdown
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Posted:
8/1/2010 11:34:25 PM
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My whole stand on God and religon is this: all, or at least most of the religons of the world worship the same one God. It's just other religons break the deity into parts like the sun, or earth, or time, or the seasons, death, love, etc. Not wanting to argue, just wanted to give my two cents.
And I think Anne Rice took the wong approach to this. Don't renounce Christianity, renounce the Christians. They are human beings, and as such unreliable in many ways. Even I, a fellow Christian, stink at being one. 20 years old and just got baptized less than a year ago, on top of never doing anything with my church, and not having gone to church at all in over a year.
The Sword is still only a sword, whether it has magic or not, it knows only to bite at the whim of its wielder's arm.
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Soylent Green is people!
Joined:
1/12/2009
Total Posts:
937
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RE: Anne Rice's meltdown
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Posted:
8/2/2010 7:22:40 AM
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Religion of anykind is very personal. I feel sorry for what Ms. Rice has gone through emotionally over many years(death of daughter and husband, disillusionment with Catholic Church, etc...), I hope she finds her peace of mind somewhere.
I personally don't understand her statement of denouncing all Christianity because she doesn't agree with the Catholic Church. I mean if you don't agree with Catholics there are at least 33,820* other denominations of Christian churches out there for you.
*taken from the Oxford's World Christian Encyclopedia
http://www.bringyou.to/apologetics/a120.htm
No matter how cold the Winter, there's a Springtime ahead.
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