Anne Rice: Apostate

Almost a full year ago I blogged about being surprised and delighted to discover Anne Rice's book reviews at Amazon. This was in spite of the fact that I had never read any of her novels, and also in spite of the fact that she was, at the time, a Christian, and often wrote about Christianity in her reviews. I found her writing to be engaging, highly intelligent and refreshingly honest and direct.

I was especially blown away to read such a thoughtful and positive review of Jan Assman's Moses the Egyptian, written by an outspoken Christian!

But now, well, I just might be in love. Below is, verbatim, what Ms. Rice posted on Facebook yesterday:

For those who care, and I understand if you don't: Today I quit being a Christian. I'm out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being "Christian" or to being part of Christianity. It's simply impossible for me to "belong" to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten ...years, I've tried. I've failed. I'm an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.

A few minutes later, she posted this:

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 I can think to say is: Jesus Christ on a bicycle. And wouldn't "Apostate" make a great title for an Anne Rice novel? Or a memoir?