Anne Rice, Buffets, and her Dog-eared Bible

Last night on ABC world news they did a story about, former Atheist turned Catholic turned anti-organized religion, author Anne Rice. After converting to Catholicism in the late eighties, her childhood faith before becoming an Atheist at 18, Rice wrote for more then a decade about vampires and such before pasty flesh white dudes were hot.

Nonetheless, recently on her Facebook page she wrote that she was "quitting Christianity" because she was tired of being anti-gay, anti-abortion, etc... She still wanted to be considered a "follower of Christ" but she was tired of being part of a group so full of hatred for others who weren't like them.

One of the main points that Rice and the reporter of the story kept bringing up was her problem with Christianity's stance on homosexuality and the fact that her son was gay. Up to this point I would have simply called this problem a conflict of interest because of the sexual status of her son, however, the story showed her flipping through her dog-eared Bible and how as a "follower of Christ" she will continue to only read the captions of her Bible that are dog-eared.

Anne Rice's departure from Christianity shows two major problems that exist within the Church today:

1. the growing discontent with people and organized religion. How many Christians do you know who simply just stay at home on Sunday because of what happened to them at such and such church decades ago? Also, I believe this is a major factor the non-denominational movement is still growing (notice the amount of Christians whom you talk with who identify themselves as anything else besides a Christian or the churches that don't have a denominational affiliation) and those who consider themselves Atheists is at an all time high (17 % among Americans).
2. the growing number of theological confessions among people that resemble a buffet. It's pick and choose Christianity. I choose to accept the parts of the Bible that proclaim salvation or what have you, yet I choose not to accept the parts that state a certain part of my lifestyle, or someone else's for that matter, are sinful or wrong.

I believe Rice's problem has to do more with number 2 then one. Rice has been a Christian for nearly a decade and half now. Where was this backlash against the Church's stance on homosexuality in the late 1980's, 90's, or 00's? The churches stance on gay marriage hasn't changed since then. Catholics and Mormons were as much against gay marriage when she reverted back to her childhood faith as they were when they both promoted prop 8 in 2008.

Unless Rice had successfully turned a blind eye to what the Bible and Churches worldwide have proclaimed about homosexuality for some 20-25 years, much less to what her church has proclaimed for some 2000 years, it appears this new found problem with Christianity is about a conflict she is having with the sexual status of her son and the Bible she claims as inspired that states numerous times that homosexuality is wrong. It's the easy way out. Choose to follow "the way of Jesus", but don't associate with his followers. Choose to accept certain aspects of the Bible, but reject others. You dog-ear what you like and never read what you don't want to. The Bible becomes a buffet, and you are free to believe what you do and don't want to.

Maybe we should just call it the way of the Rich Young Ruler. Have your cake and it eat it too.