Anne Rice leaving the Church again...or is she?

Anne Rice, the author of the popular VAMPIRE CHRONICLES series as well as her current (and excellent) CHRIST THE LORD series, has announced she is "leaving Christianity". This was surprising to me, especially in light of her much-publicized return to the Catholic Church after decades of atheism.

From CNN

"For those who care, and I understand if you don't: Today I quit being a Christian ... 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."

The next day she clarified with the following:

"My faith in Christ is central to my life. My conversion from a pessimistic atheist lost in a world I didn't understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God is crucial to me...But following Christ does not mean following His followers. Christ is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be, no matter what Christianity is, has been or might become."

Being a revert to the faith, I certainly can empathize with her struggles - she seems a bit torn, in my opinion. And it certainly would be a shame if she did not continue the CHRIST THE LORD series; her portrayal of Jesus of Nazareth and 1st century Judea is just astounding. I had been looking forward to her 2008 book which documented her return to the Church, CALLED OUT OF DARKNESS: A SPIRITUAL CONFESSION. I'm wondering what the read will be like in light of Ms. Rice's current spiritual struggles.

I can't pretend to know her thinking and reasons for leaving Christianity (although she remains a follower of Jesus). I can only continue to admire her writing, and to pray she finds her spiritual home, wherever that might turn out to be. God speed, Anne.


Daily Mass Readings
Jeremiah 26:1-9
Psalm 69:5,8-10,14
Matthew 13:54-58