Welcome one and all. This site is intended to explore what it means to be a follower of Yeshua Ben Yosuf, aka Jesus, and hopefully it will be a place where reasonable and respectful conversations can take place regarding the current state of Christendom and where it might be headed. Gnu Christians believe that the Gnu Athiests have correctly pointed out the significant shortcomings of all religions, of churches, and of individuals who claim to be Christians. Gnu Xians also believe that many Christian fundamentalists are focused on 2000 years of church dogma and doctrine rather than on the life and teachings of Yeshua. When it comes to following Jesus in the post-Christendom era, Gnu Christians aspire to project the spirit of the words of the late Stephen Huneck posted outside the Dog Chapel in Vermont - "All Breeds and All Creeds are Welcome - No Dogma Allowed."



Sunday, November 21, 2010

FOLLOWING YESHUA BUT NOT A CHRISTIAN

Some of the upcoming posts are going to be "testimonies" from folks who have proclaimed that they would rather be identified as followers of Jesus rather than as Christians.  A recent and fairly notable statement was made by Anne Rice.  Rice is an author of note, and the Digital Journal said this about her:  "Rice, 68, probably best known for her novels 'Interview With a Vampire' and the books of her 'Beauty Trilogy', had been raised as a Catholic but had rejected the church as an adult, becoming an atheist instead. However, in 2008, she published a memoir entitled "Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession," in which she made clear that she had returned to her original faith in recent years."

Her statement earlier this year was short and to the point:

"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."
 "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."
After her announcement, Christianity Today did an interview with her talking about following Christ without Christianity.  It is worth your time to read through the transcript because I think that in many ways, Rice is a Gnu Christian.
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