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Should Anne Rice go to church? On the one hand, by not going to church, she's missing out on learning to love unconditionally the self-righteous, narrow-minded jerks she despises (not that all Christians are like that). That means she's missing out on some character development. On the other hand, not everyone is strong enough to be around self-righteous, narrow-minded jerks, and to be pushed to endorse stuff with which he disagrees. Did you watch Joel Osteen last night? He talked about "toxic relationships".
To satisfy a lot of Christians, you have to not only attend church, but also fellowship and be a part of a community. That's pretty taxing! And you have to be zealous and enthusiastic about "what the Bible says". Well, accepting "what the Bible says" is one thing. Actually liking it and being enthusiastic about it is another thing entirely.
I don't believe in hating Christians, for, at the very least, I should view them as people, with the same struggles that everyone else has. That's why I pray for Christians on prayer boards, even though I disagree with their beliefs, or how they express them.
But, unfortunately, I'm finding that I am just as I was when I was criticizing liberals. If a liberal would talk about something bad a conservative was doing, I'd point out examples of prominent liberals doing the exact same thing---as if that actually vindicated conservatism. Well, when one woman I know was criticizing Anne Rice for being self-righteous and judgmental towards Christians, I was about to say that Christians themselves can be self-righteous and judgmental. But where does pointing out double-standards really get us? It raises defenses.
And yet, I'm glad that Anne Rice criticized Christianity, because I hope it leads to reflection within the Christian movement. I may not care for Christianity, but perhaps I think that it should be tough enough to absorb criticism and to reflect on it. For some Christians, it does; for others, it doesn't.
