Fragmentary

The Guardian reported a few days ago that author Anne Rice is giving up being a Christian. she can, the article states, no longer be a part of a group which has members who condemn huge groups of the population to Hell. Apparently this crisis was brought to a head by reading an article about the American punk ministry “You Can Run but you can’t hide” being blatently anti-gay in a Minnesota paper.

I have to admit to getting more than a little annoyed by these sort of articles on many levels. But what is interesting is that whilst she has given up on the institution she has not given up on Jesus. There is a semantic argument to be made about following Christ (in whatever mode) making one a Christian – but that is not her point.

Her point is simple she does not want to label herself with the same label which others use to promote things she regards as evil and antithetical to her gut feelings about her faith. We can all understand this – “Christians” are too often seen as judgemental, boring and using religion as an excuse for personal hatred and agenda.

I really think that the reason these groups which promote hate, thinly veiled as religion, do so well is that they offer confidence. They offer a confident answer to the problems in the world (ie. that they are caused by people of a certain orientation or religion) and they boost the self-confidence of those who are seeking meaning, often in lives which offer them little social or economic hope.

People who have little experience of love have to be taught love. People who have experienced family as a place of hurt or abuse cannot relate to a Christianity which promotes caring community. People who have never experienced hope do not recognize it. They do recognize the language of power, domination and hatred.

It is not enough for us to talk about a vaguely middle class, academic and ethereal Jesus – there is a Jesus of raw emotion too and that Jesus is love, love which does not express itself in violence but transforms our deepest hurts. Our challenge is not to walk away from our title – our naming in Christ – but to embrace it with confidence – reaching out to those who have no language for Christ.