By Lisa Kerr ~
In August, 2010, Anne Rice came out and said,
I couldn't have agreed more with her decision. For quite a few years, I've spent time deconstructing my own faith and came up with a very similar conclusion.
I can no longer call myself a Christian.
Ironically, I think this is a very "Christ-like" decision, since I don't think modern Christianity represents Christ and the teachings of modern preachers seem to me very unintellectual, simple, and money and power hungry. I think if "Christ came back" he'd say WTF?!
But, I don't blame the state of the Church on preachers themselves. I think each individual who accepts the teachings of pastors also has some part in the state of the church. Accepting the state of the church as anti-gay, anti-science, anti-feminist is something I did for years. I became a reverend in that state. I didn't question the under educated pastors who were passing on terminology and ideas that hadn't been well-thought out or deconstructed. They hadn't been doubted by them, or criticized. They just slopped it into my bowl and I drank from it.
I resigned from being a reverend in 2003. I still continued to do ministry until 2005, and there I started attending college. A secular college. The deconstruction of my faith came during my college years, but not necessarily because of them. Immediately after leaving my cult, the slop just tasted terrible. I started recognizing that most of it was b.s. and I'd questioned it BEFORE Master's Commission, and needed to revert back to that time before I entered into a mind-control environment. It was hard to get in touch with who I was before Master's and the ministry, but I did it. I found a girl who was guilt-free, lacked a constant condemnation, and thought a lot about everything. That girl was normal (for the most part), listened to secular music, watched Rated R movies, and read all kinds of different books. I resumed my life there.
I'm not a Christian anymore. I didn't lose my faith. I decided to get rid of it.
My faith was cumbersome to my personal growth, to my well-being as a human being, and to my desire to be a compassionate person who loved the world as it is.
I was wrapped up in fundamentalism for years. Someone said:
I don't believe fundamentalism is representative of all Christianity or all Christians, but what I believe doesn't coincide with either belief system.
I'm not a Christian anymore. I didn't lose my faith. I decided to get rid of it. What I believe now is that there is no heaven or hell. Those are scare tactics taught to us by pastors around the world to pressure us into a relationship with God. Sometimes this is for their own "number game." Sometimes it's so that they can say their church is growing and the Holy Spirit is moving. Sometimes it's for the perpetuation of something they learned was "right" and just kept doing without questioning whether it was right or godly or not.
I believe the Bible is not inerrant. It's complicated. It's a historical document, filled with interesting stories and myths. Did God create Eve out of Adam's rib? Probably not. In fact, that's the exact type of thing I'm talking about. That myth perpetuates the idea that Eve is less than Adam. She also tempted Adam and caused them to get kicked out of the Garden. Those early Genesis teachings are anti-women and reinstate patriarchal power structures that are harmful to male and female alike.
The Bible is also filled with the promotion of slavery, more oppressive language toward women, gays, and it can be a dangerous tool in the hands of fundamentalist Christians inciting violence and war rhetoric (the "army of the Lord" fighting against the "ungodly").
I don't believe America is or should be a Christian nation. First, there are a lot of Christians who disagree on things such as abortion, gun control, the environment, etc. I believe the United States is a nation of Jews, Muslims, and multiple other religions, ideologies, and beliefs. America also contains a group of citizens who are anti-theist, atheist who are not "heathens" or "evil" or even wrong. They're human beings. They're not going to die and call out to God on their death bed. They're satisfied with their lives.
I respect science and scientists. I believe evolution is more plausible than any of the other theories of why we exist today. I think it's necessary to learn and educate ourselves about how we've evolved as a biological being and anthropologically.
I believe that women are not sub-human to men. We don't need to submit. We are not superior, but equal to men. I disagree with men and women who oppress women using the Bible, political and cultural ideologies, etc. This use of the Bible to promote the "gentle-spirited" woman is harmful for women; it doesn't consider us individuals capable of being wild; and it's oppressive to men, promoting the idea of a "manly man" as the only ideal of a godly man. These teachings (explicit and implied) harm people's confidence in themselves, pervert individual traits, and control sex and gender roles.
On that note, I'm strongly against patriarchal religion. I don't believe that God or gods are a Father. I don't think God is a Him, and this language and idea oppresses women and men.
I share all of this with you because I'm ready to come out as Anne Rice did. I'm tired of putting on pretenses that I am someone I'm not. I'm proud of how I've evolved into the woman I am today, the relationships I have with people who support me (and a pretty awesome family who loves me through all of this) and like me for who I am rather than what I believe or don't believe. I'm also really excited about drafting the plans to my own life, following some and discarding others based on what I think is right, not what someone tells me is right (or God's voice). My life has become a journey filled with heartache, and pain, growth and critical thinking, and embracing the wild and exciting part of myself.
I'm happy with my quirkiness, my ability to make people laugh, and the unique way I form a thought, feel things deeply, and care about people.
I like me.
 |
| "Vampire Christ" by D.W. Frydendall |
"I quit being a Christian. I'm out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being a Christian. Amen" (link).
I couldn't have agreed more with her decision. For quite a few years, I've spent time deconstructing my own faith and came up with a very similar conclusion.
I can no longer call myself a Christian.
Ironically, I think this is a very "Christ-like" decision, since I don't think modern Christianity represents Christ and the teachings of modern preachers seem to me very unintellectual, simple, and money and power hungry. I think if "Christ came back" he'd say WTF?!
But, I don't blame the state of the Church on preachers themselves. I think each individual who accepts the teachings of pastors also has some part in the state of the church. Accepting the state of the church as anti-gay, anti-science, anti-feminist is something I did for years. I became a reverend in that state. I didn't question the under educated pastors who were passing on terminology and ideas that hadn't been well-thought out or deconstructed. They hadn't been doubted by them, or criticized. They just slopped it into my bowl and I drank from it.
I resigned from being a reverend in 2003. I still continued to do ministry until 2005, and there I started attending college. A secular college. The deconstruction of my faith came during my college years, but not necessarily because of them. Immediately after leaving my cult, the slop just tasted terrible. I started recognizing that most of it was b.s. and I'd questioned it BEFORE Master's Commission, and needed to revert back to that time before I entered into a mind-control environment. It was hard to get in touch with who I was before Master's and the ministry, but I did it. I found a girl who was guilt-free, lacked a constant condemnation, and thought a lot about everything. That girl was normal (for the most part), listened to secular music, watched Rated R movies, and read all kinds of different books. I resumed my life there.
I'm not a Christian anymore. I didn't lose my faith. I decided to get rid of it.
My faith was cumbersome to my personal growth, to my well-being as a human being, and to my desire to be a compassionate person who loved the world as it is.
I was wrapped up in fundamentalism for years. Someone said:
"Fundamentalism is a form of organised anger in reaction to the unsettling consequences of rapid social and religious change."
I don't believe fundamentalism is representative of all Christianity or all Christians, but what I believe doesn't coincide with either belief system.
I'm not a Christian anymore. I didn't lose my faith. I decided to get rid of it. What I believe now is that there is no heaven or hell. Those are scare tactics taught to us by pastors around the world to pressure us into a relationship with God. Sometimes this is for their own "number game." Sometimes it's so that they can say their church is growing and the Holy Spirit is moving. Sometimes it's for the perpetuation of something they learned was "right" and just kept doing without questioning whether it was right or godly or not.
I believe the Bible is not inerrant. It's complicated. It's a historical document, filled with interesting stories and myths. Did God create Eve out of Adam's rib? Probably not. In fact, that's the exact type of thing I'm talking about. That myth perpetuates the idea that Eve is less than Adam. She also tempted Adam and caused them to get kicked out of the Garden. Those early Genesis teachings are anti-women and reinstate patriarchal power structures that are harmful to male and female alike.
The Bible is also filled with the promotion of slavery, more oppressive language toward women, gays, and it can be a dangerous tool in the hands of fundamentalist Christians inciting violence and war rhetoric (the "army of the Lord" fighting against the "ungodly").
I don't believe America is or should be a Christian nation. First, there are a lot of Christians who disagree on things such as abortion, gun control, the environment, etc. I believe the United States is a nation of Jews, Muslims, and multiple other religions, ideologies, and beliefs. America also contains a group of citizens who are anti-theist, atheist who are not "heathens" or "evil" or even wrong. They're human beings. They're not going to die and call out to God on their death bed. They're satisfied with their lives.
I respect science and scientists. I believe evolution is more plausible than any of the other theories of why we exist today. I think it's necessary to learn and educate ourselves about how we've evolved as a biological being and anthropologically.
I believe that women are not sub-human to men. We don't need to submit. We are not superior, but equal to men. I disagree with men and women who oppress women using the Bible, political and cultural ideologies, etc. This use of the Bible to promote the "gentle-spirited" woman is harmful for women; it doesn't consider us individuals capable of being wild; and it's oppressive to men, promoting the idea of a "manly man" as the only ideal of a godly man. These teachings (explicit and implied) harm people's confidence in themselves, pervert individual traits, and control sex and gender roles.
On that note, I'm strongly against patriarchal religion. I don't believe that God or gods are a Father. I don't think God is a Him, and this language and idea oppresses women and men.
I share all of this with you because I'm ready to come out as Anne Rice did. I'm tired of putting on pretenses that I am someone I'm not. I'm proud of how I've evolved into the woman I am today, the relationships I have with people who support me (and a pretty awesome family who loves me through all of this) and like me for who I am rather than what I believe or don't believe. I'm also really excited about drafting the plans to my own life, following some and discarding others based on what I think is right, not what someone tells me is right (or God's voice). My life has become a journey filled with heartache, and pain, growth and critical thinking, and embracing the wild and exciting part of myself.
I'm happy with my quirkiness, my ability to make people laugh, and the unique way I form a thought, feel things deeply, and care about people.
I like me.
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