Saturday, July 31, 2010

Random Saturday thoughts

I used to sit at my desk with a pen poised over a blank sheet of paper.  I could almost taste words that desperately wanted to escape from my mind.  After a bit, I would find myself still in the same position, no words on the paper, the pen still hopeful and I knew that nothing was coming.

That's kind of how my day with this blog has been. 

Blank screen in front of me, haunting my every move. When I'd move away from the computer, it was waiting for my return ... no words, nothing important to say.

I searched deep into my subconscious, desperately trying to find a memory, a story, a tale, a glimpse of anything that might be interesting to relate.  By 8:45 this evening, I recognized that there wasn't much going on up there.

While I was driving home today, I got a text from a friend who was pretty freaked out by some harsh, judgmental words that had come at him.  That began a processing cycle in my mind of an entire post on judgmentalism.  But, I don't have the words all in place yet, so it will come out another day.

In other news, Anne Rice has 'quit' Christianity.  The author of many terrific vampire novels rediscovered her Christian faith several years ago and began writing novels about Christ and other religious ideas. 

She announced on her Facebook page that she was quitting Christianity.  She said this:

"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."

There's been quite a lot of discussion throughout the media about this, much positive, some negative.  In her articulate way, she has clarified for many the things that make being a true Christian nearly impossible.  I can't disagree with her words.  There are pastors who believe that they can change Christianity from within and I'm hopeful for them.

At some point, though, we do have to draw the line and set forth our beliefs about the ugly side of religion.  She has done that and continues to do so in her dialogue with her readers.

If this builds a media storm and causes people to consider how they act as a Christian, I think we've won a small battle.  If not, and only a few people pay attention to what is happening, that's fine ... a few people will consider their actions and their response.

How do you feel?

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