Well said, Greeneye.

I totally understand where Anne Rice is coming from. Granted, I'm highly suspect that this is to get media attention because she's about to release a new book or something. I was raised a Baptist and was pretty solid on being a Christian up until about the time I was a teenager. Now, to be completely honest, part of me leaving that faith was that because of certain events in my life, it seemed highly improbable and ridiculous that there was any kind of God. If there was, he was an SOB and I wanted nothing to do with him. The other bit was what Rice is referring to, the whole anti-this and anti-that attittudes.

I was taught all this stuff about love thy neighbor and that we were supposed to love sinners and forgive, etc., etc., etc., Yet, here are all these Christians foaming at the mouth when they talk about gays and lesbians, liberals, Muslims, anyone who isn't 100% aligned with their faith. It's ugly.

And I like the Gandhi quote. I don't know how much of the accounts of Jesus are true. I suspect the mystical/miracle bits are conjured up and false. But that perhaps he was this real guy who just went around and tried to help people out. Basically he was a community organizer, a social worker, a guy who just wanted to make the world around him a little better. What's not to love about that? It's all the clowns who took that, twisted it, and turned it into this ugly machine who've soiled the whole enterprise.

I'll never go back. Discordianism is my gig now, and it doesn't get into any of that BS.

F**k no. It's the same thing as liking motorcycles, but hating the Hells Angels. There's a lot of lunatics doing stupid s**t in the name of Christianity, and she's probably fed up with it, like the rest of the American population.

I don't think there are that many "lunatics." Although I disagree with her, I can see where Rice would be offended by what she perceives as hypocrisy.

Always, the attention is on the few rather than on the millions. Good heavens, we all fall short...every day.

The press loves them a good Christian story. So ofcourse there appears to be more "lunatics". Hell, look at the field day the press had regarding the Church in the past few months. The ones who call them lunatics are just wishing to take a stab at the religion because they can.

Essentially, this is justification for why individual interpretation is such a problem.

The problem diminishes if one makes the choice to become more like Christ. Imitation of Christ

Been a long time since I read anything from/about him.

I understand her decision... and I think Christ does too.

Yes, I do too, Thrilla.

And I'll leave it to Him to sort us all out later.

What's the alternative?

no, its not.

Christ is a state of Being. christianity is to a large extent retarded and idolatry

I don't appreciate my faith being referred to as "retarded."

And if you think that Jesus Christ is a "state of being," your opinion is mistaken.

move in / be the spirit of Christ?

is that not what it means to accept Christ, to know God through Him? allow The Spirit to guide your actions? Be the Spirit? is this not how Christ is Alive, through acceptance of the Spirit?

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yet, you must admit, it often happens that "Christianity", the institution, significantly hinders and/or slows people down.

and you have to see that to a large extent Christians dont worship a Living God, but instead a literally dead man, often portrayed as a crucified man which is strikingly similar to an idol.


the problem with the label "Christian" is that it associates you with an entire cultural institution with precepts and dogmas that, as a systemic trend, prevent people from Realizing for themselves. as a cultural institution it is a normative system, and prevents the development of sophisticated mores on an aggregate level. people strive for synonymy of beleif, and in such a large encompassing institution what you get is a sort of LCD effect.