Anne Rice News

Ok, I must admit it. I loved reading Anne Rice's vampire novels way before she decided to become a Christian. And then unChristian herself. (Is that like unfriending on FB?) I loved Lestat and was mesmerized by the stories of those who roam the world at night. Frightened a bit, but very enchanted. Like in a good way.

But the other day my son revealed that Anne was back to being a non-believer. I think the way he put it was that Anne decided not to be a Christian because she saw so many mean ones. Well, yeah. I have seen them, too. And I had the same feeling - if these are the people called to God, why in the world would I want to spend eternity with them??????

Now, some Christians might like that. You know, the ones who have a certain maximum of those who will make it to the floating kingdom in the sky. They don't want more to join them. Then there are those who believe that unless you formally acknowledge Jesus Christ as your savior, you will also be condemned to hell. Who wants to be with those narrow minded tweets?

So, those of us who believe that God wants all of his children to be rewarded - except for those dastardly evil hate mongers who spread negativity throughout the world - except for those, what is the answer?

Not to get too deep into theology, I must admit that I love being a Catholic, for the prevailing theme there is justice for all who believe - but those who believe in what they have been taught - there is a difference. For instance, if you are a Buddhist living in rural Japan and have been a good, law-abiding, kind individual, when you die,you will be rewarded for you have had Baptism of DESIRE! You have desired the truth and you shall be rewarded for that.

According to Catholicism, there are three baptisms: desire, water, and blood. We know about the water one. But the blood one is for those who give their lives for goodness. And goodness is God. What more do we need?

So, I have some advice for those prosletyzing Christians who are turning people off with their vain and preposterous attitudes - stop judging and walk the life of Christ. Stop talking. Do. Then ask God for forgiveness so that you don't judge others. And here I find myself in a quandry. Am I judging these Christians myself? Anne, are we just as guilty as they are? What do you think?

Here are Anne's own words:
Important Information On Anne's Decision to Quit Christianity in the Name of Christ

Anne's Statements Regarding Christianity as Posted:

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.
07/28/10

As I said below, 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-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of ...Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.
07/28/10

My faith in Christ is central to my life. My conversion from a pessimistic atheist lost in a world I didn't understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God is crucial to me. But following Christ does not mean following His followers. Christ is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be, no matter what Christianity is, has been, or might become.
07/29/10

I quit Christianity in the name of Christ on this page so that I could tell my readers I was not complicit in the things that organized religion does. I never dreamed others would be so interested, or that they would feel the need to talk about their own religious struggles. But they do. And the public conversation on... this is huge, and I think important.
08/08/10

A beautiful day until....

The sun was shining today and it was a beautiful day to walk. I met with a wonderful woman about a charter school in Silverton and it was like I was meeting myself forty years ago! She was vibrant, random, and a delight with whom to speak. Then I met with my friend Alla who is a dedicated and talented Romanian-American artist, whose work I will post later on this month on this blog. We decided to walk and went by my husband's office....
Until...the news came out of his mouth - the news I could barely comprehend or believe. The news that one of our beloved nephews had committed suicide. My heart stood still and gushes of hot tears suddenly produced themselves flowing out my eyes. What? When? It doesn't matter. It just is. Please keep him in your prayers - the little boy I remember was now a grown man living in Eugene. Now he is no more. And if we don't have faith and spirituality, then what is this life worth? Why even bother?

I am sure most of us sit and wonder what we could have done. Could I have been a more attentive aunt? Could I have written him more emails? Would he have been happier had others invited him out more? Nonsense. Nothing can be done about what was. We just have to worry about what is and what is to come. Love one another. Care for each other, and please know that I am here for any of you - Nothing is too trivial or too important not to share with me. I am here, dear ones. You are all in my prayers.

Always!
Lola and friends

Just in from one of my favorite guys....

WR is an in-law and a good one at that. He reads our blog and shakes his head, but just sent me the following inspirational video! I think we should all be thankful for our gifts. This man surely is....www.maniacworld.com/are-you-going-to-finish-strong.html

Good morning! It's 10:33 and I was up from 3 am until about 5 am. I heard older people do this, but why???? Thank goodness all I have to do today is clean and write; otherwise, I would go freakin' crazy or sleep on the job. The benefits of being poor and at home, eh?

I am currently taking a class in adolescent psychopathology and our Tuesday assignment is to present the decade in which we were adolescents. All I remember is drinking, dancing, studying, and working. I don't remember much other than seeing Kennedy the day before he died (he was about ten feet from me) in San Antonio. That was a week of sadness, however. I also LOVED Elvis. Here he is last year giving my octogenarian mom her first ever personal concert in Vegas!

I tried to get other baby boomers to add to my memories by posting on Craigslist (I know - I was really bored and it was 3 am) and received some of the following: pot, more pot, Vietnam, LSD, drugs, hallucinogenics, strobe lights, dancing, and some more pot. Funny how I didn't get into any of that except maybe for the dancing. I was a pretty quiet girl who tried to find love. Isn't that what this is all about? This journey we call life? Aren't we all after the same thing?

That's why I think you will like our Winter, 2009 issue of Today's Spiritual Woman. We try to help one another find satisfaction and peace in this world. All you have to do is sign up to follow this blog and you will receive your free copies every quarter. FREE. Nothing to buy. Just read and maybe even send us some of your ideas!

Here's hoping you have a bright and sunny day!

Love,

Lola and friends

Happy New Year!

Happy 2009 to all of you! It's been a long and wonderful year preparing to share with you our new magaletter (magazine + newsletter format). We are so blessed to have many wonderful and caring women writing for us. We are interested in women and their spiritual journeys from all around the globe. We are all sisters and invite our brothers to read and share with us as well.

We are accepting submissions for our Spring, 2009 issue now. We accept personal journey journals, poetry, book reviews, and much more. Our magaletter is free as a PDF online. For those who wish to subscribe, the cost is $10 per year for all four issues, including shipping and handling. We just want to help one another in this journey we call life!

My name is Lola and even though I have been on this earth for decades, I have been Lola for a year now. After retiring from public school teaching, I ventured onto a new path - art therapy counseling. With my friend, Brenda, I began trying to help women and children become happier and more productive in their journey as well by creating discussion groups, retreats, and what not. What makes us different is that we are not about money. We are nonprofit and trying to stay that way. We know that those who m0st need our help are those who can least afford it. We understand the struggle. We respond to it.

Anyway, back to my name change. My first art class ever was Jane Mays' drawing class at the local community college. Somehow I managed to miss the first week of class and appeared the second week. A nice young man named Mario came up to me and offered to catch me up to speed. He asked my name. I replied, "Vye," to which he said, "I dont' like zees name. Vat ees your real name?" After telling him Viola (vee-oh-lah), he said, "In my country ve call you Lola." So there it is, folks, I've been rededicated to this world as Lola.

Names are important. My family hate my new name. It's my art name, I tell them. I love it and so do my new colleagues in art and writing. So, tell us about you. What is your name and how were you named that? Or did you change your name, too?

With greatest affection and love and peace, we hope to hear from you very soon! If you want to subscribe via the Internet to our magaletter, all we need is your name and email address!

Today's Spiritual Women
Lola, Brenda, and Hap