The Wisdom of Rachel Held Evans

“Now cracks a noble heart… And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!”

On May 4, 2019, a prominent Christian voice fell silent after a brief illness. Rachel Held Evans was 37.

Born a fundamental evangelical, she grew in her faith to join the Episcopal Church.

Her writing career revolved around her journey as she dismantled and rebuilt her Christian faith.

One of her final tweets before falling ill represents her theology, her humor, and the difficulties she faced as a prominent progressive Christian.

I’ve written four books, hundreds of blog posts, and dozens of articles, and only once have I used a feminine pronoun for God. People still point to that as a reason I should be killed in order to quicken my eternal torment in hell. No joke.

— Rachel Held Evans (@rachelheldevans) April 11, 2019

Like, how freaked out are they going to be when (if all this is true), they enter the full presence of God at resurrection and are suddenly hit with the reality that God’s not a dude? �

— Rachel Held Evans (@rachelheldevans) April 11, 2019

“But there is a difference between curing and healing, and I believe the church is called to the slow and difficult work of healing. We are called to enter into one another’s pain, anoint it as holy, and stick around no matter the outcome.” ― Rachel Held Evans

“If love was Jesus’ definition of “biblical,” then perhaps it should be mine.” ― Rachel Held Evans 

She was an important Christian voice.

She will be deeply missed.

But we are Easter People, and we believe in eternal life. We believe there is more. Death could not contain the Jesus we follow and he promises us that we will be with him in paradise.

The tomb is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of so much more. This is God’s assurance.

In sadness, grief and shock, let us remember we are Easter People.

“We are not spared death, but the power of death has been defeated. The grip of sin has been loosed. We are invited to share the victory, to follow the path of God back to life.” ― Rachel Held Evans 

Her four books were:

Faith Unraveled: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask Questions.
A Year of Biblical Womanhood: How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering Her Head, and Calling Her Husband Master.
Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church.
Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again.