Rachel Held Evans has died.
npr.org/2019/05/04/720298646/rachel-held-evan...
npr.orgPosted May 5, 2019, 2:16 PM UTC
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npr.orgShe was a light to ex-fundies/ex-evangelicals. Her voice is a huge loss.
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That's awful :(
Cue the fundies saying that her death was a punishment from the lord for straying.
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That bitch Lori Alexander already did it.
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Called it.
Totally what Jesus would have done, Lori!
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Totally.
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Yes sheâs a miserable human đ¤Ź
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They have. There was a Tweet from Reformation Charlotte that stated 'Rachel Held Evans died today. While we shouldn't take pleasure in the death of the wicked, she can no longer actively inflict spiritual harm on people and lead them astray. God is just and right in all things. In Him, we rejoice.' I was so disgusted (someone I follow retweeted saying how messed up it was). Most replies were saying 'yeah, this isn't Christlike either'.
I saw Lori did too (as others have already mentioned) and I'm not surprised. I know how Fundies react to anyone daring to say they may be wrong.
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She was an important voice for my deconstruction. Although, I no longer am Christian, her voice was a light for me healing from evangelicalism. I am very saddened by her passing
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Her last blog post was on Ash Wednesday. It was beautiful and so sadly appropriate.
As someone else who converted from conservative evangelicalism to the Episcopal Church, Rachel Held Evans was such a great teacher and inspiration to me. The world is a darker place without her.
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RHE was one of the main reasons I was able to stay a Christian throughout the past few years. It was unbelievably refreshing to see this women show how feminism and liberalism CAN be compatible with Christianity, after growing up being taught the complete opposite. Her loss has rocked me this weekend.
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Iâm a bit confused on how her teachings helped people stay Christian. From what I saw of her posts, she disagreed with a lot of the Bible? I guess I just see a lot of people saying she helped their faith, but I havenât seen many examples of what specifically helped them instead of leading them to just leave their faith altogether.
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She disagreed with the traditional view of the Bible. For instance she doesnât believe God was male. But the thing is, thatâs biblical, he was without gender. So much of what people believe about the Bible is changed when you study the actual words it was written in and go beyond a translation. She was egalitarian, pro women, pro LGBTQ, and didnât believe in what the typical church wants to tell you is true. All these things were causing people to question their faith because deep down they struggled with feeling what was right and wrong vs what they were told and it became a âhow can I believe in a God that_____â. Rachel helped people understand that just because the church says something is true doesnât mean thatâs what God said. The church has caused so much PTSD over the years and she healed so much of it.
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She helped those of us who are interested in acknowledging that interpretation of religious writings is a complex issue not easily resolved with easy answers.
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Ok. Well with the Bible, you definitely need the Holy Spirit to unlock the understanding of it... unfortunately a lot of preachers just interpret it to fit their agenda.
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I agree that some people have less-than-gpod intentions when they interpret. Definitely something to watch out for.
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Rachel didn't disagree with the bible, she studied it thoughtfully and knew about the time period in which it was written. This led her to a different interpretation on some issues.
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I donât know everything she taught, and Iâm not an expert. But to sum it up, I saw someone say online that Rachel taught her that Christianity isnât just for the conservatives.
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RHE realized that you canât just take everything in the Bible literally. You have to look at the type of literature, compare it to other writings of the time period, the original language, and so on to put it into context. She took a more scholarly view on scripture. I was raised on the Bible being the inerrant and infallible Word of God. In my circles it was used as an excuse for hatred, racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. I couldnât reconcile that with âGod is loveâ and âtreat your neighbor as yourselfâ. There was no room for doubt or even questions. It all just seemed so WRONG.
RHE was a huge breath of fresh air. Her faith was genuine and authentic, always asking the hard questions, full of doubt at times but no less devout and committed. She was a powerful advocate for the LGBT community, women, people of color, and social justice. She truly lived âlove your neighborâ in the way that Jesus would have. I hadnât seen before in the Church, but I knew that was the type of Christian I wanted to be.
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:( How sad. I always enjoyed her work. Holding her loved ones.
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SO SAD. Prayers for her babies and husband. Itâs going to be a rough road for them.
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I feel sad for her husband and children. A 3 year old and 1 year old just lost their young mom. Incredibly sad to think about.
Not to mention, she and her husband had been married for 17 years- they were college sweethearts. He has just lost his soul mate.
đ˘ Thatâs difficult.