Faith isn't about having everything figured out ahead of time; faith is about following the quiet voice of God without having everything figured out ahead of time.
Rachel Held EvansRead
Evangelicalism is like my religious mother tongue. I revert to it whenever I’m angry or excited or surrounded by other people who understand what I’m saying. And it’s the language in which I most often hear God’s voice on the rare occasion that it rises above the noise.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses how the speaker finds comfort and connection in their religious beliefs during emotional moments.
Rachel Held Evans describes evangelicalism as her primary mode of communication with God and a source of solace in times of strong emotion. She suggests that this religious framework offers her a familiar and comforting way to express herself, especially in the presence of others who share her beliefs, highlighting the deep connection between language, faith, and emotional experience.
Themes
EvangelicalismFaithLanguageComfortEmotion
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a sermon discussing the role of language in faith.
More from Rachel Held Evans
All quotes →While the word charity connotes a single act of giving, justice speaks to right living, of aligning oneself with the world in a way that sustains rather than exploits the rest of creation. Justice is not a gift; it’s a lifestyle, a commitment to the Jewish concept of tikkun olam—‘repairing the world.’
Rachel Held EvansRead
My friend Adele describes fundamentalism as holding so tightly to your beliefs that your fingernails leave imprints on the palm of your hand... I think she's right. I was a fundamentalist not because of the beliefs I held but because of how I held them: with a death grip. It would take God himself to finally pry them out of my hands. (p.17-18)
Rachel Held EvansRead
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