“In any case,” writes Rachel Held Evans in the middle of her posthumously published work, Wholehearted Faith, “I wonder sometimes whether we’re playing at death and calling it life.” In characteristic and prescient candor, at the time of her death, Held Evans was in the act of asking the peculiar and essential questions that strike to the heart of what it means to be a creature created by God. She was circling around the most elemental issues of Christianity, of death and life, of love and truth. In her last words, we find a legacy of doubt, the grief of a person who was putting her finger on the central point without yet acknowledging the Verity Himself—Jesus—standing before her. Along with the beautifully illustrated children’s book, What Is God Like, Wholehearted Faith gives us a picture of what sort of god Held Evans was sketching out—not the God of the Bible, not of Jesus who makes that God known to us in the fullness of his astonishing and glorious mercy, but the god of ourselves.
This Postmodern Realities episode is a conversation with Journal author Anne Kennedy about her online-exclusive article, “The Windswept Plains of the Heart: A Review of Wholehearted Faith and What is God Like.”
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Other articles and podcasts featuring this author:
Hank Unplugged:
Gaslighting, BLM, Cancel Culture and More with Anne Kennedy
Postmodern Realities and Articles:
Episode 258: African Traditional Religion
African Traditional Religion, Black Lives Matter, and Prosperity Gospel
Episode 255 For Our Lamps Are Going Out: Gaslighting in the Age of Social Media
For Our Lamps are Going Out: Gaslighting in the Age of Social Media
Episode 252 Meditation Upon the Death of a Pet
Meditation Upon the Death of a Pet
Episode 245: Glimpsing the Grave: A Critical Review of The Book of Longings
Glimpsing the Grave: A Critical Review of The Book of Longings: A Novel by Sue Monk Kidd
Episode 224 You Only Die Once: Why It’s Okay Not to Live in the Present
You Only Die Once: Why It’s Okay Not to Live in the Present
Episode 216 Why Do I Call Myself Good? A Look at Virtue Signaling
Why Do I Call Myself Good? A Look at Virtue Signaling
Episode 211: There Is No Health in Us: Wellness and Self-Care in the Age of COVID-19
There Is No Health in Us: Wellness and Self-Care in the Age of COVID-19
Episode 209 She Who Has Eyes, Let Her See: A look at Didn’t See That Coming by Rachel Hollis
She Who Has Eyes, Let Her See: A look at Didn’t See That Coming by Rachel Hollis
Episode 204: The Road Back to Where? A Look at Self Discovery Using the Enneagram
The Road Back to Where? A Look at Self Discovery Using the Enneagram
Episode 198 Cancel Culture and the Gospel: Where Can You Go When The Whole World Is Against You?
Cancel Culture and the Gospel: Where Can You Go When The Whole World Is Against You?
Episode 193 Catching UP with Rachel Hollis, Glennon Doyle & Jen Hatmaker
Episode 191 Gods, Gold, and Cheetahs: The Theological Vision of Untamed
Gods, Gold, and Cheetahs: The Theological Vision of Untamed
Episode 181 But What If It Is Me? The Work and Worldview of Brené Brown
But What If It Is Me? The Work and Worldview of Brené Brown
Episode 178 Worshipping Together
Episode 151 Am I a Bad Christian for Watching Hallmark Christmas Movies?
Am I a Bad Christian for Watching Hallmark Christmas Movies?
Losing Faith: A Look at the 2019 Evolving Faith Conference
Episode 140 The Theological “Mess” in the “Moxie” of Jen Hatmaker
The Unhindered Leadership of Jen Hatmaker
The Theological “Mess” in the “Moxie” of Jen Hatmaker
Episode 136 Have You Considered Trying Harder: The Theology of Rachel Hollis
Have You Considered Trying Harder: The Theology of Rachel Hollis