Rachel Held Evans

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25 Things That Shouldn’t Scare Christians

Despite what some may say, these twenty-five things really shouldn’t scare Christians: 

1. Someone leaving the phrase “under God” out of the pledge of allegiance before a golf game
2. Sharing civil rights with gays and lesbians
3. Scientists
4. Target employees that say “happy holidays” instead of “merry Christmas” 
5. Mosques 
6. The media 
7. Missing God’s will and accidentally going to the wrong college 
8. Theological differences 
9. Suddenly getting asked to explain the religious symbolism in “Tree of Life” 
10. Mormon presidential candidates
11. Yoga
12. Conflicting interpretations of Scripture 
13. Bringing the worst maccaroni and cheese casserole to the church potluck (I've lived through this, believe it or not.)
14. Getting left behind 
15. Not being “relevant” 
16. Women with opinions 
17. Nice atheists 
18. Sharing the gospel 
19. Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Tea Partiers, Communists, Anarchists 
20. Anabaptists 
21. Statues of the Virgin Mary 
22. Separation of church and state 
23. The gay “agenda”
24. The removal of plastic, light-up manger scenes from courthouse lawns
25. Being a religious minority in the U.S….(especially when we’re not) 

What would you add to the list? 

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(Note: Just so we're clear, I'm not saying that anyone who opposes gay marriage or the Tea Party or "happy holidays" is doing so out of fear; just saying that as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, fear need not be a factor in our discussion of these issues.)