--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Martha certainly wasn't the first and she…" description: "\"“Martha certainly wasn't the first and she won't be the last to dismiss someone else's encounter with God because it didn't fit the mold.”\" — Rachel He..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cf/rachel-held-evans-2876_encounter_martha-certainly-wasn-t-the-first-and-sh_2285582.png" --- # Martha certainly wasn't the first and she won't be the… ![“Martha certainly wasn't the first and she won't be the last to dismiss someone else's encounter with God because it didn't fit the mold.” quote by Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cf/rachel-held-evans-2876_encounter_martha-certainly-wasn-t-the-first-and-sh_2285582.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cf/rachel-held-evans-2876_encounter_martha-certainly-wasn-t-the-first-and-sh_2285582.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cf/rachel-held-evans-2876_encounter_martha-certainly-wasn-t-the-first-and-sh_2285582.png) > ““Martha certainly wasn't the first and she won't be the last to dismiss someone else's encounter with God because it didn't fit the mold.”” [Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People dismiss others’ spiritual experiences when they don’t match expectations. **In simple terms:** Judgment blocks understanding. Key Takeaway Stay open to diverse spiritual expressions. Themes faith judgment inclusivity Mood thoughtful empathetic Type theological inspirational When to use this quote - interfaith dialogue - church discussions - personal testimony - spiritual counseling Key Concepts theology social psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can you honor differing beliefs? - What assumptions do you hold about spirituality? A Different Perspective Rigid doctrines limit growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Encounter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encounter/) ## Related quotes > [The essence of Christianity...is an ever-new encounter with... the God who speaks to us, who approaches us and who befriends us!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/the-essence-of-christianity-is-an-ever-new-encounter-with-the-god-who/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [We consider Christmas as the encounter, the great encounter, the historical encounter, the decisive encounter, between God and mankind. 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I’m not sure, but I think God said something like, Don’t try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/so-what-did-god-say-to-me-in-the-silence-that-morning-i-m-not-sure/) [Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/) > [I'm a Christian because Christianity names and addresses sin. 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A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/i-don-t-know-for-sure-but-i-think-maybe-god-was-trying-to-tell-me/) [Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/) > [Whenever we show others the goodness of God, whenever we follow our Teacher by imitating His posture of humble and ready service, our actions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/whenever-we-show-others-the-goodness-of-god-whenever-we-follow-our/) [Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/faith-isn-t-about-having-everything-figured-out-ahead-of-time-faith/) [Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/) > [Christianity isn't meant to simply be believed; it's meant to be lived, shared, eaten, spoken, and enacted in the presence of other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/christianity-isn-t-meant-to-simply-be-believed-it-s-meant-to-be-lived/) [Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/) > [“In the years preceding the Civil War in America, Christian ministers wrote nearly half of all defenses of slavery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/in-the-years-preceding-the-civil-war-in-america-christian-ministers/) [Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/) > [“Cynicism may seem a mild transgression, but it is a patient predator that suffocates hope, slowly, over many years,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/cynicism-may-seem-a-mild-transgression-but-it-is-a-patient-predator/) [Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/) > [“I suppose that the moral of this story is that trying to copy another woman, even a woman from the Bible, is almost always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/i-suppose-that-the-moral-of-this-story-is-that-trying-to-copy-another/) [Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/) > [“I played my role as the good Christian girl and spared everyone the drama of an argument. But that decision to remain silent split…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/i-played-my-role-as-the-good-christian-girl-and-spared-everyone-the/) [Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/) > [“Madeleine L’Engle said, “the great thing about getting older is that you don’t lose all the other ages you’ve been.” 58 I think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/madeleine-l-engle-said-the-great-thing-about-getting-older-is-that/) [Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/) [Explore all 147 Rachel Held Evans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/) ## More Encounter quotes > [The essence of Christianity...is an ever-new encounter with... the God who speaks to us, who approaches us and who befriends us!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/the-essence-of-christianity-is-an-ever-new-encounter-with-the-god-who/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [A crisis is a close encounter of the third kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-finley/a-crisis-is-a-close-encounter-of-the-third-kind/) [Guy Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-finley/) > [The impulse to paint comes neither from observation nor from the soul (which is probably blind) but from an encounter: the encounter between painter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/the-impulse-to-paint-comes-neither-from-observation-nor-from-the-soul/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [“An “event” is something that happens that does not quite fit into our established system of knowledge, and so it will appear to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-t-conard/an-event-is-something-that-happens-that-does-not-quite-fit-into-our/) Mark T. 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only in this way does… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/faith-is-above-all-a-personal-intimate-encounter-with-jesus-and-to/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) [Browse all 266 Encounter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encounter/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Martha certainly wasn't the first and she won't be the last to dismiss someone else's encounter with God because it didn't fit the mold.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rachel Held Evans" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/martha-certainly-wasn-t-the-first-and-she-won-t-be-the-last-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Encounter" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/martha-certainly-wasn-t-the-first-and-she-won-t-be-the-last-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cf/rachel-held-evans-2876_encounter_martha-certainly-wasn-t-the-first-and-sh_2285582.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cf/rachel-held-evans-2876_encounter_martha-certainly-wasn-t-the-first-and-sh_2285582.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cf/rachel-held-evans-2876_encounter_martha-certainly-wasn-t-the-first-and-sh_2285582.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Martha certainly wasn't the first and she won't be the last to dismiss someone else's encounter with God…” — Rachel Held Evans", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Rachel Held Evans", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Martha certainly wasn't the first and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/martha-certainly-wasn-t-the-first-and-she-won-t-be-the-last-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/martha-certainly-wasn-t-the-first-and-she-won-t-be-the-last-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```