Book Review: What’s So Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey
Mar 28th, 2007 by Larry
I’ve been reading Philip Yancey’s excellent book entitled What’s So Amazing About Grace? and it is resonating with things I have been learning lately. Yancey spends a great deal of time making his point, but the many angles from which he views the issue add a great deal.
Lately I have been thinking a lot about how Christianity is viewed by people. As I’ve listened to comments like, “I’m better accepted by strangers down at the local bar than I am by the people in church,” it has become more and more of a sticking point in my mind. In addition, people about whom I care deeply have been hurt deeply and forced through all sorts of spiritual agility tests by those who call themselves brothers and sisters in Christ. Good Christians I know face marital problems or feel on edge or guilty because they are pretending to be something they know in their hearts that they are not. Perfect.
My own walk of faith has been sorely tested recently as well. What are we to do when we know where we’ll go when we die, but see none of the promised peace and joy here on planet Earth? It’s time for this to end.
Yancey agrees, and gives scores of examples why. He explains how legalism like that practiced by the Pharisees of Jesus’ time, and still practiced in evangelical churches today, tears people up and ruins lives. He shows clearly why grace is so crucial to the message of Christianity. He could easily have entitled the book, “What’s So Good About The Good News?”
For some, reading this excellent dissertation will rankle sensitivities. The book will cause those, too dogmatic to think, to give up and condemn the author. I would encourage you to read the book and reserve judgement for the end. Yancey’s message is radical by the standards of many, but then so was the Lord he serves. Scripture is clear, and the more I study on this topic, the more I see how I’ve been mistaken in the past; to my detriment, and the detriment of those around me.
I got my copy at Christianbook.com, and it helps me keep doing this when you get yours from that link too.
I loved this book! I read it a long time ago though, on our pastor’s recommendation…
I think unbelievers might wonder “what’s so amazing about grace” simply because they don’t feel they need it (His grace and forgiveness). They may feel that they don’t have anything “sin-wise” that needs forgiven, which really makes God small in their eyes. Those of us that know how wretched we are in our fallen state, know what a mighty Saviour we have…
Also, I was wondering, if you wouldn’t mind sharing… ;O)… I’m also a CBD affiliate, and haven’t had much luck yet with routing to the specific product I want to link to…with you just leaving the general link to their website (not the specific product) do you still get the credit for purchases? Thanks, Larry!
Ah…never mind, I followed your CBD link and saw that you had it linked directly to the book by Yancey…
My problem was that I’d tried to do a picture of the product along with the link. Thanks anyway… :O)
Mary,
Thanks for dropping by! I hope soon to have a lot more content up here.
Regarding the CBD links, you can link to anything on their site and get credit. The only requirement is that you build the link using the link builder in the Affilliate Lobby. You get credit for all shopping done by anyone who uses your link to get to CBD. It doesn’t matter at all whether they start on the home page, or go directly to a product page, or cruise all over the site making random selections.
Another outstanding feature of the CBD affiliate program is that you are allowed to make purchases using your own links and you get paid for those too! It basically amounts to a courtesy discount for affiliates.
–Larry
It’s perfect for me, I so often link to them anyway, when recommending all types of books from fiction to homeschooling! :O)