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Summary: An inadequate treatment of God's grace
Review: I would like to thank greggilbert3 who wrote a magnificent review of this book and has clearly set out what grace really is about. You'd need to scroll back a few pages to see it.Without wishing to repeat greggilbert3, biblical grace is about God's redemptive plan and forgiveness of unworthy sinners. It has nothing to do with the aspirations of people. Whilst "tolerance" may be a good thing per se (in the spirit that tolerance and "graceful" are rightly parts of the proper imitation of Christ), tolerance does not equal biblical grace. Throughout, Yancey appears to be speaking against fundamentalists in this book. He claims that grace is simply to lose one's intolerant ways. This is nothing short of a dis-grace. To change the meaning of grace away from the biblical standard in such a way is a tragic symptom of the modern watering-down of the Gospel. Naturally anyone who is a fan of Yancey's will not agree with this and will probably give me an 'unhelpful' vote. But just slow down and have a think about it in the light of the full history of Christian thought on the subject. I, for one, prefer to stick with certain publishers I know I can trust: Banner of Truth, Evangelical Press, Christian Focus and Covenanter Press.
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Summary: An amazing book which is a constant source of inspiration
Review: I absolutely loved this book. It was the first book by Philip Yancey I had read, and I immediately started reading his other books. This one remains my favorite, however. This book has become my inspirational "touchstone" and I turn to it again and again. Yancey has explained the concept of grace in a way that made it so clear to me, and it has helped me in my own spiritual journey. I recommend it highly.
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Summary: My first Yancey read...and now, I'm on my second!
Review: Loved this book. Few books about grace have captured the essence of what Jesus really meant when he talked about true, amazing grace. After reading this, I've gotten into Yancey more and I'm on "Reaching for the Invisible God" right now and am loving that even more than this one. Anyway, about this book, it's packed full of content and I love how Phil uses stories to tell of grace (like Jesus...hmm, good thing to do--probably very effective). Take time with this book and read it slow. If it makes you mad, GOOD!! So many Christians need to get mad over grace b/c that is the only way we'll come to accept that it's a gift, it's free and it's available to everyone, not just us!!!!
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Summary: A reality check for modern Christians...
Review: This is an amazing, thought-provoking book. Philip Yancey points out in a soft-spoken manner what the modern evangelicals may have forgotten, and in his own way, prodding us to painfully reflect on what it truly means to live under the grace and love of God. It exposes how judgmental we Christians are at times. Being judgmental is easy, showing grace to others is quite difficult and sometimes very painful. Yet our mandate is to "be like Jesus." It is definitely easier said than done. This book is a "must read."
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Summary: The Answer : Grace
Review: Do you struggle with hating others who are different than you? Do you find that you're glad when your enemy gets his due? Or better yet, do you think the answer to conquering your foe is by getting revenge? If you think this way and ache to get free from these powerful feelings, than this book will explain why vengence, hate, retaliation, killing war, violence, is not the answer to yours or the world's problems. Grace is the answer. You may say, "Oh, that's weak." Exactly! Something as weak as what we believe grace to be is the very attribute that starts the peace process in your own life, in the lives around you, and eventually the world. Grace is the answer: we are the dispensers. Read it.
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Summary: 'Grace' and 'truth' came through Jesus Christ
Review: The author raises some very good questions, however, he is only restating what others have said. In a nutshell he believes the problems in the church of Christ exists because there is a lack of 'grace' being practised. If there is a problem in the church we look for some place to put the blame so we can explain the discrepencies between Christian teaching and Christian behaviour. This, however, puts people on guilt trips as they try, once again, to catch that elusive life of grace. Could it be there is a lack of grace because there is a lack of Christ? Scripture says 'grace' and 'truth' came through Jesus Christ. The two go together, you cannot have grace unless you have truth and visa versa. If there is a lack of 'grace' in the church of Christ, it must be that there is a lack of 'truth'. People's behaviour is based on what they believe is right. Therefore, wrong teaching must be the culprit and not wrong people.
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Summary: Simply the best book I ever read
Review: This book was so amazing...I now own one copy that I have read through and thoroughly underlined and another that I loan out to friends. I had absolutely no idea how much God loved me until this book came out. Finally, a Christian stance that makes sense and helps all readers and seekers see the Bible as a book of love and acceptance rather than condemnation. I cannot say enough good things about this book. It is the most insightful, profound, thought provoking, and heart grabbing Christian book I have ever read.
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Summary: Sola Gratia
Review: Americans often use the word "grace" incorrectly. We say, "That woman has such grace," when we actually mean that she has a lot of poise or style. We say that an athlete moves gracefully, when he/she, in actuality, is moving effortlessly or powerfully. The word grace comes from the Latin word gratia (similar to the Italian and Spanish words for "thank you"). It really means undeserved favor. In fact, it's what happens when you get the opposite of what you deserve. I think that it's a pretty rare concept, especially in 21st century America. We're always measuring each other...measuring ourselves against eveyone else...but do we really have any concept of what we deserve? Yancey, a trained journalist, does a masterful job of explaining what's so amazing about grace. He's honest. He criticizes the Church at times, but he also cricizes himself. Some people think that Christianity is all about good people going to Heaven and bad people going to Hell. But Yancey shows us the reality of the Gospel: we're all bad, and the Lord has given us the greatest gift in Jesus Christ, despite the fact that we are undeserving. If it's true (and I think it is), it's definitely amazing.
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Summary: The Best Book I've Read
Review: This is the best book I have read in a long time. I finally got around to reading it and it blew me away. I was often moved to tears. Philip Yancey tells marvelous tales of grace. I now have the small group Bible study that I lead reading this (and using the video curriculum and workbook that go along with it.) In the video, he says that his original title was "What's So Amazing About Grace and Why Don't Christians Show More of It?" His publisher convinced him it was too long and too in your face. But Yancey challenges us with God's great grace, given through Jesus Christ, and challenges us to extend grace -- even in difficult situations. A must read!!
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Summary: Great Book
Review: Phillip Yancey again cuts right to the core issue of this misunderstood concept of Grace. I've given this book to scores of friends who question what it means to live a "Christian" life.
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