Rating: 
Summary: So much debate about this one. . .
Review: This is not a flashy book. This is an honest book. It's purpose is not to ridicule the church, but rather to gently instruct fellow believers that the church is often times a very flawed human institution. For Yancey, the true bride of Christ remains upright/intact through the ages, while individual institutions surrounding it fall because of human failings. If you were hurt by the church, or someone in the church, this book is a love letter for you. If you were not hurt by the church, this book is a great introduction to works that will help you be a better part of it. I highly recommed this book. The fact that God works in the lives of sinful people should not be disputed (Scripture is all about it), rather it should be shouted from the rooftops. The people in scripture aren't perfect, and neither am I. Jesus said, "Those who aren't sick have no need of a physician." So don't be turned away just because Yancey talks about Ghandi as an inspiration, or because Henri Nouwen struggled with homosexual temptations. Yancey is certainly not trying to make statements about anyone's salvation, and neither should we. "Let every man work out his salvation with fear and trembling." By taking a closer look at some of his heros of the faith, Yancey does a wonderful thing for the reader. First he re-emphasizes that God is at work both within and without the visible/institutional church. Second he firmly roots the Christian life in grace and reality, as opposed to any one particular institution or way of doing things (he is not however, advocating going it alone without a church base). Third, he offers healing insights for those who have been wounded by something in their own particular upbringing. And lastly, he acquaints the majority of Evangelicals with a number of authors they may have never read or heard of before. Every single one of those points is important and terribly needed in today's mega-church marketing environment. In short, give this book a chance. Don't be afraid that it will corrupt you as some other reviewers say. Yancey is a believer. He is an evangelical believer. He is not advocating liscense. On the contrary, what I think he's trying to do is help people see that being a Christian is the best way to be fully human, that it's okay to fail and repent, and that Christ called us to so much more than just "doing church" as we know it today. I hope this book will bless you as much as it blessed me and the many others on this site.
Rating: 
Summary: A nice mix of people who are great Christian influences
Review: First, I must express my deepest jealousies that Philip Yancey got to meet Henri Nouwen. He is one of my favorite Christian authors, and it pains me that I will never get to meet him in this lifetime. (That's the main reason I omitted the fifth star!) Anyway, it took me a little bit to get into this book. What was the point of reading the biographies of 13 people to explain Mr. Yancey's conflicting feelings about the church? I could relate to what he went through, though--I only spent a few years in a fundamentalist church, but it was enough to warp me and make me second-guess my faith, even in my strong belief and faithfulness in God and faithful attendance at a liberal church. But I enjoyed the biographies and saw how each helped Mr. Yancey's faith grow, and helped mine, too. I appreciated that he did not stick to white, conservative, fundamentalists. Indeed, he chose people who were black, Asian, liberal, and in one case, not even Christian. (Though Gandhi, in my mind, was probably a better "Christian" than most people who claim the title--and I'll bet he even knew the Bible and Jesus's teachings better. He certainly lived like a Christian, but I digress.) He included the famous and not so famous, but what they all had in common was that they were writers--either by profession or as a sidelight to their main callings. Which is great because we get the chance to read about these 13 men and women for ourselves.
Rating: 
Summary: What fellowship has light with darkness?
Review: Is the church so barren of Christ-like example that Ghandi rises to the top of Yancey's mentors? There are certainly some examples of creditable behavior in this book, unfortunately the spiritual negatives far outweigh the practical positives. He opens the book with Martin Luther King, praising his champion of equal rights for blacks while slapping a stereotyped label of racism on the bride of Christ that he feels so offended by. One biography is of a Russian author who abused his wife while drowning in a futile attempt to save himself. Is this black tale supposed to illumine the Christian life? Ghandi shines forth with the theme of non-violent resistance, once again accompanied by spousal abuse and the self denial futile for spiritual fruit. That Ghandi refuses Christ is scarcely of moment to Yancey. Where are the tears for that poor tortured soul? How terrible if a man gains the world yet loses his soul? Yancey tells of an impassioned plea to "not preach judgment" at the funeral for a homosexual friend. Can we comprehend salvation without judgement? Will a homosexual even enter the kingdom of God? These questions are foreign to Yancey's grace. Please, let us not make grace a licence for sin! Probably the worst "light" in this dark work is the Japanese author who majors in missionary suicides and apostates. When the climax of light is to belittle the resurrection as unhelpful, and to trample the cross of Christ, we forget the exhortation to "not look back". This was my first introduction to this author, I certainly hope that his other works are very different.
Rating:
Summary: Brings one's relationship with God into perspective
Review: Yancy's honesty with who he was and is now is refreshing to read. The book was helpful in putting my life and relationship with God into perspective. It was an enjoyable read but also interesting from a historical point of view for some of the people he writes about.
Rating: 
Summary: Proceed with caution
Review: Can anyone think of a more mixed collection of biographies than this book presents? The chapter on MLK Jr will be a shocker to anyone growing up, as Yancey did, in an all-white church or Bible college in the South. MLK, the putative Communist agent, womanizer, Liberal theologian, and overall troublemaker and disgrace to genteel Christianity, is given a thorough makeover and rehabilitated as a truly Christian hero.
Yancey's portrayal of Protestant turncoats like G.K. Chesterton reflects his tendency elsewhere of citing Roman Catholic icons with approval and not pointing out the sheepskin of the Romanist church and the disease of both that tree and its fruit (Matt 7:15-23).
It is ironic, therefore, the book should be named Soul Survivor. I recommending staying with Yancey's better works, especially Disappointment with God and What's So Amazing About Grace, both available at Amazon.com.
Rating:
Summary: Challenging and Encouraging
Review: "Soul Survivor" continues Yancey's ongoing theme of struggling to find and live out an active, meaningful faith in postmodern times. However, even though it is billed as a book about his struggles and milestones in forging a living, vital faith, the book is really about the people who have impacted Yancey, either through direct contact or through their lives and writings. In some ways, this is a disappointment. From what I have read and heard, Yancey's faith was "salvaged" by three overall factors: his relationship with his wife, his love of the natural world, and classical music. Hopefully, Yancey will write an in-depth book about these specifically and how God used them to mature, deepen and "road-test" his faith. However, once the reader understands Yancey only gives dribs and drabs of self-revelation and mostly focuses on the subjects, enjoyment, astonishment and introspection can begin. Whether it is Annie Dillard toiling over her typewriter in a small, dingy room, or Paul Brand spending nights studying ways to reconnect nerves in the human body, Yancey provides powerful, soul-stirring examples of real people seeking to use the passions and gifts granted by their Creator to make a difference. Real people who generally don't fit into the Fundamentalist cliche and stereotype of a "good" Christian. While some of the people explored in the book are well known (Gandhi, MLK, Chesterton) some are not, or at least not as well known. Paul Brand, Annie Dillard, and others all provide moving and challenging glimpses into lives profoundly affected by grace and love for humanity. Purposefully or not, grace is an overriding theme to the lives explored in Soul Survivor. God's grace in mercy, forgiveness and ability to use and bless the gifts He has given despite people's valiant attempts to screw up their lives. Whether it is a Russian asectic, a Hindu pacificist, or a thrice-divorced Canadian writer, Yancey quietly and subtley displays the depth and breadth of God's patience, joy and love for those who receive His call. While I found the accomplishments of many of the subjects both challenging and shaming (as I have done so little to impact the world around me), I found the facts of the lives of these people enormously encouraging: God continued to use, love and bless them, despite their mistakes, frailties and faults. While the book was written to be read in order, the structure of the book (most of the chapters are essentially self-contained) lends itself to good "chunk" reading - a piece here, a piece there. Not to say it is light reading - it is not, though it is an easy, enjoyable read. But more than Yancey's other books, it is more easily read a little at a time, and if you put it aside for a while, you won't need to re-read copious amounts to catch up. If you are not Christian and looking for a well-written, honest and challenging exploration of the relevancy of Christianity, this is a great starting point. If you are a Christian, and looking for inspiration in how to make a difference, and wanting reassurance that you can be an effective instrument of love and grace despite your faults and shortcomings, this is a terrific book to read.
Rating:
Summary: A collection of mini-biographies
Review: In this book, Yancey writes mini-biographies of a dozen or so people whose lives have shaped his own spiritual journey. While describing the lives and times of such diverse people as Tolstoy, Ghandi and MLK Jr. Yancey also describes his own spiritual journey from growing up in a racist southern church to where he is today. Because each chapter is a whole new mini-biography the book lacks the continuity that usually compels you to keep reading. Because I checked it out from the library I had to hurry through it but it would have been more enjoyable to have it laying around for 6 months and to just read one of the chapters every week or so - allowing time to think on that person's life a bit before rushing on to the next biography. In fact, not much would be lost by picking and choosing and reading the chapters out of order.
Rating:
Summary: Open My Eyes
Review: After reading Yancey's "Reaching For The Invisible God" I was attracted to his honest writing about the Christian faith. He does beat around the bush in calling things that we as Christians are just too proud or blind to see.
Soul Survivor is an account of the people that have influenced Yancey and have made his life as a Christian more open and less myopic, less legalist and more loving. I found this book informative and easy to read. It almost reads like a biography. I really liked the "Getting Started" at the end of each chapter where he listed titles of books by each person he described. I immediately bought books by two authors (Buechner and Dillard). I wish every Christian would just learn how to show grace to everyone no matter what their religious affiliation as Yancey has done. It takes much courage and risk, especially in mainstream Christianity where we shoot our own.
Rating:
Summary: Not Yancey's best
Review: This book is something of an enigma to me. The latter chapters seem to be more about the process of writing than about surviving. Yancey is at his best early in the book in the chapter Dr. King and his effect on Yancey's faith, the chapter on Dostoeyevski and Tolstoy, and the chapter on Ghandi. By the way,I don't think Yancey is endorsing Ghandi's ultimate rejection of Christianity; rather I think that the power of this chapter is in showing how the gospel message can reach through and influence a non-Christian like Ghandi. I also think it makes a point about how Christians who preach mercy, grace and love, but live judgementally, can cause a person who comes close to the kingdom to turn away. It is interesting that some reviewers see the book as being anti-Evangelical, but nowhere do I see Yancey saying anything like what reviewer Darling states: "He has allowed his own deep spiritual abuse to color his perspective of evangelical Christianity to the point of negatively stereotyping every fundamental Christian as a intolerant whacko.... Yancey seems to think we've all had the same bad experiences in church. We haven't." I don't think Yancey is stereotyping Evangelicals; I think he is talking about his own experience with one strand of Fundamentalism. I guess that if you are a fundamentalist or Evangelical Christian, and have had a positive experience in the church to which you belong, then I guess this book wasn't written for you. For those of us who have had experience with an abusive church, this book is helpful; however,it is not in the league with some of his other works.
Rating:
Summary: great starting point for Christian literature lovers
Review: This book is basically an overview of authors who have given Yancey help and inspiration in his Christian walk. Not all the authors are "Christian" authors, though some are. I really enjoyed this book as it gave me background on some familiar authors and a new perspective from which to read their works, and it led me to some completely new authors of whom I'd never heard before. All is written in Yancey's typical intelligent prose, flowing from the mind of a skeptic who cannot help but believe the evidence.
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