Philip Yancey

Frustratin'! That is becoming my default reaction to you, Mr. Yancey. You'll be talking about, I dunno, lust (I dunno), and you'll be so eloquent about the necessity of relationships and the brutalizing nature of casual sex and I'll be all "What ARE we doing?" and then you'll ruin it all by going ". . . and THAT's why sex needs to be marital." Like, a relationship doesn't mean anything otherwise? Like the human craving for something higher leads inevitably to a Christian God? I know, I know, show more "I believe because it's absurd," but it's frustrating when your line of argument is usually so cogent and then gets all namby-pamby when it comes time to close that last gap. I can understand the leap of faith, but I can't understand doing all the hard logical slogging to get you there. Why not just leap, and take Jesus for what you can, and the rest be damned? When you do that, Phil, you get whimsical, and your tossed-off whimsical ideas about God are your best ones. show less

I honestly wasn't sure what to expect from this book (which now that I think of it is particularly appropriate, Jesus), so naturally it surprised me, but I was surprised again that it impressed me too. Evangelical dude Yancey, you are an imagination blowout! An emotionless cosmic God, becoming human through the Jesus Experiment? A showdown in the desert, Messiah and devil growling each other out? Jesus as either/or? Either God or madman, blessed surcease or demented malevolence? Saviour or show more monster? This book made me feel good about Christianity, and there wasn't much that could do that at this point in my life. show less

I began this, wondering what more could be said about Jesus? Werent we all familiar with every incident in the Bible?
It's an absolutely BRILLIANT read !
Yancey raises all kinds of questions: beginning with the Sunday school portrayal of him - a "sweet Victorian nanny" urging children to be nice. "But how?" he asks, "would telling people to be nice to one another get a man crucified?" How come sinners so liked to be around him- yet today often feel unwelcome in a church?
Yancey considers events show more in Jesus' life: the Temptation: "In the dark about the Incarnation, Satan did not know for certain whether Jesus was an ordinary man or a theophany or perhaps an angel with limited powers like himself"...he views their encounter as "single combat warriors" who "treat each other with a kind of wary respect,, like two boxers circling one another in the ring.". The Beatitudes (how can the poor be "blessed"? and the sheeer impossibility of the exhortation to "be perfect" (arent we doomed to fail?)
The miracles: Why did Jesus at Cana rebuke his mother "my time has not yet come" but then decide to turn water to wine anyway? Yancey imagines him deciding that his time HAD come- the start of his ministry, the celebrity as news of his powers got out..."A clock would start ticking that would not stop until Calvary".
And Death, Resurrection, Ascencion ("Why? Would it not have been better...if Jesus had stayed on earth?"

I think the overwhelming message that came through was FREEDOM ; God wanting us to willingly follow Him. "Consistently Jesus refused to use coercive power. He knowingly let one of his disciples betray him and then surrendered himself without protest to his captors."
Yancey ponders God's kingdom: it "has no geographical borders...it lives and grows on the inside of human beings. Those of us who follow Jesus thus possess a kind of dual citizenship...an external kingdom of family, cities and nationhood, while at the same time belonging to the kingdom of God."

This is just a brilliant book, and I'm going to re-read it immediately and take notes. (and I dont normally do that!) HIGHLY recommended. show less

Where the Light Fell by Philip Yancey

Years ago my mentor led a church book study on What’s So Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey. I was struck by the concise, direct, but gentle writing. Yancey tackles difficult theological questions, particularly ones hurting people may struggle with. He takes difficult concepts and explains them in a practical way everyone can understand. I wondered how does one learn to write, think, and care about people like this? Where the Light Fell: A Memoir show more answers that question.

Beginnings

Yancey begins his memoir with his father’s tragic death, which haunts his family and leaves them in perpetual poverty. His father and mother had dreamed of being missionaries, and his father’s death leaves his mother asking God why. She never remarries and in a dramatic graveside proclamation places the weight of living up to that dream on her young sons.

Yancey may write the memoir from his perspective, but it is as much a story about his brother Marshall as it is about Philip. Their mother raised them in a southern, strict fundamentalist home in the turbulent 1960s outside of Atlanta. He recounts in vivid detail what that was like in home, church, and school.

“An upbringing under a wrathful God does not easily fade away.”

He and Marshall both faced all the issues of that highly volatile cultural moment. Add to that their mother’s fundamentalism and bitterness, and you get what Yancey calls “toxicity.” He recounts his first realization that he has been raised racist and his first realization that he’s what others call “white trash.” He ponders what their fundamentalist church has been preaching.

Marshall bears the brunt of his mother’s demands and exceptions. Both boys are exceptionally bright, but Marshall is a borderline genius and a musical prodigy. It’s not until they both are in a Christian college with some separation from their mother that the wounds really begin to fester, and the search for meaning begins. The two boys find very different ways to move forward and attempt to heal.

“The worst moment for the atheist is when he is really thankful and has nobody to thank.”

Where the Light Fell is a page turner. Yancey’s writing is like sitting in the backyard around a fire listening to a friend tell stories. There’s just something simple and beautiful about it. Yancey calls Where the Light Fell a kind of prequel to his other books.If you’ve ever read Yancey’s books, this memoir explains so much about the suffering and grace he makes his themes. If you haven’t read his books, this memoir will make you want to. show less