About Philip
Growing up in a strict, fundamentalist church in the southern USA, a young Philip Yancey tended to view God as “a scowling Supercop, searching for anyone who might be having a good time—in order to squash them.” Yancey jokes today about being in recovery from a toxic church. “Of course, there were good qualities too. If a neighbor’s house burned down, the congregation would rally around and show charity—if, that is, the house belonged to a white person. I grew up confused by the contradictions. We heard about love and grace, but I didn’t experience much. And we were taught that God answers prayers, miraculously, but my father died of polio just after my first birthday, despite many prayers for his healing.”
For Yancey, reading offered a window to a different world. So, he devoured books that opened his mind, challenged his upbringing, and went against what he had been taught. A sense of betrayal engulfed him. “I felt I had been lied to. For instance, what I learned from a book like To Kill a Mockingbird or Black Like Me contradicted the racism I encountered in church. I went through a period of reacting against everything I was taught, and even discarding my faith. I began my journey back mainly by encountering a world very different than I had been taught, an expansive world of beauty and goodness. Along the way I realized that God had been misrepresented to me. Cautiously, warily, I returned, circling around the faith to see if it might be true.”
Ever since, Yancey has explored the most basic questions and deepest mysteries of the Christian faith, guiding millions of readers with him. Early on he crafted best-selling books such as Disappointment with God and Where is God When it Hurts? while also editing The Student Bible. He coauthored three books with the renowned surgeon Dr. Paul Brand. “No one has influenced me more,” he says. “We had quite a trade: I gave words to his faith, and in the process he gave faith to my words.” In time, he has explored central matters of the Christian faith, penning award-winning titles such as The Jesus I Never Knew, What’s So Amazing About Grace? and Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? His books have garnered 13 Gold Medallion Awards from Christian publishers and booksellers. He currently has more than 17 million books in print, published in over 50 languages worldwide. In his memoir, Where the Light Fell, Yancey recalls his lifelong journey from strict fundamentalism to a life dedicated to a search for grace and meaning, thus providing a type of prequel to all his other books.
Yancey worked as a journalist in Chicago for some twenty years, editing the youth magazine Campus Life while also writing for a wide variety of magazines. In the process he interviewed diverse people enriched by their personal faith, such as President Jimmy Carter, Habitat for Humanity founder Millard Fuller, and Dame Cicely Saunders, founder of the modern hospice movement. In 1992 he and his wife Janet, a social worker and hospice chaplain, moved to the foothills of Colorado, and his writing took a more personal, introspective turn.
“I write books for myself,” he says. “I’m a pilgrim, recovering from a bad church upbringing, searching for a faith that makes its followers larger and not smaller. Writing became for me a way of deconstructing and reconstructing faith. I feel overwhelming gratitude that I can make a living exploring the issues that most interest me.
“I tend to go back to the Bible as a model, because I don’t know a more honest book. I can’t think of any argument against God that isn’t already included in the Bible. To those who struggle with my books, I reply, ‘Then maybe you shouldn’t be reading them.’ Yet some people do need the kinds of books I write. They’ve been burned by the church, or they’re upset about certain aspects of Christianity. I understand that feeling of disappointment, even betrayal. I feel called to speak to those living in the borderlands of faith.”
I am blushing to be mentioned in the same paragraph with Goethe. I have only one advantage: I am still alive! –Philip
“One concentrated effort I’ve made in the past year has been the regular practice of sending notes of appreciation to strangers — writers, artists, varied creators — whose work has moved me in some way, beamed some light into my day. It’s so wonderfully vitalizing for us ordinary mortals to send and receive such little reminders of one another’s humanity — especially in a culture where it’s easier to be a critic than a celebrator.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
I saw this quote today used in a Psychology Today article and decided I would take Mr. Emerson’s advice and write a letter of gratitude and appreciation to a few people whose works have had a significant impact on me.
Back in 2007, I decided to put myself out there and finally answer what I believed to be God’s call on my life to be a worship pastor. Having grown up in a pentecostal environment, I never felt anywhere near good enough to be in church much less a minister, but I stepped out in faith and I ended up resigning about 18 months later over my personal faith crisis surrounding the subject of grace.
I wasn’t aware of it at the time, but I leaned heavily toward a Calvinistic view of grace at a heart level, but my head as always lagged behind.
That was roughly ten years ago and my doctrinal crisis eventually bloomed into an existential crisis, particularly when I set out to disprove evolution a few years ago and to my horror realized I had been wrong. Consequently I am no longer in church regularly and struggle with my faith in ways I never dreamed possible just a few years ago.
Recently I decided to try and step away from the constant critical analyzing to appreciate the undeniable beauty of faith in my life that I have found. As a small step I listed the most influential books I have ever read. The following are those books which have touched me in a profound way to the point of shaping how I perceive the world and my faith.
Mere Christianity ~ C.S. Lewis
The Reason for God ~ Tim Keller
What’s So Amazing About Grace ~ Philip Yancey
The Chronicles of Narnia ~ C.S. Lewis
The Hiding Place ~ Corrie Ten Boom
They Speak With Other Tongues ~ John Sherrill
Hinds Feet on High Places ~ Hannah Hurnard
The Shack ~ William Young
The Crucible ~ Aurthur Miller
The Langauge of God ~ Francis Collins
It is difficult to describe or put my finger on exactly why this book holds a special place in my heart. What I can do however is give an indication as to its importance in my life based on a recent event.
A couple of weeks ago while Christmas shopping I had the urge to order “What’s so Amazing About Grace.” I didn’t have a particular person in mind, but I couldn’t shake off the desire to buy the book. So I found a copy on ebay and didn’t think any more of it. Shortly afterwards, my wife’s grandmother had emergency surgery and began having difficulty recovering. They found her in a diabetic coma on Thanksgiving day and Hospice was called in a few days afterwards. Those following days were painful and difficult for my wife. When she finally got the call on monday, I took off early from work to go be with her.
I held her as she cried. I tried consoling her, but I struggle with doubts and am not the best at reassurance these days. She went to check the mail and told me a book I ordered had come in. It was your book that I had ordered for no particular reason. I explained to her how I ordered the book, not knowing who I was going to give it to for Christmas, but all things considered it sure did seem as though God wanted her to have it. It is difficult not to have the impression its re-emergence in our lives was divinely orchestrated.
With that in mind, thank you for being part of our lives through your writing. I also follow you on facebook and am appreciative of your thoughtful, measured commentary, constantly pointing your readers to the grace of God. In this world where Darwinian reciprocity seems to command and dictate almost every square inch of our lives and relationships, the hope of a relationship with the creator of all, not based on what I have to give or give back is the one beautiful pearl that never loses its beauty and I thank you for being a continual reminder of that beauty through your writing.
David (one of your fans)
David,
What a gracious and generous note. Your “crisis of faith” doesn’t concern me, because brokenness is often the gateway God uses, and clearly you have the desire and openness that God treasures. Thank you for telling me some of this story, which deeply moves me.
And on the evolution issue, you might check out the BioLogos website, which deals with these issues in depth.
Bless you,
Philip
Hi Philip,
I have a million and one questions, but I will just start from this one. I’ve read almost all your books, and let me start by thanking you for helping me see grace for what or should I say who he really is. Thank you for asking and bringing up the questions that are rarely spoken about, and helping me understand that my occasional doubt is necessary for deeper reaches and experiences with God. I read your book on prayer (Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?) at a time I too was having many struggles with prayer; still am, but hopefully getting better. I noticed you didn’t write anything on Praying (or speaking) in tongues. I’m sure you have an opinion on the matter. I’d like to hear what you think, and no I do not expect you to have all the answers I’m looking for, but probably reading what you have to say would help me see it in a different light. Thank you in advance.
Interesting question. Since I’ve not had that particular gift, and try to focus on “mere Christianity,” I haven’t spoken about it. It’s true, of course, that a huge percentage of Christians worldwide practice that gift.