Blog | Page 15 of 40 | Philip Yancey

The Holy Disease

December 2019

I’ve been speaking to various groups about my recently released book with Dr. Paul Brand, Fearfully and Wonderfully: The Marvel of Bearing God’s Image. An orthopedic surgeon by training, Dr. Brand served as a medical missionary in India, where he became a specialist in the disease leprosy. Wherever I go, I find that people have a natural curiosity about that ancient and dreaded disease. Myths and misconceptions abound. I often hear a comment like “I had no idea leprosy was ...

An Anniversary Worth Remembering

November 2019

On a driving trip through Scandinavia I got my first view of aurora borealis, the Northern Lights. In Finland, just twenty miles from the Russian border, I stood shivering in the cold and watched as waves of luminous color arced across the sky, covering perhaps one-seventh of the dark dome above. Tendrils of green light pulsed and slid together like the interlocking teeth of a giant comb, blocking the stars. It seemed at once ominous and magical. An hour later, ...

Trusting the Bridge

October 2019

[In Fearfully and Wonderfully, Dr. Paul Brand describes a time when his Christian faith was tested by doubt, especially regarding the issue of evolution.] In medical school I encountered professors who took for granted that the universe is based on randomness, with no place for an intelligent Designer. As I have grappled with these and other issues, I have learned the value of accepting as a rule of life something about which I have intellectual uncertainties. In other words, I ...

Snapshots from Asia

September 2019

I traveled to Southeast Asia in late July, in the midst of their steamy tropical summer. The trip began in Singapore, a clean and modern place where, mercifully, most buildings are air-conditioned. The tiny city-state reminds me of Disneyland: no litter, no graffiti, no sign of poverty. Singapore punishes vandalism with caning, and bans the sale of chewing gum, lest it end up on the sidewalk. Singapore has one of Asia’s most vibrant Christian communities. I spoke at a conference ...

Body Mindfulness

August 2019

This month IVP has released a new, revised version of my writings with Dr. Paul Brand, Fearfully and Wonderfully: The Marvel of Bearing God’s Image. Gratitude was the one quality that most impressed me about Paul Brand. For him, the universe was God’s own work of art, and the human body God’s masterpiece. He kept making notes on scattered computer files, calling them “A Litany of Thanksgiving.” Dr. Brand never finished his litanies, but here are a few of his ...

Blog Posts

The Holy Disease

An Anniversary Worth Remembering

Trusting the Bridge

Snapshots from Asia

Body Mindfulness