Comments on: International Grace

By: Phillip E Schwab

Phillip E Schwab — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 16:45:06 +0000

Mr. Yancey,
You are by far my favorite author who speak into my life with practical issues I face. We have similar backgrounds in dealing with the God and church of our childhood. How did I ever survive and still maintain my faith? I am a friend of Bill Wilson, and thank God He used that community to strip away all the Pharisaical trappings of religion and legalism in order to restore a vision of God for who He really is. Thank you for touching on our way of life in your book What’s so Good about God? I just ordered your two latest books: Prayer: Does It Really Work and Grace Notes. After twenty years I’m finally getting to attend college for the first time to hone my natural writing talent. Thank you for inspiring me to excellence and to finally utilize my gift to the glory of God.

By: Rafael

Rafael — Wed, 11 May 2011 02:33:17 +0000

Hello Mr. Philip Yancey I am Brazilian.

Hello my name is Rafael and I read his book Amazing Grace, was an instrument of God. I learned a lot about difereça of Grace in a society of non-grace.
God bless, Him the Honor and Power,

Peace and Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

By: Steph

Steph — Tue, 10 May 2011 04:56:52 +0000

Dezi, I started heading up to bed and came back down to fire up the computer again and write you … for the last time. I’ll stay away from this particular post from now on. First, you are much in my mind, with recent events in your home country and your host country. Second, the most important two worlds that I have experienced have been the missionary enterprise, if you will, as a child, and now the military enterprise, as a spouse. And what I want to tell you as a child of missionaries who loved two people groups Americans do not much love is that God does indeed love the whole world. God never forgets that. He was filled with concern for Nineveh, that great city, even the cattle filling it. (Jonah 4:11) He never forgets one corner of His world, or counts it as lesser than another. He is not confused by the many opinions and justifications each side has … He is not like us!! The only other thing I might say is that, though David, the King, could not build God’s temple because of the blood on his hands, God loved him too. And David loved God. And that’s what I have learned.
You spoke of believing you might find “true hope in His Word.” Absolutely. You spoke of being upset at finding out (in your first note), that the 10 Commandments say Do not murder and not Do not kill. (That’s a new idea to me; I’ll have to look.) To those who use that to justify war, to declare it “fine,” I say not to forget that the 10 Commandments are a minimal, bottom-line, set of commands given at a particular point in time to a people heading towards conquest. God has much more to say to us……. No? Finally, you wrote of the fruit of the Spirit, a list followed by the statement, Against such things, there is no law. A very significant statement. Blessings to you. Courage and hope.

By: Norma Abram

Norma Abram — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 21:08:14 +0000

Hello Mr. Yancy, I feel compelled to tell you how much your books have meant to me. I and my family have had some tragic things happen in the last ten years and I believe God lead me to your books to help me get through them. I choose to believe that God grieves with us but also prepares us and strengthens us for things that are coming. I won’t say my faith hasn’t been tested but ultimately I can now say it is stronger than ever. I think the word “grace” has such a deeper meaning for me than it did years ago. I have led a couple classes on your book “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” and some of the people in those classes felt it was life changing for them. Thank you so much for what you have done for me with God’s help!

By: boros1124

boros1124 — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 11:09:00 +0000

Hi everyone! I’m Hungarian and would like to ask why each book is not available in Hungary ? I went to bookstores in the area, but only two have not found your book. Then I checked the online bookstores too (www.konyv-konyvek.hu). Also there are only two I found your book. What is the reason? Not every book has been translated? It will be expected in the future?

I know of the following books of mine published in Hungary: “Disappointment with God” (Keresztyen Ismeretterjeszto Alapitvany), “The Jesus I Never Knew” (Logos), “Rumors of Another World” (Harmat), “What’s So Amazing About Grace” (Harmat). If you can’t find them online, maybe you can go direct to the publisher. Unfortunately, I have no control over which books foreign publishers choose to translate and publish.
Philip

By: Charlie's Church of Christ

Charlie's Church of Christ — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 18:33:03 +0000

I love the idea of forfeiting “justice for the sake of reconciliation.” That’s what it’s all about. Great article/blog/whatever this is called.

By: dezi

dezi — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 05:06:32 +0000

I really would like to thank Steph who elaborated her thoughts in her first comment and showed me a powerful testimony of a young Christian man at Slate Blog, ‘The Wrong Stuff’ dated Dec. 16, 2010 (Conscientious Objector, Josh Stieber). This is powerful because I can see that the Word of God has been active in this young gentleman’s heart all the way otherwise he wouldn’t have taken that risk. That was a fresh reminder of true hope in His Word.

I would also like to let you know that God is working in my heart. Until a few weeks ago, I had been struggling quite a lot in my church life and so had my American husband as well since both of us were aware of our own judgmental attitudes toward conservative Christians. But when God’s message was delivered powerfully through my husband’s preaching at one Sunday service (he’s one of our church’s ordained people) after his mind-wrestling with His Word and lots of prayers with tears, God spoke to him, me and possibly at least some of our congregation, I believe. To me so-called nine Spiritual Fruit (Gal 5: 22-23) quoted at the sermon at the time was something that got me back to the basic — God’s standard, not the world’s standards that I often tend to fall in. His standard is for my ideal integration following Jesus’s image.

With a sharp contrast of the nine Spiritual Fruit, a list of our sinful nature (Gal 5: 19-21) also turned out to be a good reference to convince me that things seemingly related to our warfare such as ‘hatred’, ‘discord’ , ‘fits of rage’, ‘selfish ambition’, ‘dissensions’, and ‘factions’ (NIV) are against His Will for us. Even if some people claim that ‘their missions’ in wars are totally different from what is written in Galatians 5:19-21, it doesn’t make sense to me especially when I see the whole world as His own creation as His beloved one community, rather than seeing a particular nation as the one He prefers. Where people accept killing civilians in wars as their “mission”, my question arises — would He want us to exterminate or totally change ‘different others’ because of the disagreement? I do not think so. I believe any kinds of positive change according to God’s will should begin in me/us, just like the one having occurred to that young American man, Josh Stieber, interviewed at Slate Blog. Changes staring in our own selves seem to be the key to ultimately and truly being open to God.

Personally I imagine that God might be pleased to have more and more people experiencing two or more different worlds, just as Steph does (I suppose), Josh Stieber does and myself (having been going through different church orientations-sort of). I don’t think ‘experiencing two or more worlds’ has to do with visibly different worlds, but with more internal things like different value systems and beliefs. Surrounded by them, we often struggle and cry for help to God. During the time, we might find some underlying backgrounds of different value systems and beliefs. Even if we experience our faith being shaken by the different values, His Word will get us back to His truth, His love, I believe. This kind of “getting-back” experience can be a genuine drive to spread the Gospel to the world, not by capitalism or democracy and never by the force, but by love, respect and humility. People dealing with different values would be given the channels to communicate with those with different values, which might turn out to contribute to desired peacemaking. I may be theologically wrong but I can’t help connect this people bridging different worlds with God’s Word in Ezekiel: “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it” (Ezekiel 22:30 NIV).

Although I don’t know how much I’ve been able to communicate with you in my limited English, it’s been a big blessing for me to get this kind of urge to try understanding what it’s expressed and to try hard on opening up and ‘decoding’ my thoughts in English. God bless!

By: Steph

Steph — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 06:24:23 +0000

Having grossly intruded the first time, I’ll attempt brevity, and then cease.
1. I hope I did not add salt to wounds for dezi and others (because I see the compromise and give in to it). I am sorry. 2. There’s an interview of a conscientious objector on a blog at Slate magazine (The Wrong Stuff) dated Dec. 16, 2010. He demonstrates an initial “Patriotic Christian” view, goes to war, and via Gandhi and the Golden Rule (Do unto others etc.), becomes a consc. objector. Thought dezi might like it.

That is all.

By: Bbremer

Bbremer — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 02:45:19 +0000

I do not have a comment on the above essay but I do have a question for Mr Yancy. I am a physician and deal daily with a multiplicity of physical problems with my patients from very minor to very life threatening. I have read your comments on pain and what the bible has to say about pain, physical disease and Jesus’ healing and reaction to disease and suffering. I am frustrated and lost however when dealing with mental health issues. I feel that the bible especially does not deal with how to handle mental health issues such as OCD , severe depression and anxiety. Sure it tells us not to be discouraged and not to be anxious but the depth of disease that some people face is so much deeper than ordinary people like myself can fathom and in some ways is much more life altering and painful than physical problems such as cancer and heart disease.

You’re absolutely right. The Bible, of course, does not give a scientific understanding of these diseases, and few viewed them as such at the time of its writing. I am so glad there are people like you who are experts in the field and struggle to apply faith questions. I’m afraid I’m no expert at all. I do think, however, that the community aspect of health–being surrounded by compassionate, loving people–is an important ingredient in mental health, and we have much counsel in the Bible on that.
Philip

By: Peter Bangs

Peter Bangs — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 12:03:58 +0000

Another thought provoking piece of writing and how refreshing to hear someone say “I don’t understand your country”. Bill Fleming’s comment made me think about how key this is. As a denizen of the country that historically caused all the problems in Northern Ireland and at times paid in blood for their interference I know all about lack of understanding. Both politicians and public in the UK have long ignored, or been ignorant of, our being the cause of the problems there and promoted shoot to kill policies as the way to deal with the IRA and the like. I thank to Lord ost days that he has provided us with men of faith and insight who were able to move beyond this.

Problems in the Balkans are, at least in part, the result of European “powers” attempting to redraw borders, and we can only pray God will bring men to the fore who show the grace needed to move past the very real hurts and begin to mend wounds.