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What's So Amazing About Grace?

April 12, 2024

What's So Amazing About Grace? is a 1997 book by Philip Yancey, an American journalist and editor-at-large for Christianity Today. The book examines grace in Christianity, contending that people crave grace and that it is central to the gospel, but that many local churches ignore grace and instead seek to exterminate immorality. What's So Amazing About Grace? includes Bible stories, anecdotes from Yancey's life, accounts of historical events and other stories. These include a modern retelling of the Parable of the Prodigal Son, an account of Yancey's friendship with Mel White who came out as gay, a comparison of the teachings of early Christians Pelagius and Augustine of Hippo, and a summary of Karen Blixen's short story "Babette's Feast".

What's So Amazing About Grace?
First edition cover
AuthorPhilip Yancey
Working titleWhat's So Amazing About Grace and Why the World Needs More of It
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SubjectGrace in Christianity
GenreChristian devotional literature
Published1997 (Zondervan)
Pages292
ISBN978-0-310-21327-7
OCLC427821
234
LC ClassBT761.2 .Y35 1997
Preceded byFinding God in Unexpected Places 
Followed byThe Bible Jesus Read 
Websitehttp://philipyancey.com/whats-so-amazing-about-grace

Yancey was inspired to write What's So Amazing About Grace? after President Bill Clinton asked him, "Why do Christians hate so much?"[1] Although Yancey initially intended to call the book What's So Amazing About Grace: and Why Don't Christians Show More of It?, Zondervan, its publisher, objected to this title despite the author's contention that he wrote the book to communicate the belief that grace is one of the best quality Christians, like himself, have to offer but are not necessarily identified with it.[2] The book was successful at secular and Christian stores, selling more than 15 million copies by 2006 and becoming Yancey's best-known book. In it, Yancey coined the phrase "scandal of grace", referring to the idea that God forgives some of the worst people, citing the conversion of Paul the Apostle.

What's So Amazing About Grace? was named Book of the Year by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association in 1998. In 2006, it ranked 17th on Christianity Today's list of fifty books that have shaped Evangelicals the most. In a Publishers Weekly review, Henry Carrigan notes an anecdotal style that can be frustrating but ultimately worth reading. For the Presbyterian Record, Canadian Christian writer Phil Callaway writes that he found the book refreshing and inspirational. What's So Amazing About Grace? has been endorsed by a number of public figures, including Irish musician Bono, British adventurer Debra Searle, and World Vision Australia CEO Tim Costello.

Background edit

 
Philip Yancey was inspired by Bill Clinton (pictured here, 1997) to write the book.[1]

Philip Yancey, an American journalist[3] based in Colorado,[4] was inspired to write a book about grace in Christianity when he went to the White House to interview President Bill Clinton. Clinton, a Southern Baptist from birth, told him, "I've been in politics long enough to expect criticism and hostility. But I was unprepared for the hatred I get from Christians. Why do Christians hate so much?"[1] Yancey later said that, although there are many reasons for Evangelical Christians to disapprove of Clinton's policies and lifestyle, hating him was not a valid option for Christians.[1]

The author was further prompted to write about grace when a friend told him about encountering a homeless prostitute in Chicago who began to cry as she told him that she had raised money for drugs by prostituting her two-year-old child. When Yancey's friend asked the woman if she had sought help at a local church, she answered, "Church? Why would I ever go there? I was already feeling terrible about myself. They'd just make me feel worse."[5] This story convinced Yancey that Christians are doing a poor job of communicating the message that God is willing to accept people, regardless of what they have done; the story haunted him, he said, because the woman was "the type of person who would have gone to Jesus. The more unrighteous a person was, the more comfortable they felt around Jesus".[5]

Yancey researched the subject of grace, asking non-Christians what they associated with Evangelical Christianity. None of their responses mentioned grace; most cited political stances, such as opposition to LGBT rights and abortion.[6] The author initially intended to call his book What's So Amazing About Grace: and Why Don't Christians Show More of It? Zondervan, its eventual publisher, objected to the title's forcefulness, despite Yancey's argument that he wrote the book about how "we Christians are simply not known by the greatest gift we have".[2] On February 3, 1997, Christianity Today published an essay by Yancey, the magazine's editor-at-large,[7] with the title "A State of Ungrace", saying that it was the basis of two chapters of Yancey's upcoming book with the working title of What's So Amazing About Grace and Why the World Needs More of It.[8] The book was published later that year with the shorter title What's So Amazing About Grace?[9]

 
Although Yancey (pictured, 2014) has written several international bestsellers, What's So Amazing About Grace? is his best-known.

According to the author, he began writing the book in the same way he began most of his books: by exploring a question that was unresolved for him. In this case, the question became the book's title.[10] In What's So Amazing About Grace?, Yancey answers this question by writing that God gives grace to people unconditionally, without their need to earn it. His book includes Bible stories, anecdotes from Yancey's life and accounts of historical events.[11] Similar to his other works, What's So Amazing About Grace? has a self-deprecating tone.[12] It describes Yancey's upbringing in a judgmental church, a theme Yancey previously explored in The Jesus I Never Knew and later returned to in Reaching for the Invisible God and Soul Survivor.[4]

What's So Amazing About Grace? sold well at secular and Christian stores.[13] Its popularity in the United Kingdom grew in 2003, when the impending Iraq War boosted sales of religious literature in the country. That March, it was the seventh-bestselling religious book in the UK, behind Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life, John Ortberg's If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat and Eugene H. Peterson's The Message.[14] What's So Amazing About Grace? is Yancey's best-known book, having sold more than 15 million copies by 2006.[15] Initially, the book was especially popular among baby boomers.[16] Its popularity helped increase sales of Yancey's 2000 book Reaching for the Invisible God, which appeared on religion bestseller lists immediately after publication.[17] What's So Amazing About Grace? is one of several books by Yancey that have become international bestsellers.[18]

Content edit

Grace did not come to me initially in the forms or the words of faith. I grew up in a church that often used the word but meant something else. ... I became a writer, I feel certain, in an attempt to reclaim words that had been tarnished by graceless Christians.

—Yancey, pages 41-42.

In What's So Amazing About Grace?, Yancey discusses grace, calling it "our last best word".[19] The book's thesis is that, although people crave grace and it is centrally important to the gospel, many local churches ignore grace in their quest to exterminate immorality. Yancey uses the word "ungrace" to describe actions that fail to demonstrate grace.[7] According to the author, the greatest gift the Christian Church can give the world is grace, but the church sometimes offers ungrace instead.[20] Yancey writes that there are secular analogues to most Christian activities benefiting the world, such as social justice work and community service, but that "grace is theological; it comes from God. It's one thing the church can offer that isn't found anywhere else".[2] He describes his experiences attempting to make grace part of the way he lived and not just part of his theology. Yancey quotes Christian counselor David Seamands: "The two major causes of most emotional problems among Evangelical Christians are these: the failure to understand, receive and live out God's unconditional grace and forgiveness; and the failure to give out that unconditional love, forgiveness, and grace to other people".[19]

The author describes his experiences growing up in a church that, despite preaching about grace, did not demonstrate it to others; the church excluded African Americans, dismissed other Christians on the basis of slightly different beliefs, and depicted God as tyrannical and vengeful.[4] Yancey writes, "I grew up with the strong impression that a person became spiritual by attending to grey-area rules," and that church was a place to look good rather than be honest.[6] He contrasts the teachings of early Christians Pelagius and Augustine of Hippo on the subject of grace, with Pelagius believing that divine grace must be earned and Augustine contending that grace is a gift that cannot be earned. Pelagius was declared a heretic by his peers; Augustine was canonized. According to Yancey, many Christians follow Pelagius's teaching on grace during the week but espouse Augustine's on Sunday.[2]

Yancey writes that Christians should be politically active and should, for example, oppose abortion, "but you have to find a way to do it with grace ... If I'm against abortion and I don't find a way to love the woman who got the abortion and even her doctor, then I don't understand the gospel."[5] Yancey recounts Jesus's Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, concluding that God is only willing to forgive us if we are willing to forgive those who have wronged us. In a similar vein, he quotes William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice: "How shalt thou hope for mercy, rendering none?"[21]

The author summarizes Karen Blixen's short story "Babette's Feast", which was adapted into a 1987 Danish film. The story is set in a fishing village where the inhabitants avoid all pleasure for religious reasons.[22] Two sisters take in Babette, a Parisian refugee who becomes their personal chef, but they allow her to make only simple, bland meals. Years pass; Babette wins a lottery and spends her winnings on a delicious banquet for the villagers, who agree to eat but not enjoy the food.[23] A banquet guest recognizes Babette as a former world-renowned chef and identifies her gift to undeserving and initially unwilling recipients as grace.[24] In another chapter Yancey similarly summarizes Gabriel García Márquez's novel Love in the Time of Cholera.[25]

 
Yancey writes about his friendship with prominent pastor Mel White (pictured, 1995).

Yancey describes his friendship with Mel White, who was a married pastor and Fuller Theological Seminary lecturer with two children when he came out as gay. White had been a ghostwriter for Christian writers including Francis Schaeffer, Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell, and Yancey was surprised by White's self-disclosure. According to the author, he and White had long discussions on the subject "because he wanted so much for me to approve. I couldn't approve."[6] Yancey writes that, although he continued to cultivate his friendship with White, many other Christians shunned the pastor.[6] One chapter, "The Lovesick Father", retells the Parable of the Prodigal Son in a modern setting with the spendthrift child, a daughter.[11] Yancey writes that the closest many people get to experiencing pure grace is a romantic relationship, when they believe that "someone at last feels that I — I! — am the most desirable, attractive, companionable creature on the planet".[5]

Influence edit

Christians of many denominations treat What's So Amazing About Grace? as a handbook. In it, Yancey coined the phrase "scandal of grace", referring to the idea that God may choose to forgive people who have done evil deeds, citing the conversion of Paul the Apostle who was persecuting Christians. The phrase "scandal of grace" has become widely used in Christian circles.[26] In 2005, the Barna Group, a California-based research firm, asked senior pastors across the United States which books they had found helpful during the past three years. What's So Amazing About Grace? was one of nine books mentioned by at least two percent of the respondents; the other eight included Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Church and The Purpose Driven Life and John C. Maxwell's The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.[27]

David Charlesworth, Abbot of Buckfast Abbey in Devon, England, asked Torbay-based theatre company Unleashed Productions to perform a play based on the book. The play had been written by Neil Pugmire and previously performed in 2006 at the Greenbelt Festival. It incorporated stories about apartheid, Gordon Wilson's daughter's death in the Remembrance Day bombing, and Holocaust survivor Simon Wiesenthal. He also included a dramatization of the chapter "The Lovesick Father". Simon Zimmerman wrote the score for the play, which has a cast of nearly forty actors. The play, which took the name of the book, was successfully produced outdoors by Buckfast Abbey in 2010.[28] These outdoor performances were well-attended.[29] According to the Western Morning News, the play is "by turns shocking, humorous and moving, [and] explores how forgiveness and grace can be found in even the most testing circumstances".[28] A Herald Express reviewer called the play inspiring and probably the most unique and unusual in South Devon that summer.[30]

Reception edit

Secular media edit

 
Yancey quotes William Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice in What's So Amazing About Grace? (relevant scene pictured); according to Shakespearean scholar Andy Mousley, the quotation demonstrates Yancey's moral universalism.

For Booklist, Ray Olson called What's So Amazing About Grace? a "well-written and engaging book [that] will continue to nourish readers' hunger for spiritual sustenance long after it has answered the appetites of an initial burst of consumers".[25] He compared the book to Max Lucado's The Great House of God, also published in 1997, writing that, although Yancey and Lucado have both written several bestselling Christian books, Yancey's book was edited better. Olson praised as pithy the author's summaries of "Babette's Feast" and Love in the Time of Cholera.[25] In the Calgary Herald, David Briggs compares What's So Amazing About Grace? to Johann Christoph Arnold's Seventy Times Seven: The Power of Forgiveness, also published in 1997; according to both books, Christians should be more charitable to others and less judgmental of them.[1] Henry Carrigan writes in his Publishers Weekly review that "the book's anecdotal style is often frustrating, but Yancey's measured prose and his insights into the stories make the book worth reading".[11] In her 1998 Winnipeg Free Press review, Karen Toole-Mitchell criticizes Yancey's contention that everyone needs grace and that Christians have a special ability to offer it. She calls Yancey's grace "cheap ... because it was not needed, it was not felt, and ultimately it was not received".[20]

In the Coventry Telegraph in 2001, Barbara Goulden called the book's title provocative.[31] A 2003 Daily Express review called What's So Amazing About Grace? "a cogent, intellectually robust defence of [Christianity] without all the crap that goes with so many churches today".[3] Derick Bingham of the Belfast Telegraph recommended the book that year, calling it a liberating read.[32] In 2006, Terry Pluto of the Akron Beacon Journal called What's So Amazing About Grace? and the earlier Disappointment with God Yancey's best books.[33]

Shakespearean scholar Andy Mousley called the book part of the "spiritual self-help genre" in 2007. According to Mousley, Yancey's quotation from The Merchant of Venice demonstrates the author's moral universalism; Yancey views Shakespeare as a sage who conveyed universally applicable morals, a perspective contradicting most contemporary literary critics who distrust moral universalism, using historicism to contextualize Shakespeare's religious views.[21] Dean Poling of The Valdosta Daily Times wrote in 2008 that, in What's So Amazing About Grace?, "Yancey writes about faith in a clear, honest, and inquisitive style" consistent with his other books.[34] In 2010, a Herald Express journalist called the book "hardhitting" and "gritty".[30]

Christian media edit

 
In The Christian Science Monitor, Karla Vallance calls the book similarly sentimental to the hymn "Amazing Grace" by John Newton (pictured).

What's So Amazing About Grace? was named Book of the Year by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association in 1998 when it was chosen by Christian retailers as the title they most enjoyed selling;[35] Yancey's The Jesus I Never Knew had received the same award two years earlier.[36] In 1998, Christianity Today compared What's So Amazing About Grace? to Joel A. Carpenter's Revive Us Again, writing that both books productively analyze Christian fundamentalism.[13] That year, Karla Vallance's Christian Science Monitor review called the book similarly sentimental to John Newton's hymn "Amazing Grace".[37]

In a 1998 Presbyterian Record review, Canadian Christian writer Phil Callaway writes that What's So Amazing About Grace? made him "thankful afresh for God's grace and challenged to live a life reflecting it".[6] Callaway was haunted by Yancey's question, "If grace is so amazing, why don't Christians show more of it?"[6] and expressed his appreciation to the author at the 1998 Christian Booksellers Association convention. When he asked Yancey why he wrote the book, the author answered: "I long for the church to become a culture of grace ... A graceful church knows how to welcome failure and rewards vulnerability so that a person automatically thinks of the church when needing help."[6] Yancey asked Callaway if he thought the book would generate controversy, and Callaway said it would. Callaway asked Yancey why his book was so harsh in its description of Christians, and Yancey responded, "I'm picking on Christians because I am one".[6] Yancey said that he knew many gracious Christians and that secular culture was filled with examples of ungrace, including media manipulation of body image and the belief that "there ain't no such thing as a free lunch", which contradicts the concept of undeserved grace from God as taught in Christianity.[6]

A 1999 Christian Science Monitor review said that, filled with "poignant stories" that are "likely to ruffle some feathers, this compelling book challenges Christians to become a genuine healing force in society".[7] Presbyterian pastor John Buchanan, editor and publisher of The Christian Century, also reviewed What's So Amazing About Grace? that year, writing that "Yancey is such a good writer and such a generous evangelical that even though I occasionally disagree with his conclusions, I'm glad to be in the same family with him".[38]

 
Baptist pastor Robert Jeffress said that What's So Amazing About Grace? "did a valuable service rescuing the doctrine of grace from the legalists who say that we must earn our salvation".[39]

In 2006, What's So Amazing About Grace? placed 17th on Christianity Today's list of fifty books that had most shaped Evangelicals.[12] That year, Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, compared What's So Amazing About Grace? to Chuck Swindoll's book The Grace Awakening, calling both "wonderful books on grace [that] did a valuable service rescuing the doctrine of grace from the legalists who say that we must earn our salvation".[39] Christian professor Craig Detweiler writes in his 2008 book A Purple State of Mind: Finding Middle Ground in a Divided Culture that, if he could have given his students a graduation present, it would have been a copy of What's So Amazing About Grace? because many of his Christian students were more concerned with avoiding the forbidden than they were with enjoying the permitted. Detweiler writes that Christianity was founded on forgiveness and that Christians should not bear the burden of guilt, and he therefore agrees with Yancey that "grace" is "our last best word".[19]

In a 2014 article in the "Spiritual Matters" section of the Australian newspaper The Daily Examiner, Reverend Chris Sparks calls What's So Amazing About Grace? "masterful" and writes that Yancey provides a good answer to the question raised by its title.[40] In his 2015 book Unoffendable: How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better, Christian radio personality Brant Hansen calls What's So Amazing About Grace? life-changing and writes that Yancey's discussion of "Babette's Feast" inspired him to see the film.[22] U.S. Catholic reviewer Mary Lynn Hendrickson also praised Yancey's retelling of Karen Blixen's story.[41]

Public figures edit

 
Atlantic Rowing Race participant Debra Searle read Yancey's book during her transatlantic crossing, later crediting it with her return to Christianity.

In 2000, Bear Grylls, the youngest Briton to survive an ascent of Mount Everest, cited What's So Amazing About Grace? as his "favourite holiday read"[42] and "a book that has inspired me a lot".[43] In 2001, American politician Mark Earley called it his favorite book.[44] That year, English musician Noel Gallagher asked Irish musician Bono to explain religion to him because Gallagher knew Bono believed in and prayed to God. Bono spoke with Gallagher on the subject for two hours and sent him a copy of What's So Amazing About Grace? Gallagher later said that he was "going to have a good read of this book", that Bono "made a lot of sense", and that the gift was particularly meaningful because Bono's father had recently died.[45]

During Christmas 2001, while Debra Searle was competing in the Atlantic Rowing Race by making a solo transatlantic crossing from Tenerife to Barbados, her twin sister Hayley sent her a copy of What's So Amazing About Grace? as part of a Christmas package that was delivered at sea. Although she had belonged to a local church as a child, Debra had become irreligious by 2001. After reading Yancey's book while she was alone on the ocean that Christmas, she said, "I felt like God was there with me protecting me".[46] Reading the book brought about a change in her that eventually resulted in her becoming actively involved in Mutley Baptist Church, which is noted for its community engagement.[46]

In 2006, Welsh musician Mal Pope called the book his favorite, comparing Yancey's writing to that of British Christian apologist C. S. Lewis and saying, "The first time I read [What's So Amazing About Grace?] I ended up in tears with every new chapter".[47] In 2012, Pope affirmed that it was still his favorite book.[48] Tim Costello, CEO of World Vision Australia, said in 2008 that the book was important to him.[49] In 2010, American politician Bill Haslam cited What's So Amazing About Grace? and John Heilemann's and Mark Halperin's Game Change as two recent books he enjoyed.[50] Retired Northern Ireland Civil Service head Nigel Hamilton said in 2014 that What's So Amazing About Grace? was his favorite book.[51]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e Briggs, David (August 30, 1997). "Forgiveness is Trying but oh so Vital". Calgary Herald. p. J8. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d Finch-Durichen, Pauline (September 27, 1997). "Author Finds His Grace Period: Philip Yantzi [sic] Has Too Much to Explore to Stay Away from Writing for Any Length of Time". Waterloo Region Record. Kitchener, Ontario. p. B11. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Stars Have Words for a Good Holiday Read". Daily Express. London. July 27, 2003. p. 64. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c "An Argument to Reconnect with the Church". Winnipeg Free Press. February 17, 2002. p. D4. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  5. ^ a b c d Blake, John (January 3, 1998). "Today's Church Needs Grace: Religious Right's Behavior Viewed". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. 3D. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Callaway, Phil (April 1998). "If Grace Is So Amazing: Philip Yancey". Presbyterian Record. Vol. 122, no. 4. Toronto. p. 18. ProQuest 214350907.
  7. ^ a b c "The Monitor's Guide to Religion Bestsellers". The Christian Science Monitor. Boston. January 14, 1999. p. 21. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  8. ^ Yancey, Philip (February 3, 1997). "A State of Ungrace". Christianity Today. 41 (2). Carol Stream, Illinois: 30. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  9. ^ Yancey 1997.
  10. ^ Lodge, Carey (August 1, 2014). "Philip Yancey: We Need Grace Over Doctrinal Unity". Christian Today. London. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  11. ^ a b c Carrigan, Henry (November 3, 1997). "What's So Amazing About Grace?". Publishers Weekly. 244 (45). New York City: 85. ProQuest 197002471.
  12. ^ a b "The Top 50 Books That Have Shaped Evangelicals: Landmark Titles that Changed the Way We Think, Talk, Witness, Worship, and Live". Christianity Today. Carol Stream, Illinois. October 6, 2006. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  13. ^ a b "1998 Book of the Year". Christianity Today. 42 (5). Carol Stream, Illinois: 26. April 27, 1998. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  14. ^ Martin, Lorna; Vincent, John (March 15, 2003). "Sales of Religious Books Soar as Readers Seek Refuge from War". The Herald. Glasgow. p. 6. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  15. ^ "Cathedral Date for Multi-Million-Selling Christian Author". Bristol Post. September 2, 2006. p. 26. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  16. ^ Perkes, Kim Sue Lia (August 6, 1998). "Millennium Spurs Sales of Christian Books". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. E3. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  17. ^ "Putting Faith in Doubt: The Editors Interview Philip Yancey". U.S. Catholic. 66 (2). Skokie, Illinois: 18. February 1, 2001. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  18. ^ "Philip Yancey Discusses 'What Good is God?'". Express & Star. Wolverhampton. June 3, 2011. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  19. ^ a b c Detweiler 2008, p. 55.
  20. ^ a b Toole-Mitchell, Karen (March 14, 1998). "So, What's So Amazing About Grace?". Winnipeg Free Press. p. C10. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  21. ^ a b Mousley 2007, p. 1.
  22. ^ a b Hansen 2015, p. 175.
  23. ^ Hansen 2015, p. 176.
  24. ^ Hansen 2015, p. 177.
  25. ^ a b c Olson, Ray (July 1997). "The Great House of God/What's So Amazing About Grace?". Booklist. 93 (21): 1772.
  26. ^ Nelson, Stan (May 2, 2009). "Amazing Grace, How Strange the Sound". The Pueblo Chieftain. Pueblo, Colorado. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  27. ^ "Warren Books Most Popular with Pastors". The Christian Century. 122 (13). Chicago: 16. June 28, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  28. ^ a b "Monastery Hosts Bold and Moving New Production". Western Morning News. Devon. August 20, 2010. p. 18. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  29. ^ "Churches Unite 'To Present Something That is Good'". Herald Express. Devon. August 25, 2011. p. 57. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  30. ^ a b "See What's So Amazing Outdoors This Summer". Herald Express. Devon. August 28, 2010. p. 15. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  31. ^ Goulden, Barbara (August 17, 2001). "Clinton's Religious Aide to Visit City". Coventry Telegraph. p. 21. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  32. ^ Bingham, Derick (July 19, 2003). "Thought for the Weekend: Amazing Grace, God's Gift of Riches to All Christians". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  33. ^ Pluto, Terry (November 2, 2006). "Timeout No. 3". Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  34. ^ Poling, Dean (September 5, 2008). "Book Review: 'Rumors of Another World' by Phillip Yancey". The Valdosta Daily Times. Valdosta, Georgia. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  35. ^ "1998 Gold Medallion Book Awards Winners". Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  36. ^ McCreary, Alf (September 21, 2002). "Perspectives: Soul Survivors". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  37. ^ Vallance, Karla (July 30, 1998). "The Monitor's Guide to Religion Bestsellers". The Christian Science Monitor. Boston. p. B8. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  38. ^ Buchanan, John (October 11, 2000). "Summer Reading". The Christian Century. 117 (27). Chicago: 987. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  39. ^ a b Guthrie, Stan (March 1, 2006). "Grace as a License for Sin: Why Obedience Isn't Just for Legalists". Christianity Today. Carol Stream, Illinois. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  40. ^ Sparks, Chris (April 5, 2014). "Let's Bring Grace Back". The Daily Examiner. Grafton, New South Wales. p. 16. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  41. ^ Hendrickson, Mary Lynn (February 1, 2001). "Preparing for the Feast". U.S. Catholic. 66 (2). Skokie, Illinois: 3. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  42. ^ "Grin and Bear It". Geographical. 72 (5). London: 114. May 1, 2000. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  43. ^ "Life's Passions Deserve Much More Than Mere Lip Service". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. April 3, 2000. p. 13. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  44. ^ "Mark Earley". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. October 25, 2001. p. A25. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  45. ^ Crampton, Robert (November 3, 2001). "Rolling with It". The Australian. Surry Hills, New South Wales. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  46. ^ a b "Success ... From Failure". The Herald. Dublin. February 20, 2008. p. 16. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  47. ^ "Crime and a State of Grace". South Wales Evening Post. Swansea. July 28, 2006. p. 32. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  48. ^ "20 Questions: We Asked Musician Mal Pope Our 20 Questions". Llanelli Star. May 9, 2012. p. 20. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  49. ^ Chester, Rodney (August 23, 2008). "On the Couch". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  50. ^ Humphrey, Tom (June 27, 2010). "Stumping for Votes, Haslam Stays Upbeat". Knoxville News Sentinel. Knoxville, Tennessee. p. 17. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  51. ^ "A Question of Faith". Belfast Telegraph. April 26, 2014. p. 34. Retrieved August 16, 2015.

Bibliography edit

April 12, 2024
what, amazing, about, grace, 1997, book, philip, yancey, american, journalist, editor, large, christianity, today, book, examines, grace, christianity, contending, that, people, crave, grace, that, central, gospel, that, many, local, churches, ignore, grace, i. What s So Amazing About Grace is a 1997 book by Philip Yancey an American journalist and editor at large for Christianity Today The book examines grace in Christianity contending that people crave grace and that it is central to the gospel but that many local churches ignore grace and instead seek to exterminate immorality What s So Amazing About Grace includes Bible stories anecdotes from Yancey s life accounts of historical events and other stories These include a modern retelling of the Parable of the Prodigal Son an account of Yancey s friendship with Mel White who came out as gay a comparison of the teachings of early Christians Pelagius and Augustine of Hippo and a summary of Karen Blixen s short story Babette s Feast What s So Amazing About Grace First edition coverAuthorPhilip YanceyWorking titleWhat s So Amazing About Grace and Why the World Needs More of ItCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishSubjectGrace in ChristianityGenreChristian devotional literaturePublished1997 Zondervan Pages292ISBN978 0 310 21327 7OCLC427821Dewey Decimal234LC ClassBT761 2 Y35 1997Preceded byFinding God in Unexpected Places Followed byThe Bible Jesus Read Websitehttp philipyancey com whats so amazing about graceYancey was inspired to write What s So Amazing About Grace after President Bill Clinton asked him Why do Christians hate so much 1 Although Yancey initially intended to call the book What s So Amazing About Grace and Why Don t Christians Show More of It Zondervan its publisher objected to this title despite the author s contention that he wrote the book to communicate the belief that grace is one of the best quality Christians like himself have to offer but are not necessarily identified with it 2 The book was successful at secular and Christian stores selling more than 15 million copies by 2006 and becoming Yancey s best known book In it Yancey coined the phrase scandal of grace referring to the idea that God forgives some of the worst people citing the conversion of Paul the Apostle What s So Amazing About Grace was named Book of the Year by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association in 1998 In 2006 it ranked 17th on Christianity Today s list of fifty books that have shaped Evangelicals the most In a Publishers Weekly review Henry Carrigan notes an anecdotal style that can be frustrating but ultimately worth reading For the Presbyterian Record Canadian Christian writer Phil Callaway writes that he found the book refreshing and inspirational What s So Amazing About Grace has been endorsed by a number of public figures including Irish musician Bono British adventurer Debra Searle and World Vision Australia CEO Tim Costello Contents 1 Background 2 Content 3 Influence 4 Reception 4 1 Secular media 4 2 Christian media 4 3 Public figures 5 References 6 BibliographyBackground edit nbsp Philip Yancey was inspired by Bill Clinton pictured here 1997 to write the book 1 Philip Yancey an American journalist 3 based in Colorado 4 was inspired to write a book about grace in Christianity when he went to the White House to interview President Bill Clinton Clinton a Southern Baptist from birth told him I ve been in politics long enough to expect criticism and hostility But I was unprepared for the hatred I get from Christians Why do Christians hate so much 1 Yancey later said that although there are many reasons for Evangelical Christians to disapprove of Clinton s policies and lifestyle hating him was not a valid option for Christians 1 The author was further prompted to write about grace when a friend told him about encountering a homeless prostitute in Chicago who began to cry as she told him that she had raised money for drugs by prostituting her two year old child When Yancey s friend asked the woman if she had sought help at a local church she answered Church Why would I ever go there I was already feeling terrible about myself They d just make me feel worse 5 This story convinced Yancey that Christians are doing a poor job of communicating the message that God is willing to accept people regardless of what they have done the story haunted him he said because the woman was the type of person who would have gone to Jesus The more unrighteous a person was the more comfortable they felt around Jesus 5 Yancey researched the subject of grace asking non Christians what they associated with Evangelical Christianity None of their responses mentioned grace most cited political stances such as opposition to LGBT rights and abortion 6 The author initially intended to call his book What s So Amazing About Grace and Why Don t Christians Show More of It Zondervan its eventual publisher objected to the title s forcefulness despite Yancey s argument that he wrote the book about how we Christians are simply not known by the greatest gift we have 2 On February 3 1997 Christianity Today published an essay by Yancey the magazine s editor at large 7 with the title A State of Ungrace saying that it was the basis of two chapters of Yancey s upcoming book with the working title of What s So Amazing About Grace and Why the World Needs More of It 8 The book was published later that year with the shorter title What s So Amazing About Grace 9 nbsp Although Yancey pictured 2014 has written several international bestsellers What s So Amazing About Grace is his best known According to the author he began writing the book in the same way he began most of his books by exploring a question that was unresolved for him In this case the question became the book s title 10 In What s So Amazing About Grace Yancey answers this question by writing that God gives grace to people unconditionally without their need to earn it His book includes Bible stories anecdotes from Yancey s life and accounts of historical events 11 Similar to his other works What s So Amazing About Grace has a self deprecating tone 12 It describes Yancey s upbringing in a judgmental church a theme Yancey previously explored in The Jesus I Never Knew and later returned to in Reaching for the Invisible God and Soul Survivor 4 What s So Amazing About Grace sold well at secular and Christian stores 13 Its popularity in the United Kingdom grew in 2003 when the impending Iraq War boosted sales of religious literature in the country That March it was the seventh bestselling religious book in the UK behind Rick Warren s The Purpose Driven Life John Ortberg s If You Want to Walk on Water You ve Got to Get Out of the Boat and Eugene H Peterson s The Message 14 What s So Amazing About Grace is Yancey s best known book having sold more than 15 million copies by 2006 15 Initially the book was especially popular among baby boomers 16 Its popularity helped increase sales of Yancey s 2000 book Reaching for the Invisible God which appeared on religion bestseller lists immediately after publication 17 What s So Amazing About Grace is one of several books by Yancey that have become international bestsellers 18 Content editGrace did not come to me initially in the forms or the words of faith I grew up in a church that often used the word but meant something else I became a writer I feel certain in an attempt to reclaim words that had been tarnished by graceless Christians Yancey pages 41 42 In What s So Amazing About Grace Yancey discusses grace calling it our last best word 19 The book s thesis is that although people crave grace and it is centrally important to the gospel many local churches ignore grace in their quest to exterminate immorality Yancey uses the word ungrace to describe actions that fail to demonstrate grace 7 According to the author the greatest gift the Christian Church can give the world is grace but the church sometimes offers ungrace instead 20 Yancey writes that there are secular analogues to most Christian activities benefiting the world such as social justice work and community service but that grace is theological it comes from God It s one thing the church can offer that isn t found anywhere else 2 He describes his experiences attempting to make grace part of the way he lived and not just part of his theology Yancey quotes Christian counselor David Seamands The two major causes of most emotional problems among Evangelical Christians are these the failure to understand receive and live out God s unconditional grace and forgiveness and the failure to give out that unconditional love forgiveness and grace to other people 19 The author describes his experiences growing up in a church that despite preaching about grace did not demonstrate it to others the church excluded African Americans dismissed other Christians on the basis of slightly different beliefs and depicted God as tyrannical and vengeful 4 Yancey writes I grew up with the strong impression that a person became spiritual by attending to grey area rules and that church was a place to look good rather than be honest 6 He contrasts the teachings of early Christians Pelagius and Augustine of Hippo on the subject of grace with Pelagius believing that divine grace must be earned and Augustine contending that grace is a gift that cannot be earned Pelagius was declared a heretic by his peers Augustine was canonized According to Yancey many Christians follow Pelagius s teaching on grace during the week but espouse Augustine s on Sunday 2 Yancey writes that Christians should be politically active and should for example oppose abortion but you have to find a way to do it with grace If I m against abortion and I don t find a way to love the woman who got the abortion and even her doctor then I don t understand the gospel 5 Yancey recounts Jesus s Parable of the Unforgiving Servant concluding that God is only willing to forgive us if we are willing to forgive those who have wronged us In a similar vein he quotes William Shakespeare s The Merchant of Venice How shalt thou hope for mercy rendering none 21 The author summarizes Karen Blixen s short story Babette s Feast which was adapted into a 1987 Danish film The story is set in a fishing village where the inhabitants avoid all pleasure for religious reasons 22 Two sisters take in Babette a Parisian refugee who becomes their personal chef but they allow her to make only simple bland meals Years pass Babette wins a lottery and spends her winnings on a delicious banquet for the villagers who agree to eat but not enjoy the food 23 A banquet guest recognizes Babette as a former world renowned chef and identifies her gift to undeserving and initially unwilling recipients as grace 24 In another chapter Yancey similarly summarizes Gabriel Garcia Marquez s novel Love in the Time of Cholera 25 nbsp Yancey writes about his friendship with prominent pastor Mel White pictured 1995 Yancey describes his friendship with Mel White who was a married pastor and Fuller Theological Seminary lecturer with two children when he came out as gay White had been a ghostwriter for Christian writers including Francis Schaeffer Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell and Yancey was surprised by White s self disclosure According to the author he and White had long discussions on the subject because he wanted so much for me to approve I couldn t approve 6 Yancey writes that although he continued to cultivate his friendship with White many other Christians shunned the pastor 6 One chapter The Lovesick Father retells the Parable of the Prodigal Son in a modern setting with the spendthrift child a daughter 11 Yancey writes that the closest many people get to experiencing pure grace is a romantic relationship when they believe that someone at last feels that I I am the most desirable attractive companionable creature on the planet 5 Influence editChristians of many denominations treat What s So Amazing About Grace as a handbook In it Yancey coined the phrase scandal of grace referring to the idea that God may choose to forgive people who have done evil deeds citing the conversion of Paul the Apostle who was persecuting Christians The phrase scandal of grace has become widely used in Christian circles 26 In 2005 the Barna Group a California based research firm asked senior pastors across the United States which books they had found helpful during the past three years What s So Amazing About Grace was one of nine books mentioned by at least two percent of the respondents the other eight included Rick Warren s The Purpose Driven Church and The Purpose Driven Life and John C Maxwell s The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership 27 David Charlesworth Abbot of Buckfast Abbey in Devon England asked Torbay based theatre company Unleashed Productions to perform a play based on the book The play had been written by Neil Pugmire and previously performed in 2006 at the Greenbelt Festival It incorporated stories about apartheid Gordon Wilson s daughter s death in the Remembrance Day bombing and Holocaust survivor Simon Wiesenthal He also included a dramatization of the chapter The Lovesick Father Simon Zimmerman wrote the score for the play which has a cast of nearly forty actors The play which took the name of the book was successfully produced outdoors by Buckfast Abbey in 2010 28 These outdoor performances were well attended 29 According to the Western Morning News the play is by turns shocking humorous and moving and explores how forgiveness and grace can be found in even the most testing circumstances 28 A Herald Express reviewer called the play inspiring and probably the most unique and unusual in South Devon that summer 30 Reception editSecular media edit nbsp Yancey quotes William Shakespeare s play The Merchant of Venice in What s So Amazing About Grace relevant scene pictured according to Shakespearean scholar Andy Mousley the quotation demonstrates Yancey s moral universalism For Booklist Ray Olson called What s So Amazing About Grace a well written and engaging book that will continue to nourish readers hunger for spiritual sustenance long after it has answered the appetites of an initial burst of consumers 25 He compared the book to Max Lucado s The Great House of God also published in 1997 writing that although Yancey and Lucado have both written several bestselling Christian books Yancey s book was edited better Olson praised as pithy the author s summaries of Babette s Feast and Love in the Time of Cholera 25 In the Calgary Herald David Briggs compares What s So Amazing About Grace to Johann Christoph Arnold s Seventy Times Seven The Power of Forgiveness also published in 1997 according to both books Christians should be more charitable to others and less judgmental of them 1 Henry Carrigan writes in his Publishers Weekly review that the book s anecdotal style is often frustrating but Yancey s measured prose and his insights into the stories make the book worth reading 11 In her 1998 Winnipeg Free Press review Karen Toole Mitchell criticizes Yancey s contention that everyone needs grace and that Christians have a special ability to offer it She calls Yancey s grace cheap because it was not needed it was not felt and ultimately it was not received 20 In the Coventry Telegraph in 2001 Barbara Goulden called the book s title provocative 31 A 2003 Daily Express review called What s So Amazing About Grace a cogent intellectually robust defence of Christianity without all the crap that goes with so many churches today 3 Derick Bingham of the Belfast Telegraph recommended the book that year calling it a liberating read 32 In 2006 Terry Pluto of the Akron Beacon Journal called What s So Amazing About Grace and the earlier Disappointment with God Yancey s best books 33 Shakespearean scholar Andy Mousley called the book part of the spiritual self help genre in 2007 According to Mousley Yancey s quotation from The Merchant of Venice demonstrates the author s moral universalism Yancey views Shakespeare as a sage who conveyed universally applicable morals a perspective contradicting most contemporary literary critics who distrust moral universalism using historicism to contextualize Shakespeare s religious views 21 Dean Poling of The Valdosta Daily Times wrote in 2008 that in What s So Amazing About Grace Yancey writes about faith in a clear honest and inquisitive style consistent with his other books 34 In 2010 a Herald Express journalist called the book hardhitting and gritty 30 Christian media edit nbsp In The Christian Science Monitor Karla Vallance calls the book similarly sentimental to the hymn Amazing Grace by John Newton pictured What s So Amazing About Grace was named Book of the Year by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association in 1998 when it was chosen by Christian retailers as the title they most enjoyed selling 35 Yancey s The Jesus I Never Knew had received the same award two years earlier 36 In 1998 Christianity Today compared What s So Amazing About Grace to Joel A Carpenter s Revive Us Again writing that both books productively analyze Christian fundamentalism 13 That year Karla Vallance s Christian Science Monitor review called the book similarly sentimental to John Newton s hymn Amazing Grace 37 In a 1998 Presbyterian Record review Canadian Christian writer Phil Callaway writes that What s So Amazing About Grace made him thankful afresh for God s grace and challenged to live a life reflecting it 6 Callaway was haunted by Yancey s question If grace is so amazing why don t Christians show more of it 6 and expressed his appreciation to the author at the 1998 Christian Booksellers Association convention When he asked Yancey why he wrote the book the author answered I long for the church to become a culture of grace A graceful church knows how to welcome failure and rewards vulnerability so that a person automatically thinks of the church when needing help 6 Yancey asked Callaway if he thought the book would generate controversy and Callaway said it would Callaway asked Yancey why his book was so harsh in its description of Christians and Yancey responded I m picking on Christians because I am one 6 Yancey said that he knew many gracious Christians and that secular culture was filled with examples of ungrace including media manipulation of body image and the belief that there ain t no such thing as a free lunch which contradicts the concept of undeserved grace from God as taught in Christianity 6 A 1999 Christian Science Monitor review said that filled with poignant stories that are likely to ruffle some feathers this compelling book challenges Christians to become a genuine healing force in society 7 Presbyterian pastor John Buchanan editor and publisher of The Christian Century also reviewed What s So Amazing About Grace that year writing that Yancey is such a good writer and such a generous evangelical that even though I occasionally disagree with his conclusions I m glad to be in the same family with him 38 nbsp Baptist pastor Robert Jeffress said that What s So Amazing About Grace did a valuable service rescuing the doctrine of grace from the legalists who say that we must earn our salvation 39 In 2006 What s So Amazing About Grace placed 17th on Christianity Today s list of fifty books that had most shaped Evangelicals 12 That year Robert Jeffress pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas compared What s So Amazing About Grace to Chuck Swindoll s book The Grace Awakening calling both wonderful books on grace that did a valuable service rescuing the doctrine of grace from the legalists who say that we must earn our salvation 39 Christian professor Craig Detweiler writes in his 2008 book A Purple State of Mind Finding Middle Ground in a Divided Culture that if he could have given his students a graduation present it would have been a copy of What s So Amazing About Grace because many of his Christian students were more concerned with avoiding the forbidden than they were with enjoying the permitted Detweiler writes that Christianity was founded on forgiveness and that Christians should not bear the burden of guilt and he therefore agrees with Yancey that grace is our last best word 19 In a 2014 article in the Spiritual Matters section of the Australian newspaper The Daily Examiner Reverend Chris Sparks calls What s So Amazing About Grace masterful and writes that Yancey provides a good answer to the question raised by its title 40 In his 2015 book Unoffendable How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better Christian radio personality Brant Hansen calls What s So Amazing About Grace life changing and writes that Yancey s discussion of Babette s Feast inspired him to see the film 22 U S Catholic reviewer Mary Lynn Hendrickson also praised Yancey s retelling of Karen Blixen s story 41 Public figures edit nbsp Atlantic Rowing Race participant Debra Searle read Yancey s book during her transatlantic crossing later crediting it with her return to Christianity In 2000 Bear Grylls the youngest Briton to survive an ascent of Mount Everest cited What s So Amazing About Grace as his favourite holiday read 42 and a book that has inspired me a lot 43 In 2001 American politician Mark Earley called it his favorite book 44 That year English musician Noel Gallagher asked Irish musician Bono to explain religion to him because Gallagher knew Bono believed in and prayed to God Bono spoke with Gallagher on the subject for two hours and sent him a copy of What s So Amazing About Grace Gallagher later said that he was going to have a good read of this book that Bono made a lot of sense and that the gift was particularly meaningful because Bono s father had recently died 45 During Christmas 2001 while Debra Searle was competing in the Atlantic Rowing Race by making a solo transatlantic crossing from Tenerife to Barbados her twin sister Hayley sent her a copy of What s So Amazing About Grace as part of a Christmas package that was delivered at sea Although she had belonged to a local church as a child Debra had become irreligious by 2001 After reading Yancey s book while she was alone on the ocean that Christmas she said I felt like God was there with me protecting me 46 Reading the book brought about a change in her that eventually resulted in her becoming actively involved in Mutley Baptist Church which is noted for its community engagement 46 In 2006 Welsh musician Mal Pope called the book his favorite comparing Yancey s writing to that of British Christian apologist C S Lewis and saying The first time I read What s So Amazing About Grace I ended up in tears with every new chapter 47 In 2012 Pope affirmed that it was still his favorite book 48 Tim Costello CEO of World Vision Australia said in 2008 that the book was important to him 49 In 2010 American politician Bill Haslam cited What s So Amazing About Grace and John Heilemann s and Mark Halperin s Game Change as two recent books he enjoyed 50 Retired Northern Ireland Civil Service head Nigel Hamilton said in 2014 that What s So Amazing About Grace was his favorite book 51 References edit a b c d e Briggs David August 30 1997 Forgiveness is Trying but oh so Vital Calgary Herald p J8 Retrieved August 14 2015 a b c d Finch Durichen Pauline September 27 1997 Author Finds His Grace Period Philip Yantzi sic Has Too Much to Explore to Stay Away from Writing for Any Length of Time Waterloo Region Record Kitchener Ontario p B11 Retrieved August 13 2015 a b Stars Have Words for a Good Holiday Read Daily Express London July 27 2003 p 64 Retrieved August 8 2015 a b c An Argument to Reconnect with the Church Winnipeg Free Press February 17 2002 p D4 Retrieved August 8 2015 a b c d Blake John January 3 1998 Today s Church Needs Grace Religious Right s Behavior Viewed The Atlanta Journal Constitution p 3D Retrieved August 14 2015 a b c d e f g h i Callaway Phil April 1998 If Grace Is So Amazing Philip Yancey Presbyterian Record Vol 122 no 4 Toronto p 18 ProQuest 214350907 a b c The Monitor s Guide to Religion Bestsellers The Christian Science Monitor Boston January 14 1999 p 21 Retrieved August 12 2015 Yancey Philip February 3 1997 A State of Ungrace Christianity Today 41 2 Carol Stream Illinois 30 Retrieved June 23 2015 Yancey 1997 Lodge Carey August 1 2014 Philip Yancey We Need Grace Over Doctrinal Unity Christian Today London Retrieved July 30 2015 a b c Carrigan Henry November 3 1997 What s So Amazing About Grace Publishers Weekly 244 45 New York City 85 ProQuest 197002471 a b The Top 50 Books That Have Shaped Evangelicals Landmark Titles that Changed the Way We Think Talk Witness Worship and Live Christianity Today Carol Stream Illinois October 6 2006 Retrieved July 31 2015 a b 1998 Book of the Year Christianity Today 42 5 Carol Stream Illinois 26 April 27 1998 Retrieved August 13 2015 Martin Lorna Vincent John March 15 2003 Sales of Religious Books Soar as Readers Seek Refuge from War The Herald Glasgow p 6 Retrieved August 8 2015 Cathedral Date for Multi Million Selling Christian Author Bristol Post September 2 2006 p 26 Retrieved June 22 2015 Perkes Kim Sue Lia August 6 1998 Millennium Spurs Sales of Christian Books Pittsburgh Post Gazette p E3 Retrieved August 12 2015 Putting Faith in Doubt The Editors Interview Philip Yancey U S Catholic 66 2 Skokie Illinois 18 February 1 2001 Retrieved August 10 2015 Philip Yancey Discusses What Good is God Express amp Star Wolverhampton June 3 2011 Retrieved July 30 2015 a b c Detweiler 2008 p 55 a b Toole Mitchell Karen March 14 1998 So What s So Amazing About Grace Winnipeg Free Press p C10 Retrieved August 13 2015 a b Mousley 2007 p 1 a b Hansen 2015 p 175 Hansen 2015 p 176 Hansen 2015 p 177 a b c Olson Ray July 1997 The Great House of God What s So Amazing About Grace Booklist 93 21 1772 Nelson Stan May 2 2009 Amazing Grace How Strange the Sound The Pueblo Chieftain Pueblo Colorado Retrieved June 22 2015 Warren Books Most Popular with Pastors The Christian Century 122 13 Chicago 16 June 28 2005 Retrieved June 22 2015 a b Monastery Hosts Bold and Moving New Production Western Morning News Devon August 20 2010 p 18 Retrieved June 22 2015 Churches Unite To Present Something That is Good Herald Express Devon August 25 2011 p 57 Retrieved August 16 2015 a b See What s So Amazing Outdoors This Summer Herald Express Devon August 28 2010 p 15 Retrieved June 22 2015 Goulden Barbara August 17 2001 Clinton s Religious Aide to Visit City Coventry Telegraph p 21 Retrieved August 9 2015 Bingham Derick July 19 2003 Thought for the Weekend Amazing Grace God s Gift of Riches to All Christians Belfast Telegraph Retrieved August 15 2015 Pluto Terry November 2 2006 Timeout No 3 Akron Beacon Journal Akron Ohio Retrieved August 15 2015 Poling Dean September 5 2008 Book Review Rumors of Another World by Phillip Yancey The Valdosta Daily Times Valdosta Georgia Retrieved August 16 2015 1998 Gold Medallion Book Awards Winners Evangelical Christian Publishers Association Retrieved August 14 2015 McCreary Alf September 21 2002 Perspectives Soul Survivors Belfast Telegraph Retrieved August 14 2015 Vallance Karla July 30 1998 The Monitor s Guide to Religion Bestsellers The Christian Science Monitor Boston p B8 Retrieved August 12 2015 Buchanan John October 11 2000 Summer Reading The Christian Century 117 27 Chicago 987 Retrieved August 10 2015 a b Guthrie Stan March 1 2006 Grace as a License for Sin Why Obedience Isn t Just for Legalists Christianity Today Carol Stream Illinois Retrieved July 30 2015 Sparks Chris April 5 2014 Let s Bring Grace Back The Daily Examiner Grafton New South Wales p 16 Retrieved June 22 2015 Hendrickson Mary Lynn February 1 2001 Preparing for the Feast U S Catholic 66 2 Skokie Illinois 3 Retrieved August 10 2015 Grin and Bear It Geographical 72 5 London 114 May 1 2000 Retrieved August 11 2015 Life s Passions Deserve Much More Than Mere Lip Service The Scotsman Edinburgh April 3 2000 p 13 Retrieved August 11 2015 Mark Earley The Washington Post Washington D C October 25 2001 p A25 Retrieved August 9 2015 Crampton Robert November 3 2001 Rolling with It The Australian Surry Hills New South Wales Retrieved August 9 2015 a b Success From Failure The Herald Dublin February 20 2008 p 16 Retrieved June 22 2015 Crime and a State of Grace South Wales Evening Post Swansea July 28 2006 p 32 Retrieved June 22 2015 20 Questions We Asked Musician Mal Pope Our 20 Questions Llanelli Star May 9 2012 p 20 Retrieved June 22 2015 Chester Rodney August 23 2008 On the Couch The Courier Mail Brisbane Retrieved August 15 2015 Humphrey Tom June 27 2010 Stumping for Votes Haslam Stays Upbeat Knoxville News Sentinel Knoxville Tennessee p 17 Retrieved June 22 2015 A Question of Faith Belfast Telegraph April 26 2014 p 34 Retrieved August 16 2015 Bibliography editDetweiler Craig 2008 A Purple State of Mind Finding Middle Ground in a Divided Culture Harvest House ISBN 978 0 7369 2460 3 Hansen Brant 2015 Unoffendable How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better Thomas Nelson ISBN 978 0 529 12386 2 Mousley Andy 2007 Re Humanising Shakespeare Literary Humanism Wisdom and Modernity Edinburgh University Press ISBN 978 0 7486 2318 1 Yancey Philip 1997 What s So Amazing About Grace Zondervan ISBN 978 0 310 21327 7 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title What 27s So Amazing About Grace 3F amp oldid 1136087093, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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