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What's So Amazing About Grace? (Abridged) Audiobook
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OVER ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD!
Discover grace as you've never known it before: the most powerful force in the universe and our only hope for love and forgiveness.
Grace is the church's great distinctive. It's the one thing the world cannot duplicate, and the one thing it craves above all else--for only grace can bring hope and transformation to a jaded world.
In What's So Amazing About Grace? award-winning author Philip Yancey explores grace at street level. If grace is God's love for the undeserving, he asks, then what does it look like in action? And if Christians are its sole dispensers, then how are we doing at lavishing grace on a world that knows far more of cruelty and unforgiveness than it does of mercy?
Yancey sets grace in the midst of life's stark images, tests its mettle against horrific "ungrace":
- Can grace survive in the midst of such atrocities as the Nazi holocaust?
- Can it triumph over the brutality of the Ku Klux Klan?
- Should any grace at all be shown to the likes of Jeffrey Dahmer, who killed and cannibalized seventeen young men?
Grace does not excuse sin, says Yancey, but it treasures the sinner. True grace is shocking, scandalous. It shakes our conventions with its insistence on getting close to sinners and touching them with mercy and hope. It forgives the unfaithful spouse, the racist, the child abuser. It loves today's AIDS-ridden addict as much as the tax collector of Jesus's day.
In his most personal and provocative book ever, Yancey offers compelling, true portraits of grace's life-changing power. He searches for its presence in his own life and in the church. He asks, How can Christians contend graciously with moral issues that threaten all they hold dear?
And he challenges us to become living answers to a world that desperately wants to know, What's So Amazing About Grace?
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"As Yancy usually does, he tackles the hard issues, especially "ungrace" among Christians. He quotes a prostitute about church, "Church! Why would I ever go there? I was already feeling terrible about myself. They'd just make me feel worse." The first section is a beautiful exposition of grace. Yancy uses "Babette's Feast" as a model of grace. C.S. Lewis overheard a debate about Christianity's unique contribution to the world and he responded, "That's easy: Grace." This book establishes the uniqueness of the Christian teaching of grace and the need of the world for this message. Philip Yancy has had the experience of being the target of hate mail from Christians. He makes the point that grace should be the strongest witness of our behavior -- he urges us to imagine feminists who, while disagreeing with the Scriptural teaching of the roles of men and women, would have to grudgingly admit that Christian men love their wives like no one else, or gays who reject Christian teaching regarding homosexuality would concede that the best AIDS-HIV care was lovingly provided by Christians. This book also contains an on-target assessment of why law can never do what the gospel can -- the law can close stores, but not make you worship; it can make divorce difficult but cannot make a husband love his wife, etc.I also enjoyed the analogy in Chapter 19, "Patches of Green," where after a forest fire, the first patches of new growth were seen where an elk / moose died. Where Christians once thrived there will be elements of grace that show themselves. Another interesting observation was on Matthew 7 where Jesus says, "I never knew you," on the Last Day, we would expect Him to tell unbelievers, "You never knew Me." But their hearts were closed to Him -- they never admitted their evil thoughts and sins. Yancy uses Romans 6-7 to deal with the objection "Why be good, if you get forgiven?" (pages 183-191) A good book to reread regularly, so we grow in grace!"
— Jim (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Little by little, Yancey guides us into a clearer understanding of grace by using stories, in much the same way Jesus did.”
— Amazon.com, editorial review -
“Yancey’s measured prose and his insights…make the book worth reading.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Yancey’s well-written and engaging book will continue to nourish readers’ hunger for spiritual sustenance long after it has answered the appetites of an initial burst of consumers.”
— Booklist
Awards
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Winner of Christian Book Award Winner, 1998
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Winner of Gold Book Award - ECPA, 2002
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Winner of Christian Book of the Year, 1998
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Winner of Christian Book Award Winner, 1998
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Winner of Gold Book Award - ECPA, 2002
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Winner of Christian Book of the Year, 1998
What's So Amazing About Grace? Listener Reviews
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" Good, somewhat anecdotal book about grace. "
— Pete, 2/20/2014 -
" I have been orbiting this book for years, meaning to open its pages, but not getting around to it. A friend commented on it a week ago and the next thing I found I'd put it in the audible library. Catholics are in the midst of a so-called Year of Grace. There are books around which inform us about Christian teaching of grace and even debates on it. They have their place and we do well to be informed on Christian teaching. There are also books around on the experience of God's grace - on where it has been seen and where we would love to see it. Philip Yancey's book is about the experience of God's grace. It is full of stories and examples, is readable and the best way to find out is to have a read, or, as I did, have a listen. "
— Simon, 2/16/2014 -
" Such a great book to help you understand God's so amazing grace. Yancey is an amazing writer who is not afraid to ask the hard questions. "
— Tonja, 2/4/2014 -
" One of the best books I've read. "
— Mark, 2/3/2014 -
" I was completely enthralled by this book. It took me forever to read because I needed to stop, re-read, and (since it was a library book) copy down quotes. The things he says about grace and the need for Christians to demonstrate to the world God's grace touched a deep place in my heart. I have at times been myself judgmental of Christians but as I read this book I was reminded of my own ungraceful behaviors and attitudes. More than anything I was challenged to try and live a more grace-filled life as a representation of and testament to the savior I love. "
— Megan, 1/18/2014 -
" This book I need to read again! It's been several years but I love this book and felt the need to pass it on to friends..so I shall repurchase! It's meant to be shared. There are true life and historical testimonies of how wonderful and liberating God's grace through Jesus Christ is. "
— Cyndy, 1/12/2014 -
" Enjoyed rereading this book. "
— Sanchia, 1/9/2014 -
" I read this for the in-person book club I'm in. I really liked Yancey's message throughout the book, namely that the unique characteristic of Christianity is the offering of grace and that Christians need to practice forgiveness the way they did back in Jesus's time. I completely agree with Yancy that society's prevailing impression of Christians is that they're a bunch of judgmental exclusionists rather than grace-filled, generous people. I'm a Christian, but I sometimes inwardly cringe when I proclaim it due to the negative thoughts the word evokes. It's sad and frustrating to me that so many Christians are so eager to pass judgement and be unforgiving when that was exactly the opposite of what Jesus stood for. Although I really liked Yancy's message, I had a tough time not getting bored with the book, mainly because it's non-fiction and I generally don't enjoy non-fiction as much. 2.5 stars, rounded to 3 "
— Kimberly, 1/3/2014 -
" Grace is the one unique thing Christianity has to offer. "
— Johnathan, 12/17/2013 -
" I agree with the author. We live in a world with little grace. "
— Twila, 12/11/2013 -
" One of those books that's probably good to read once a year. Grace in action. "
— Katarina, 12/8/2013 -
" This book has brought me more peace than any other book I have ever read. "
— Rachel, 11/26/2013 -
" Awesome. I learned a lot about grace and how to give and receive it. What does a life full of grace look like? "
— Jami, 11/6/2013 -
" Excellent book on finding grace and what it can mean or be. "
— Shannen, 10/31/2013 -
" Yancey makes the concept of grace easier to grasp with a fresh understanding of God's gift to us. "
— Leigh, 10/27/2013 -
" This book changed my life! "
— Johnny, 10/26/2013 -
" Haven't quite finished this yet and feel I probably need to re-read it anyway. "
— Antonia, 9/23/2013 -
" Beautifully written book about God's grace and his love for us... "
— Tamara, 1/7/2013 -
" Very well presented; a little slow reading for me because it contains more in story form (which is great for some); but less in scripture itself. "
— Effie, 10/4/2012 -
" Grace is given to the undeserved. If we've received it, we must give it to others. Unforgiveness keeps only the unforgiver imprisoned in bitterness and hate. Forgiveness frees us all forever. "
— young, 8/31/2012 -
" In process "
— Lana, 8/13/2012 -
" I first read this book after reading The Jesus I Never Knew over ten years ago. As I reread it last week, I was once again "amazed" at how well Philip Yancey writes and how clearly he makes his points. Now I'm going to reread some of his other books. "
— Mary, 6/16/2012 -
" HE LOVES US! He wants us to be with Him in glory forever and we can't earn His grace and forgiveness, just accept it. That is grace. Mercy is Him sparing us from hell, grace is the gift of eternal life. "
— Sheri, 6/5/2012 -
" a good pacifier for a baby. "
— k.wing, 5/4/2012 -
" Yancey takes us back to the fundamentals of Christianity (grace!) and puts it in the context of todays world with todays challenges. The message is so relevant yet so challenging. Paradigm shaping! If every Christian read and embraced the "the scandal of grace" it would rock the world. "
— Jennifer, 3/27/2012 -
" An absolutely life-changing book for me (and I don't say that lightly). Christians could and should take a page from this book and begin to exude a bit more grace to a world that is thirsty for it. Every Christian needs to read this book! "
— Glynis, 3/17/2012 -
" This book is an ode to grace. Yancey uses a series of stories, both fictional and nonfictional, to take the reader through an experience of God's grace. I wept through the book. It served as a great reminder and I look forward to reading it again. "
— Jacob, 1/5/2012 -
" A well-written book, opening one's outlook on grace given freely by God. "
— Claudine, 9/18/2011
About Philip Yancey
Philip Yancey worked for ten years as an editor and then publisher for Campus Life magazine. In 1980 he and his wife Janet moved to Chicago where he began a career as a freelance writer. They moved to Colorado in 1992. He is the author of over twenty books, three of them coauthored with Dr. Paul Brand. He is grateful to be able to make a living writing about the questions that interest him.