[.ca] What's So Amazing about Grace? (ISBN 0310215781)

From Amazon.com:
Mention the word "grace" and what immediately comes to mind for most of us is a bagpipe wailing the solemn notes of "Amazing Grace." The grace of which Philip Yancey writes is the freely given and unmerited favor and love of God. This grace seems a remote, almost sentimental concept, without a place in our lives or our society. It is a vague, slippery thing to us, probably because we seem to experience grace so rarely and have managed to leech the word of meaning. But Philip Yancey has set about to rescue grace in his book What's So Amazing About Grace? This grace is the true message of Jesus. All faiths have virtues and creeds and justice and truth, but Jesus speaks merely of receiving the love that God has for us. Accepting it, not earning it or making ourselves worthy of it. And frankly, accepting something we have not earned or are not worthy of is not an easy thing for most of us. In truth, grace is both utterly simple and utterly confounding. Little by little, Yancey guides us into a clearer understanding of grace by using stories, in much the same way Jesus did. We read stories of both grace and ungrace at work in people's lives. Sadly, it is stories of ungrace that are more prevalent today, the current culture wars painful acknowledgments of ungrace in our lives as Christians in this country. Yancey helps us understand that ungrace is that state of being in which self-righteousness and pride are a result of thinking that we have somehow earned God's approval and may now stand in judgment in his behalf. Philip Yancey was awarded the Gold Medallion Christian Book of the Year award for this book in 1998 by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. Readers concurred with this decision, making this book an immediate bestseller. Believers and nonbelievers alike should accept Yancey's challenge to become agents of grace rather than agents of vengeance or judgment or anger. In truth, we are each starving for grace, ready to grasp it tightly. And it is through grace that all other hungers--for justice, for righteousness, for love--are satisfied. Yancey opens his book by telling us that "grace" is the last best word, and in What's So Amazing About Grace?, he proves that he's right. --Patricia Klein

Philip Yancey Is Amazing!:
Author Philip Yancey offers a refreshing viewpoint of grace in his spiritually challenging book What's So Amazing About Grace? He effectively uses the scriptures as a lens to focus on the life we lead today. His illustrations help the reader to turn that lens on himself or herself - not in a critical way, but in a soul-opening way. He has chosen some of the most startling and effective illustrations I have ever encountered. This book, already being used in our Christian colleges, needs to be required reading for anyone who takes his or her Christian life seriously.

Just a So-So Effort:
Please, don't shoot the messenger. I am a Christian and not some anti-Christian trying to write a bad review. As for this book, I was immediately taken in when I read one critic on the back cover of the book state that it was the best book that he had ever read. Well, since I had read Yancey's "The Jesus I Never Knew" (Which I consider to be the greatest book ever written), then I was excited to read this book. Needless to say, I was disappointed. The book had its interesting moments, but never came close to living up to the hype. Just an average book. I love the concept of Grace and all, but this book didn't really do much for me. Yancey kind of lost his direction half way through. I finished the book only because I wanted to complete what I had finished. I'm not trying to offend anybody, rather, I want people to have a candid review.

If you have half a brain, you'll love this book:
First off, I can't understand how anyone could not love this book, especially Christians. I just read a review that stated "Yancy cheapened Grace" by the way he wrote this book. Are you kidding me??? Most of the stories he uses (like Babettes Feast) show someone offering everything and receiving nothing for it in return. The stories are just shadows of what Jesus did for us. He was showing demonstrations and examples of different forms of grace. Yancy was not comparing the suffering of the cross with cooking a meal. I love it when ignorant reviewers twist interpretations and meanings, and give an awesome book a bad review. THIS BOOK IS EXCELLENT AND A MUST READ!!!

Grace, Not Religion:
Philip Yancey clearly explains the true meaning of Grace, not the "religion" I grew up with. What a wonderful breath of fresh air!

Everyone needs to read this book - Christian or not:
This is one of my favorite books of all time. I've bought many copies and given them away. To me this book summarizes what Jesus was all about - love, forgiveness...GRACE.