The Kindle title is not currently available for purchase

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.

Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

There was an error. We were unable to process your subscription due to an error. Please refresh and try again.

Follow the author

Philip Yancey

+ Follow

More books from this author

What's So Amazing About Grace? Kindle Edition

by Philip Yancey (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.6 1,044 ratings

See all formats and editions

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?

From the brand

Resources by Philip Yancey

Scroll right to see Philip Yancey’s most popular books, video studies, and to visit the store.

Books

Visit the Store
Video Studies

Visit the Store
Who Is Philip Yancey?

Philip is a bestselling author who has written twelve award–winning books and won two ECPA Book of the Year awards. Four of his books have sold over one million copies. In 1992 he and his wife Janet moved to the foothills of Colorado, where they currently reside.

What Is Philip’s Passion?

Philip explores the most basic questions and deepest mysteries of the Christian faith.

How Did Philip Get His Start?

Philip worked as a journalist in Chicago for some twenty years, editing the youth magazine Campus Life while also writing for a wide variety of magazines.

From the Publisher

Philip Yancey, grace, amazing, church, God, Jesus, love, mercy, faith, Christian, hope, Christianity

Philip Yancey, hope, healing, trial, tragedy, God, Christ, recovery, hardship, pain, suffering

I would far rather convey grace than explain it.

As I look back on my own pilgrimage, marked by wanderings, detours, and dead ends, I see now that what pulled me along was my search for grace. I rejected the church for a time because I found so little grace there. I returned because I found grace nowhere else.

I have barely tasted of grace myself, have rendered less than I have received, and am in no wise an “expert” on grace. These are, in fact, the very reasons that impel me to write. I want to know more, to understand more, to experience more grace. I dare not — and the danger is very real — write an ungracious book about grace. Accept then, here at the beginning, that I write as a pilgrim qualified only by my craving for grace.

Grace does not offer an easy subject for a writer. I have just read a thirteen-page treatise on grace in the New Catholic Encyclopedia, which has cured me of any desire to dissect grace. I do not want the thing to die. For this reason, I will rely more on stories than on syllogisms.

—Philip Yancey

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING


“My favorite modern author is Philip Yancey.” —Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States	“Philip Yancey is one of the most engaging and convicting writers in the Christian world. He has produced a work with something in it to make everyone mad.” —Charles W. Colson, founder, Prison Fellowship	“Yancey’s treatment of the life of grace is vintage Yancey and will give readers a salutary Christian shake-up.” —J.I. Packer, former professor, Regent College


	What’s So Amazing About Grace? Revised and Updated	What's So Amazing About Grace? Participant’s Guide & DVD	Vanishing Grace: Bringing Good News to a Deeply Divided World	The Scandal of Forgiveness: Grace Put to the Test	Grace Notes: 366 Daily Inspirations from a Fellow Pilgrim	The Jesus I Never Knew

Customer Reviews	1,044	70	1,094	216	402	2,159
Price	$14.72	$15.98	$16.91	$8.59	$13.49	$13.12
More Exceptional Resources By Philip Yancey	It's the most powerful force in the universe, our only hope for love and forgiveness, and a foretaste of eternal life: amazing, radical, life-changing grace. Over two million copies sold. Now revised and updated.	In this 6-session, video-based study, Yancey reexamines—with fresh material and new stories—the scandalous power of grace so that groups and individuals can reflect upon, share, and extend this amazing gift of Christ in new and transformative ways.	In a time of division and discord, Christians have come to be seen not as bearers of good news and love but of judgement and intolerance. How did we get here? And what can we do about it?	Adapted from What’s So Amazing about Grace, Yancey explores the mystery and wonder of forgiveness in this book. What is forgiveness? Why is forgiveness so difficult? Why is forgiveness scandalous? What does God have to do with forgiveness?	These meditations—all drawn from the beloved and bestselling writings of the author—will take you through an entire year of Yancey's insight and imagination, covering a broad range of topics.	How does the Jesus of the New Testament compare to the Jesus we think we know so well? Join bestselling author Philip Yancey as he conducts an enlightening biblical and historical investigation into the real Jesus.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Philip Yancey previously served as editor-at-large for Christianity Today magazine. He has written thirteen Gold Medallion Award-winning books and won two ECPA Book of the Year awards, for What's So Amazing About Grace? and The Jesus I Never Knew. Four of his books have sold over one million copies. He lives with his wife in Colorado. Learn more at philipyancey.com.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000FCJYGO
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Zondervan; Revised ed. edition (September 9, 2008)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 9, 2008
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1052 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Up to 5 simultaneous devices, per publisher limits
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0310213274

Best Sellers Rank: #488,461 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #194 in Soteriology Christian Theology
- #814 in Christian Salvation Theory (Books)
- #1,071 in Christian Self-Help

Customer Reviews:
4.6 1,044 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Philip Yancey

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

I started my career working as an Editor and then Publisher for Campus Life magazine. During those ten years I learned journalistic skills (there's no tougher audience than teenagers), but every year it seemed I wrote fewer and fewer words. In 1980 my wife and I moved to downtown Chicago where I began a career as a freelance writer. (She has worked as a social worker and hospice chaplain--which gives me plenty of material to write about!) We lived there until 1992, when we moved to the foothills of Colorado.

I've written over 30 books, most of them still in print, thankfully. Three of them I coauthored with Dr. Paul Brand, who influenced me more than any single person. A recent book, "Fearfully and Wonderfully: The Marvel of Bearing God's Image" is a revised compilation of that content. My other favorites include "Soul Survivor" and "Reaching for the Invisible God" because both of them forced me to dig deep and get personal.

I had two new books released in 2021. “A Companion in Crisis” offers a paraphrase of John Donne’s ‘Devotions’ with commentary and application to our current suffering. My long-awaited memoir, “Where the Light Fell” gives readers a backstory of sorts, revealing the secrets of my turbulent childhood and teen years, and the impact on my written work.

I'm a pilgrim, still 'in recovery' from a bad church upbringing, searching for the possibility of a faith rooted in grace instead of fear. I feel overwhelming gratitude that I can make a living writing about the questions that interest me.

Official Facebook page: www.facebook.com/PhilipYancey

More details, including blog entries, book sales, and release notices: philipyancey.com

SUBSCRIBE to my monthly blog: https://bit.ly/PhilipYanceyBlog

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

1,044 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Cameri

Very thought provoking

Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2024

Verified Purchase

Great book...P. Yancey is able to see grace from a different perspective than what we are used to.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

BeeJay

An Amazing Book!

Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2023

Verified Purchase

This is such a thorough and well written treatment of the subject of grace. It is a keeper and needs to be read again from time to time to remind us of the great gift we have been given and to inspire us to show grace to others, no matter their faults and weaknesses.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

John J Volk

Emphesis on good works resulting from Mercy and Grace

Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2021

Verified Purchase

I read this book as part of a collection on Grace. The author mixes Mercy and Grace but brings out the fact that Jesus always treated the common people - sinners - as special. I think the emphesis of this book is on Good Works regardless of the political or social background. We receive Grace from the Lord at salvation (Vertical) and He expects us to show Grace and Mercy to all those around us (Horizontal), He contrasts Grace and ungrace clearly. The stories in this book are real. The acts of Grace and Mercy are real. This is chock full of great sermon illustrations. I gave it 4 stars because it was pointed out that Mr. Yancey is somehow affiliated with the Emerging or Emergent Church which is an evolutuon of the Social Gospel to which I do not subscribe (Experience over doctrine). Some stories are a bit dated to the Nixon, Clinton presidntial eras.

9 people found this helpful

Helpful

Bob Knepper

Wonderful read!

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2023

Verified Purchase

This book was very timely for me! I needed a fuller picture of God’s grace right after I finished this book! Gods timing was once again spot on! A great read!

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Dana Cowen

Grace oh sweet Grace

Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2023

Verified Purchase

As I sit here thru with this book, I quiver inside! When started it there was sadness and disheartening in my soul of all the ungrace, especially in members of Jesus followers! Then came the teaching me, I couldn’t get enough! At the end I felt I was front roll seating singing along with Norman! Peace fills me now, quivering with knowledge God loves me with grace upon grace!

One person found this helpful

Helpful

RAS

Grace is one thing we Christians can offer the world, and in so doing fulfill the great commission!

Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2022

Verified Purchase

The world is so filled with judgment and un grace and the overwhelming feelings of unworthiness that we think this is the way it must be, that this is normal! From the worlds perspective this is normal. From Gods perspective it is not! He extends grace to an undeserving world, and we in turn can extend that same grace to those around us who don’t deserve it anymore than we did. This book will challenge you at your core, and if you let it, it will help you to approach everything you’ve learned from Gods Word from the understanding that He loves us enough to extend that grace to us, yes even to you and me. If we want to make disciples of all nations, we might begin by extending grace. Leave the judgement to Him! Thank you for such a thought provoking book!

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

Meagan | She Reads Wherever She Goes

Excellent follow-up/foil to "Where the Light Fell"

Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2022

Verified Purchase

Loved this read. I read Yancey's memoir Where the Light Fell recently (a good read, but a hard first introduction to him and his writings! Heh!), and this was an excellent counterpoint/follow-up to that. He has a refreshing, easy-to-read writing style, and frankly, now that I've read it, I'd welcome reading more of his books, LOL.

It really expounded on grace in ways I needed to read. Grateful it was included as a bonus-read recommendation in _Core 52: A Fifteen-Minute Daily Guide to Build Your Bible IQ in a Year_--the instigator for reading it now.

I'd definitely re-read in future, as well. I'm sure I'd keep gleaning new gems!

Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2024

Verified Purchase

If the whole world could act on grace, we would be living in a wonderful place indeed. I particularly liked the chapter on forgiveness, something I work on daily.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English

Amazon Reviewer

Cancelled but good read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 13, 2023

Verified Purchase

Cancelled but good read

Komlanvi Gbenakou

Glory to God

Reviewed in Brazil on December 12, 2019

Verified Purchase

Deep vew about grace. Consolidate my faith.

Debbie

Changed me

Reviewed in Canada on March 2, 2019

Verified Purchase

My habit was to read this book on the train everyday on my way to work. It was a great way to start the day, with grace towards others knowing grace from God was with me. It changed me in ways I didn't expect.

lolacola

Life Changing

Reviewed in Australia on September 21, 2018

Verified Purchase

This is a Yancey classic that deserves to be read every few years. It's life changing. If only more people would read it.

Marcus-B. Hübner

Einen künstlerischen Zugang finden

Reviewed in Germany on November 5, 2014

Verified Purchase

Vorbemerkung: Diese Rezension ist Teil der Reihe 'gelesen & geschätzt' auf meinem Blog, bei der ich jede Woche in Buch rezensiere. Schaut mal vorbei.

Es gibt diese Geschichte, dass C.S. Lewis einmal auf einem Kongress von Theologen und Religionswissenschaftlern auftauchte (und ich weiß nicht, ob sie wirklich historisch ist), und dort gefragt wird, was das Christentum von den anderen Religionen unterscheide. „Das ist einfach‟, soll er bei der Gelegenheit geantwortet haben, „die Gnade.‟
Wenn das stimmt, und ich habe viel Sympathie für diese Position, aber ich bin auch kein vergleichender Religionswissenschaftler, dann ist es von besonderer Bedeutung, dass wir das Konzept Gnade richtig verstehen, wenn wir uns mit dem Herz unseres Glaubens auseinander setzen.
Dafür gibt es den Ansatz der „Lehren der Gnade‟, die in sich einige wunderbare und schöne Wahrheiten halten, und in die sich zu versenken oft eine wirkliche Freude ist (nicht umsonst ist mein Andachtsbuch am Abend momentan: Coffee with Calvin). Aber viel zu oft scheint es vielen Menschen so, als würde dabei aus einem Gedicht eine Gedichtinterpretation gemacht werden.
Für viele von uns verhält sich der Calvinismus zur Gnade wie das zweite Semester unseres Grundkurses Deutsch im Abitur zu Eichendorffs Wünscherute.
Es ist irgendwie so, als hätten sie es verstanden, aber doch nicht begriffen.
Als ich vor einigen Wochen wieder zu Yanceys wunderbarem Buch What's so amazing about Grace gegriffen habe, wurde mir schon wieder bei den ersten Seiten klar, das der Ansatz, den Yancey in diesem Buch fährt, ein völlig anderer ist.
Er begreift Gnade als etwas poetisches, etwas, dessen Schönheit nicht in Logik zu fassen ist, sondern nur in Prosa und Gedicht und Erleben.
Dabei versucht er, einen geradezu künstlerischen Zugang zu dem Thema Gnade zu schaffen, und hat dadurch mehr Gnade zu meinem Herzen gesprochen, als viele Systematische Theologien vorher.

Ein Potpurri kultureller Referenzen
Man kann Yancey Schreibstil mögen oder nicht, aber mich fasziniert sein fast enzyklopädisches Wissen und seine Belesenheit in aller-Weltsliteratur. Fast wie ein Teppichknüpfer verbindet er in den Kapitels Zitate von Frederick Buechner, Dostojewsky, Paul Tillich und anderen bekannten Denkern und Philosophen, um seinen Punkt zu machen.
Dabei wirkt es aber nie so, als würde er nur abschreiben und zusammentragen, sondern seine Gedanken aus einer Vielzahl von Quellen beziehen. Sein Beitrag in diesem Buch ist also weniger, dass er neue Gedanken präsentiert, als dass er alte Gedanken zusammenträgt und oftmals auf ganz neue Art und Weise fruchtbar machen kann.
Ich denke, dass vor allem hierin die große Stärke des Buches liegt. Während andere Bücher versuchen, die Gnade neu zu präsentieren, lässt Yancey an vielen Punkten einfach die Menschen sprechen, die sie vor ihm durchdacht haben, oder viel mehr solche, die sie erlebt haben. Mich persönlich hat dabei das Kapitel über Leo Tolstoi und Fjodor Dostojewsky begeistert, in der er beschreibt, wie der eine zwar ein großer Moraliker war, einer der Moral und Gesetz verstanden hatte, aber der andere das Konzept Gnade in seinen Büchern groß gemacht hat.
Ich kenne viele Leute, denen Dostojevsky und Tolstoi zu schwer wiegen, und die sogar die Brüder Karamasov nach einigen Seiten weggelegt haben (unerklärlich!). Aber Yancey schafft es, die Faszination, die von diesen Autoren für viele von uns ausgehen, auch für die generelle Öffentlichkeit fruchtbar zu machen, und das Konzept Gnade dadurch deutlicher zu machen.
Nur erklärt er nicht was Gnade ist.
Yancey versucht nicht zu sezieren, welche Vorstellungen von Gnade wann vorherrschten und welche die logischen, oder die theologisch sauberen sind. Er zieht es vor, Gnade bei der Arbeit zuzusehen (um es mal so auszudrücken) und dabei den Mund nicht mehr zu schließen vor Staunen.

Staunen über die Gnade
Das Buch lädt vor allem dazu ein, über die Gnade zu staunen. Nicht wie ein Trainer, der uns dazu anhält, sondern wie ein Kind, das uns einlädt, mitzumachen.
Und gerade darin liegt die Essenz, die das Buch zu einem 'Pageturner' macht, ohne das Robert Langdon darin einer alten Geheimorganisation nachjagen muss. Es ist mehr der generelle Durst nach Gnade, den viele in der westlichen Welt verspüren, in einer Welt, die immer gnaden-loser wird. Während sich die Welt schneller dreht, die Märkte immer mehr wachsen (und immer hungriger werden), und man nicht mehr genau weiß, wie lange man das Tempo noch halten kann, lädt Yancey in seinem Buch dazu auf, einmal zu verschnaufen und darüber nachzudenken, was wirklich zählt, und was wirklich glücklich macht. Wie an der Stelle, als er den Zwischenschluss zieht:

„Grace is unfair, which is one of the hardest things about it. It is unreasonable to expect a woman to forgive the terrible things her father did to her just because he apologizes many years later, and totally unfair to ask that a mother overlook the many offenses her teenage son comitted. Grace, however, is not about fairness.‟ (S.80f)

Es hat mich dazu gebracht, scharf einzuatmen, weil mir augenblicklich bewusst wurde, dass ich unterschwellig zumindest Gott gegenüber genau das annehme. „Gott wird mir vergeben‟, hat Heinrich Heine einmal gesagt, „das ist ja sein Job.‟ Und ich merke schnell, dass ich am Sonntag über die verschwenderische Gnade Gottes reden kann, teuer genug, dass er seinen Sohn dafür am Kreuz sterben lässt um sie zu erkaufen, und am Montag nehme ich sie wieder für selbstverständlich. Yancey hat mich immer wieder daran erinnert, dass ich Gnade nicht für selbstverständlich halten soll, sondern für die stärkste Kraft, die dieses Universum am Laufen hält, und die einzige, die es zu verändern im Stande ist.

Aber was ist Gnade dann?
Bei alledem definiert er Gnade allerdings nie wirklich. Es fehlt ein Kapitel, in dem er in kurzen Worten schreibt, was er unter dem Wort Gnade eigentlich versteht. Dadurch kann es intellektuell manchmal schwierig werden, dem Autor zu folgen. Manchmal scheint er Gnade zum Beispiel als Synonym für 'Vergebung' zu verwenden – wobei ich sagen würde, dass Gnade die Grundlage, oder Quelle für Vergebung ist, und nicht dasselbe. An anderer Stelle scheint Gnade mehr so etwas wie bedingungslose Liebe zu sein („'To love a person', said Dostoevsky, 'means to see him as God intended him to be.'‟ [S.175]). Aber dann haben wir das gleiche Problem: Ich denke, dass bedingunglose Liebe mehr eine Art Quelle von Gnade ist, nicht dasselbe.
Als ich das Buch fertig gelesen hatte, erinnere ich mich, dass ich mich geborgen gefühlt habe, und gefüllt bis an den Rand mit Dankbarkeit für einen Gott, der verschwenderisch aus seiner Gnade austeilt und uns daran teilhaben lässt, und uns daraus schöpfen lässt, um sie weiterzugeben. Nur hatte ich nicht wirklich eine bessere Vorstellung davon, was Gnade dann eigentlich ist

Fazit
Ein Buch zu schreiben, das mehr die Poeten unter uns anspricht als die Philosophen, um das Konzept Gnade wieder an unser Herz zu lassen, ist sicher sehr hilfreich. Viele von uns können mit den kalten, systematischen Ansätzen zum Thema Gnade nicht viel Anfangen, weil wir den Eindruck haben, dass sie mehr für das Herz bestimmt ist und nicht für den Kopf.
Es liegt vielleicht daran, dass ich mich zu diesen Leuten zähle, dass mir das Buch so eine unheimliche Freude gemacht hat. Es liegt aber vielleicht auch daran, dass ich durch mein Studium mit einer soliden Basis ausgerüstet wurde, das Wort 'Gnade' auch mit einem Konzept und einem Innenleben auszustatten.
Deswegen sei jedem Leser, der „What's so amazing about Grace‟ genossen hat, auch Michael Hortons „Putting Amazing Back Into Grace‟ empfohlen. Mit beiden Büchern sind Herz und Kopf sicherlich gut ausgestattet, Gnade in eine taube Welt zu sprechen.

God Bless,
Restless Evangelical

Follow the author

Image Unavailable

What's So Amazing About Grace? Kindle Edition

Customers who bought this item also bought

From the brand

Resources by Philip Yancey

Books

Video Studies

Who Is Philip Yancey?

What Is Philip’s Passion?

How Did Philip Get His Start?

From the Publisher

I would far rather convey grace than explain it.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING

“My favorite modern author is Philip Yancey.”

“Philip Yancey is one of the most engaging and convicting writers in the Christian world. He has produced a work with something in it to make everyone mad.”

“Yancey’s treatment of the life of grace is vintage Yancey and will give readers a salutary Christian shake-up.”

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Product details

Videos

About the author

Philip Yancey

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries