What about Yancey??

Dear Sir. The name Philip Yancey sounded familiar to me as I saw your question. I came to remember Biblical Discernment Ministries has an expose of the man. I have not read it. Here it can be found.
http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/exposes/yancey/yancey.htm

I remember I had a book by Yancey some year ago, but upon spotting it to be heretical I burned it. I guess you could check out the link above. By linking to BDM I do not mean I endorse them. Some things Miesel writes is good, some not so accurate. But check it out and you may be wiser as to this man Yancey. Prove all things, of course.

respectfully,
Harald

 

from my knowledge he is a SB.
but that does not mean i endorse him too. i read one of his books "what is so amazing about grace?" besides the illustrations and historical background, not much meat there to chew on.

 

Yancy's "What's so Amazing About Grace" and "The Jesus I Never Knew" are outstanding.

I would highly recomend them to anyone.

Are you tellung me that the worst thing this "expose" has to say about Yancy is that he said something nice about Mother Theresa and that he thinks people with mental and emotional problems should seek help? Heaven forbid!

http://www.keylife.org

Mike

 

Oh, don't worry too much about the criticism of some authors who some of the posters here have branded as heretics. The "docrtinal purity" crowd that posts here can't tolerate anything on which they have not put their stamp of approval, and which doesn't fit with their narrow perspective. Fortunately for a much larger segment of both Baptist Christianity and Christianity as a whole, the doctrine of "Immaculate Perception" (i.e. "the way I see things is the way you must see things and is certainly the way God sees things") isn't a biblical one.

Yancey is an insightful, inspiring writer who does his theological homework and then brings the result into a very clear relevance for our times. I haven't read the book at the top of this post, but I have read "What's So Amazing About Grace?" and "The Jesus I Never Knew" and plan to work in "The Bible Jesus Read" sometime next spring. I wish I had more time to read because I have a list of things that I have accumulated from this board! Right now, I've just started on Paige Patterson's "A Hill on Which to Die" and that one will be slow going.

Does Yancey's denominational background really matter all that much? Are there really people here who believe that Baptists are the only people in this day and age to whom God speaks? If that's the case, then please do not allow me to disabuse you by pointing to evidence that he is working among other Christians. I guess all the great things I have learned from authors like R.C.Sproul, John MacArthur, Charles Swindoll, Max Lucado, John Stott and Fred Hartley (among many other non-Baptist writers) are wrong, even if they agree with what Baptists teach and preach???

Please! Get a real life.

 

I don't know if it was that Yancey book that I read, but I did read one and thought it was very good.....

I have heard good recommends on the Jesus I Never knew, too.

 

Yancey is a roving editor for Christian Life magazine. I do not know his personal denomination, but he does not disagree with Baptists in many areas. In fact, my guess is that he is either Baptist or other New Testament Church which is relatively the same because of his books. You have to remember, because Christian Life is non-denominational, he is required to be careful in proclaiming a specific denomination. I have disagreed with a few of his statements, but usually when I read further and find out WHY he says something, he makes perfect sense. He does not preach as a charismatic so THAT you do not have to worry about. His books about God and why God does not show himself and makes us believe by faith are excellent. I have read three books, but not the new one and each of them I have treasured for the insightful message. With Yancey, unless he has done a 180 degree change from his other books, you cannot go wrong. He is a good Christian.

 

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BUT, the bottom line in this - I am looking for a book that will help someone who is dealing with some difficult times in their personal life. I have seen Yancey's book in a number of bookstores, indicating it is probably popular. I don't want to give someone a book that explains sufferings as an impossibility for any of God's children if they are just obedient (it's not God's will for anyone to be sick, have financial problems, etc. etc.), or some other trite nonsense such as that. I hope to find something with a balanced view of trials and sufferings, and that will be a source of both comfort and instruction to this individual.

Thanks for all the comments.

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Yancey is not charismatic (that I could ever tell), nor will he teach that if you are a GOOD Christian you will not have problems. He will take the Biblical view and provide Biblical background. Yancey WILL tell us that problems are a result of sin coming into the world originally, but not necessarily because a person sins themselves. He will also show that hard times are used by God to help people grow in their faith and so forth. He will relate to Job who was not punished because of sin. He will state (probably) that punishment for sin is a possibility, but not a probability. He will delve into why people who are innocent are hurt such as why a child is born without limbs, etc. Yancey is a good Christian with beliefs that are very Baptist in point of view. He is NOT a person who believes that you can become materially rich and healthy if you are good enough like modernistic preachers.

I have read three of his books, just not that particular one yet. Based on his past books, you can't go wrong with Yancey. He will also leave a person feeling good when he is through even though they have problems. He WILL preach to turn your life and faith over to the Lord Jesus if you haven't and He can then help you live through your problems (not take them away). I think you will like his book.

 

Some of his earlier books were written with a Dr [Brand?] who worked with leprosy patients, they were excellent too.

 

For a Biblical perspective on suffering, I recommend "The God of Promise and the Life of Faith" by Scott Hafemann.

It is not specifially about suffering, but has an excellent chapter on why God's people suffer and how God uses us to make us more like Christ, who "learned obedience by the things He suffered". As a side note, I reccommend this book for everybody.