Professional Documents
Culture Documents
About Grace?" came out in 1997. Even though many people whom I
respected raved about the book, I was not interested in reading the
book. Why would I? It was written by a man who regularly wrote for
Christianity Today - a magazine that was less than gay friendly. I'm not
one to spend my precious reading time on authors who bash gays and
lesbians - or authors that I perceive might do that. I know their
positions and their arguments. Reading their books seemed like a
waste of time.
I must now confess that I unfairly judged Yancey. I let a silly "guilt-byassociation" taint my opinion of him even before giving his books a
chance. I regret that, but perhaps God knows best. If I had read
Yancey in 1997 I might not have appreciated his gentleness, his grace
or his mercy quite as much as I do now.
I finally gave in and read Yancey's work only after I had subscribed to
the audio book service Audible. Because the drive to and from my job
takes two hours of my day, I thought books on CD would be a good
use of my time. Audible has a great selection of Christian and spiritual
books and I've consumed most of their catalogue. It was during a dry
spell, when I had exhausted much of the collection that interested me
that I turned to Yancey's new book, Rumors of Another World. I had
been in spiritual crisis and was looking for someone to explain to me
how to reach that supernatural world that we know exists, but
somehow cannot relate to or forget about in our daily rush. The
description of the book sounded intriguing so I put my preconceived
notions of Yancey aside and downloaded the book.
What a blessing! The book was just what I needed. I did, however,
cringe through the chapter on "Designer Sex," waiting for that bash
against gays and lesbians. It never came. I was deeply shocked - an
evangelical who didn't use a chapter on sex to take a pot shot at
homosexuals? It was hard to imagine.
only for people who see things alike, and for people who have arrived
rather than people who are on the way? I'd ask questions like that.
Whosoever: Your book "Reaching for the Invisible God" came to me
just as I was struggling with how God's will gets worked out not only in
my life but in the world at large. What led you to write this book?
Yancey: It's a book about faith, really. All my books circle around the
same theme of why this world is the way it is if indeed we have a
loving, sovereign God who fix its problems. I began years ago with the
question Where Is God When It Hurts, followed by Disappointment with
God. If you attend an evangelical church and listen to the praise songs,
you'd get the sense that God is intimately available at all times, the
Lover who satisfies our every need. Yet my own experience, and I don't
think I'm alone here, is quite different. I go through long, dry stretches. I
live in a materialistic world that rarely takes God's existence into
account. And I live in a world that must bring great displeasure to God.
Why doesn't God act? And how can I relate to a God I cannot see or
touch? These are some of my questions, and when I have questions I
write about them.
Whosoever: "Reaching" makes the case for letting much of God's
ways in the world and in our lives remain a deep mystery, yet more
fundamentalist strains of Christianity seem to purport a very black and
white religion with easy answers and clear rules. How can we let the
mystery of God back into our lives?
Yancey: Why don't we start with the Bible, especially the Old
Testament. When I speak to college students, I challenge the
philosophy students to find a single argument against God in the
writings of the great agnostics, such as David Hume, Voltaire, and
Bertrand Russell, that is not already included in the Bible. I admire a
God who so respects human freedom that God gives us arguments to
use in opposition. Read Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Psalms, Job--the
mystery is all there. I also find a lot of spiritual nourishment in Catholic
writers across the centuries. They understand the mystery, and many
of them spent their entire lives exploring that mystery.
Whosoever: How do we incorporate a healthy sense of doubt in our
lives?
Yancey: I'm a great advocate of doubt, because it's what drew me
back to faith: I began doubting some of the crazy things my church told
me! I don't think the difficulty is incorporating doubt in our lives; doubt
is going to come whether or not we desire it. Responses of other