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  <title><![CDATA[What's So Amazing About Grace]]></title>
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  <description><![CDATA[Mention the word &quot;grace&quot; and what immediately comes to mind for most of us is a bagpipe wailing the solemn notes of &quot;Amazing Grace.&quot; <p>  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 <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em> <p>  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. <p>  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. <p>  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 &quot;grace&quot; is the last best word, and in <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em>, he proves that he's right. <em>--Patricia Klein</em></p></p></p></p>]]></description>
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    <![CDATA[What's So Amazing About Grace?]]>
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    <![CDATA[Mention the word &quot;grace&quot; and what immediately comes to mind for most of us is a bagpipe wailing the solemn notes of &quot;Amazing Grace.&quot; <p>  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 <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em> <p>  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. <p>  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. <p>  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 &quot;grace&quot; is the last best word, and in <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em>, he proves that he's right. <em>--Patricia Klein</em></p></p></p></p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[Few books reveal the core of what the grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ is in its frightening, glorious, unparalled nature. Yancey comes very close to doing so in using an array of diverse, complex, beautiful, and amazing stories to illustrate the true grace of the gospel. These stories aren't che...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/10866152">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[Mention the word &quot;grace&quot; and what immediately comes to mind for most of us is a bagpipe wailing the solemn notes of &quot;Amazing Grace.&quot; <p>  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 <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em> <p>  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. <p>  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. <p>  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 &quot;grace&quot; is the last best word, and in <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em>, he proves that he's right. <em>--Patricia Klein</em></p></p></p></p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[Yancey is thorough in his examples of grace. He uses his own life experiences, everything from being part of a racist church as a child to interviewing President Clinton to dissect grace. Yancey is clear, grace is the true message of Jesus and today's Christians as a whole are not doing a great job ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/9555549">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[What's So Amazing About Grace? Leader's Guide]]>
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    <![CDATA[Mention the word &quot;grace&quot; and what immediately comes to mind for most of us is a bagpipe wailing the solemn notes of &quot;Amazing Grace.&quot; <p>  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 <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em> <p>  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. <p>  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. <p>  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 &quot;grace&quot; is the last best word, and in <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em>, he proves that he's right. <em>--Patricia Klein</em></p></p></p></p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[If all the assholes in the world would read this book, we could finally kick-off that global Kumbaya session I've been rallying for since high school.  <br/><br/>This book is no mere Christian pep talk; it is moral philosophy that would make Plato burst out of the Lyceum to proclaim the slaughter ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/26918963">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[Mention the word &quot;grace&quot; and what immediately comes to mind for most of us is a bagpipe wailing the solemn notes of &quot;Amazing Grace.&quot; <p>  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 <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em> <p>  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. <p>  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. <p>  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 &quot;grace&quot; is the last best word, and in <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em>, he proves that he's right. <em>--Patricia Klein</em></p></p></p></p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[Yancey first strums the sweet sound of grace through the retelling of a story called Babette’s Feast. Through this story, you’ll be deeply impressed with the power of grace to heal and turn around a calcified religious community. Then, having grounded us in the concept that the world can do all ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23414216">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[Mention the word &quot;grace&quot; and what immediately comes to mind for most of us is a bagpipe wailing the solemn notes of &quot;Amazing Grace.&quot; <p>  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 <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em> <p>  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. <p>  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. <p>  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 &quot;grace&quot; is the last best word, and in <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em>, he proves that he's right. <em>--Patricia Klein</em></p></p></p></p>]]>
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  <read_at>Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Mar 22 10:26:07 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Mar 22 10:36:21 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I got the &quot;visual&quot; edition of this book from Stephie right after I became a Christian in South Africa. (Later I read the full edition)<br/><br/>So I got to dwell by myself in Africa with a Bible, this book, and an RC Sproul book.<br/><br/>The visual pages of What's So Amazing About Grace u...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18380707">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18380707]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18380707]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>4040211</id>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[What's So Amazing About Grace?]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.26</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[Mention the word &quot;grace&quot; and what immediately comes to mind for most of us is a bagpipe wailing the solemn notes of &quot;Amazing Grace.&quot; <p>  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 <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em> <p>  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. <p>  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. <p>  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 &quot;grace&quot; is the last best word, and in <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em>, he proves that he's right. <em>--Patricia Klein</em></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
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  <read_at>Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Aug 03 13:58:46 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 17 03:37:15 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book was great, heart-warming and mind-opening - until the very end, when Yancey starts getting a little preachy. While he is advocating for forgiveness and grace, for absolutely everyone, including gay people, I couldn't help but feel his discomfort with homosexuality. Unfortunately, this left...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4040211">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4040211]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4040211]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>210209</id>
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    <id>20816</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Sparhawk]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Oakland Gardens, NY]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[What's So Amazing About Grace?]]>
  </title>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[Mention the word &quot;grace&quot; and what immediately comes to mind for most of us is a bagpipe wailing the solemn notes of &quot;Amazing Grace.&quot; <p>  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 <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em> <p>  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. <p>  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. <p>  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 &quot;grace&quot; is the last best word, and in <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em>, he proves that he's right. <em>--Patricia Klein</em></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
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  <date_added>Fri Mar 09 08:37:37 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Dec 16 16:27:54 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Definitely one of the most moving, and thoughtful books I've read.  The author, Philip Yancey, writes in a very down to earth, easy to follow manner about what grace truly is.  Using stories, and examples of situations that happened in his and other peoples lives, he is able to paint us a picture of...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/210209">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/210209]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>24436264</id>
    <user>
    <id>1005834</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Ebookwormy]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Chicago, IL]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[What's So Amazing About Grace?]]>
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  <average_rating>4.26</average_rating>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[Mention the word &quot;grace&quot; and what immediately comes to mind for most of us is a bagpipe wailing the solemn notes of &quot;Amazing Grace.&quot; <p>  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 <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em> <p>  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. <p>  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. <p>  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 &quot;grace&quot; is the last best word, and in <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em>, he proves that he's right. <em>--Patricia Klein</em></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
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  <date_added>Fri Jun 13 14:49:23 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Jun 13 14:51:34 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I read this book for a book club and strongly disliked it. To me, it was a testimony as to why a journalist should not write theology. I found his thinking to be sloppy, uninformed, and lacking Biblical basis.  All of this said, I cannot deny that it fostered a great deal of conversation, and that s...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/24436264">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/24436264]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/24436264]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>4787426</id>
    <user>
    <id>291784</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Mariya]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[What's So Amazing About Grace?]]>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[Mention the word &quot;grace&quot; and what immediately comes to mind for most of us is a bagpipe wailing the solemn notes of &quot;Amazing Grace.&quot; <p>  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 <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em> <p>  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. <p>  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. <p>  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 &quot;grace&quot; is the last best word, and in <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em>, he proves that he's right. <em>--Patricia Klein</em></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
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  <date_added>Sun Aug 19 19:16:01 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 17 05:57:50 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Yancey is my favorite Christian writer. This book explains grace and how there is nothing we can do to make God love us any more or less. He simply loves us, regardless of anything. From his grace towards us, we can then learn to be graceful to others - become less judgemental, more forgiving, and s...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4787426">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4787426]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4787426]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>185850</id>
    <user>
    <id>15998</id>
    <name><![CDATA[John]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[San Jose, CA]]></location>
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    <![CDATA[What's So Amazing About Grace?]]>
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  <average_rating>4.26</average_rating>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[Mention the word &quot;grace&quot; and what immediately comes to mind for most of us is a bagpipe wailing the solemn notes of &quot;Amazing Grace.&quot; <p>  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 <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em> <p>  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. <p>  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. <p>  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 &quot;grace&quot; is the last best word, and in <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em>, he proves that he's right. <em>--Patricia Klein</em></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Mar 07 07:03:52 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Mar 15 23:01:14 -0700 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[yancey is one of those guys that is a closet liberal that writes to a conservative right-wing audience.  i'm glad that he's stayed a part of the ccm movement in order to influence it with his experiences and perspectives.  i also enjoyed his reflective, pseudo-contemplative style throughout this boo...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/185850">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/185850]]></url>
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</review>
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    <![CDATA[What's So Amazing About Grace?]]>
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    <![CDATA[Mention the word &quot;grace&quot; and what immediately comes to mind for most of us is a bagpipe wailing the solemn notes of &quot;Amazing Grace.&quot; <p>  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 <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em> <p>  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. <p>  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. <p>  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 &quot;grace&quot; is the last best word, and in <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em>, he proves that he's right. <em>--Patricia Klein</em></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
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    <body><![CDATA[Grace is such an overlooked word in the modern english language but it is the peculiar distinction that separates the Christian faith apart from all other religions. When Christians stop and actually investigate the Bible, we find that the Bible is littered with grace, beginning all the way in Genes...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/592558">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[What's So Amazing About Grace?]]>
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    <![CDATA[Mention the word &quot;grace&quot; and what immediately comes to mind for most of us is a bagpipe wailing the solemn notes of &quot;Amazing Grace.&quot; <p>  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 <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em> <p>  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. <p>  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. <p>  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 &quot;grace&quot; is the last best word, and in <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em>, he proves that he's right. <em>--Patricia Klein</em></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
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    <body><![CDATA[I never really &quot;got&quot; grace until reading this. It's a faith altering concept that challenged and changed the very core of what I believed. <br/><br/>2009 Note: Read this again with a bible study group. Still a great book and led to lots of intense discussion.]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[What's So Amazing About Grace?]]>
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    <![CDATA[Mention the word &quot;grace&quot; and what immediately comes to mind for most of us is a bagpipe wailing the solemn notes of &quot;Amazing Grace.&quot; <p>  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 <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em> <p>  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. <p>  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. <p>  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 &quot;grace&quot; is the last best word, and in <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em>, he proves that he's right. <em>--Patricia Klein</em></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
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    <body><![CDATA[This book made me think a lot about how I act toward others and how I need to show forgiveness more, even when the other person doesn't even realize or think they've done anything wrong. It also made me realize that I need to let others know that I am also a person who needs the grace of Jesus becau...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51679846">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[What's So Amazing About Grace?]]>
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    <![CDATA[Mention the word &quot;grace&quot; and what immediately comes to mind for most of us is a bagpipe wailing the solemn notes of &quot;Amazing Grace.&quot; <p>  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 <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em> <p>  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. <p>  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. <p>  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 &quot;grace&quot; is the last best word, and in <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em>, he proves that he's right. <em>--Patricia Klein</em></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
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    <body><![CDATA[Even if you think you know the answer, read Yancey's take on it.]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[What's So Amazing About Grace?]]>
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    <![CDATA[Mention the word &quot;grace&quot; and what immediately comes to mind for most of us is a bagpipe wailing the solemn notes of &quot;Amazing Grace.&quot; <p>  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 <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em> <p>  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. <p>  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. <p>  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 &quot;grace&quot; is the last best word, and in <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em>, he proves that he's right. <em>--Patricia Klein</em></p></p></p></p>]]>
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    <body><![CDATA[Grace!!!  It is the most beautiful gift that God gave His children and I miss it...  So often the church straps us with legalism and judgement.  To be free to love and understand and accept others - even those in our church - we need to grasp the concept of grace.  God gives it to us freely, but we ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/46695077">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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    <![CDATA[What's So Amazing About Grace?]]>
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    <![CDATA[Mention the word &quot;grace&quot; and what immediately comes to mind for most of us is a bagpipe wailing the solemn notes of &quot;Amazing Grace.&quot; <p>  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 <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em> <p>  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. <p>  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. <p>  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 &quot;grace&quot; is the last best word, and in <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em>, he proves that he's right. <em>--Patricia Klein</em></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
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  <date_added>Thu Nov 05 22:06:44 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Nov 05 22:13:07 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[One of the best Christian books I've read.  It's definitely geared for the believer, which I think is so important to truly understand the idea of grace.  Unmerited favor.  And it breaks down chapter by chapter the social issues of our day and how the world can be a much different place if we can un...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76886136">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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    <![CDATA[What's So Amazing About Grace? - International Edition]]>
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  <average_rating>4.32</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>127</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In 1987, an IRA bomb buried Gordon Wilson and his twenty-year-old daughter beneath five feet of rubble.  Gordon alone survived. And forgave. He said of the bombers, &quot;I have lost my daughter, but I bear no grudge . . . I shall pray, tonight and every night, that God will forgive them.&quot; His words caught the media's ears -- and out of one man's grief, the world got a glimpse of grace. 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 this curriculum based on 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 &quot;ungrace.&quot; 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' 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 encourages groups of all sizes to discuss ways to become living answers to a world that desperately wants to know, What's So Amazing About Grace?<br/><br/>10 sessions; 1 120-minute video]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
</book>

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  <read_at>Mon Jun 16 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jun 16 10:45:31 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jun 16 11:04:31 -0700 2008</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[Yancey's just slightly ahead of his time.  In 1997 he realizes there's a sickness at the heart of American Fundamentalism's soul, even if he misdiagnoses a vicious pneumonia as a cold. Unlike Gabe Lyons (unChristian) writing several years later, Yancey's honest enough to know that what the cult need...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/24623864">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
  <id>2025712</id>
    <user>
    <id>15245</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Matthew]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[What's So Amazing About Grace?]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.26</average_rating>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[Mention the word &quot;grace&quot; and what immediately comes to mind for most of us is a bagpipe wailing the solemn notes of &quot;Amazing Grace.&quot; <p>  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 <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em> <p>  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. <p>  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. <p>  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 &quot;grace&quot; is the last best word, and in <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em>, he proves that he's right. <em>--Patricia Klein</em></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
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    <rating>3</rating>
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  <read_at>Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Jun 16 08:17:22 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Oct 03 12:19:16 -0700 2007</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[Things I liked:  Yancy challanges the evangelicals to &quot;act like Christians&quot;.  Why do they have such a bad reptutation when the Christian ideal should be something to be admired.  Evangelicals are seen as self righteous and damning when they should be seen as loving and forgiving.  Christia...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2025712">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
  <id>44398192</id>
    <user>
    <id>341986</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Emily]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[What's So Amazing About Grace?]]>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[Mention the word &quot;grace&quot; and what immediately comes to mind for most of us is a bagpipe wailing the solemn notes of &quot;Amazing Grace.&quot; <p>  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 <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em> <p>  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. <p>  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. <p>  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 &quot;grace&quot; is the last best word, and in <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em>, he proves that he's right. <em>--Patricia Klein</em></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1997</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
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  <read_at>Wed Jun 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
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  <date_updated>Wed Jun 24 17:40:46 -0700 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[I really enjoyed this book.  Yancy offers some great insights into the power of &quot;grace&quot; that seems so lost upon the church these days.  He does a great job reminding readers of the revolutionary nature of this concept and just what's so amazing about it.  <br/><br/>I didn't necessary com...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44398192">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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    <name><![CDATA[Mel]]></name>
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    <![CDATA[What's So Amazing About Grace?]]>
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  <average_rating>4.26</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[Mention the word &quot;grace&quot; and what immediately comes to mind for most of us is a bagpipe wailing the solemn notes of &quot;Amazing Grace.&quot; <p>  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 <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em> <p>  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. <p>  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. <p>  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 &quot;grace&quot; is the last best word, and in <em>What's So Amazing About Grace?</em>, he proves that he's right. <em>--Patricia Klein</em></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
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  <read_at>Sat Dec 19 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
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  <date_updated>Sat Dec 19 07:46:08 -0800 2009</date_updated>
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    <body><![CDATA[This is one of the books that I both like and hate. I agree to how Philip Yancey portrays the &quot;Christians&quot; he has encountered. Many of those who call themselves Christians seem to have an attitude of hate rather than love; who are bent on making rules and making sure everybody follows it, ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/52698970">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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