Customer Reviews

Soul Survivor: How My Faith Survived the Church

5 star:		(68)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

SOUL SURVIVOR is a big departure from Philip Yancey's usual style of book. It reads more like a pseudo-biography -- both for him and for the thirteen people who have most influenced him in his walk of faith. Much of the territory here will be familiar to long-time readers of Yancey's, but it works because of the different way it is presented.

Each chapter is devoted to an individual. Always readable, SOUL SURVIVOR reaches beyond that into more powerful air when the subject becomes more weighty (read: controversial). Chapters on Martin Luther King Jr., Paul Brandt, Mahatma Gandhi, and C. Everett Koop, in particular, I found the most enjoyable and enlightening. Yancey tells their tales in an honest manner, recognizing their shortcomings, and in doing so makes their examples all the more powerful.

As I read his (and their) story, I had to marvel at the grace of God, because Yancey has come a long way. No other person, outside of my parents, has had a greater influence on my Christian walk than Philip Yancey. Realizing that this same man was once a blatant racist (among other flaws which he is open about) amazes me. It also gives me hope, as it should his other readers, for if God can take a man and change him this much (using the influence of various authors and historical figures) it should help us to see the possibilities of what God can do in our own lives, as well as recognize the effect that our lives can have upon others.

SOUL SURVIVOR is not my favorite Philip Yancey book, nor is it his best (that title still belongs to WHAT'S SO AMAZING ABOUT GRACE). But it is a fantastic, personal journey that I am so pleased to have been allowed to be a part of. If you are disillusioned by the institution of the church here is a book that will help you to see past those flaws to recognize how God really works through individual men and women. And that is what the church is really all about. FOUR 1/2 STARS.

I really enjoyed this book. Yancey writes in his usual conversational tone, with emotion and feeling. However, the book is nothing like what I expected. Frankly, I read it only on his reputation, and based on some of his excellent previous work.

The title of the book is very misleading. In reality it is a series of essays on people who had an impact on his life including Martin Luther King, G.K. Chesterton, Paul Brand, Robert Coles, Leo Tolstoy & Feodor Dostoevsky, Gandhi, Everett Koop, John Donne, Annie Dillard, Frederick Buechner, Shusaku Endo and Henri Nouwen. After an initial discussion of his own Church experience in the South, and some honest, direct, and often disturbing revelations about racism and prejudice, he launches into the essays.

Each section is written as a critique of the person's Faith and impact of Yancey and others. I found the sections on Paul Brand, Robert Coles and G.K. Chesterton, especially fascinating, as I had very little knowledge of their work prior to reading the book.

I would recommend this book, simply ignore the title and enjoy some wonderful insights into the Faith of some very interesting people. While Yancy spends too little time on the effects of the Church to warrant the title of the book, the insights are worth the effort.

Yancey, once again does tremendous work in this book. He is open about his own failings resulting from growing up in a racist southern church. He sites the influence of the church on his early views of Christianity and how much he has grown over the years. He continually brings the Christian life into perspective as he goes through other lives of people who have had an impact on his own journey as a Christian.

I would highly recommend this book to folks who 1) want a great book to read 2) need to hear an open and honest perspective on the church in the life of a Christian and 3) for those who need to see that "going to church doesn't make you a Christian anymore than going to Mac Donald's makes you a hamburger," as Keith Green used to say.

Yancey does an excellent job of bringing the lives of Martin Luther King Jr., Dr. Paul Brand, Dr. Robert Coles, Gandhi, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky into focus such that one can get a good view of what it means to be a Christian or live a Christian life based on the principles Jesus espoused while here on earth. It's an excellent book for a discussion class and has lots of tough questions along with examples of lives that went beyond the Pollyanna or cliché phrases you hear from many so called Christians. Read it, absorb it, and let its affect cover your whole being. I think you'll grow from it, I know I did.

I love the honesty of Yancey's work. Soul Survivor is possibly his most personal, most effective book yet. Phil Yancey tries to approach life without blinders. Soul Survivor is a wonderful retelling of his journey so far.

Yancey does not pull any punches in recounting his past. From being raised in a narrow, racist, legalistic church, to the influences that changed him into the man he now is...it is all told here in Yancey's interesting, engaging manner.

I would give my left arm for more honesty in our nonfiction writers. Yancey achieves meaningfulness by confessing his past and present shortcomings in this book. It is a shame that we don't see such openness in more authors. Honesty is probably my favorite thing about Yancey as an writer.

I really enjoy Yancey's descriptions of those who have influenced his life. It was great to read about how Yancey's old writing partner Dr. Brand affected his life. I think my favorite part of the book is his profile of Annie Dillard. I have recently started reading Dillard myself, and I am blown away by her.

I recommend this book. I encourage you to get a copy today.

I've come to realize that, while preachers and priests may do a lot of good for God's Kingdom while they are on this earth, it's the writers who really have lasting influence for generations to come. (Let's face it, C.S. Lewis has done infinitely more to shape Christian thinking than, say, Jerry Falwell). Philip Yancey is one of the great writers on the Christian scene today who I am sure will live on through his books for a long time after he's gone, and it has a lot to do with the fact that writing is his life, not just a sideline to some other career. It is significant that, while Yancey was becoming disillusioned with the institutional church (especially the racist Southern fundamentalist church he grew up in) there were people, both past and present, who were instrumental in keeping his faith alive, and many (though not all) of them were writers. Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Donne, Dillard, Buechner, the list goes on. Yancey writes about these individuals and others who shaped his life through their writings and their lives.

The first individual profiled is Martin Luther King Jr. Yancey paints an almost unbelievable but unflinchingly true protrait of the extreme racism of his Atlanta upbringing in the early '60s and the ungodly mistreatment of King and his followers during that time. While not glossing over deep flaws in King's character he portrays King as a deeply spiritual man of faith and edurance who never compromised his belief in nonviolent resistance, even when many of his kindred strayed from the standard of non-retaliation King preached and practiced.

Yancey writes about thirteen individuals in all, and space does not permit a summary of each one here. The one thing they each have in common is that they had a profound effect on Yancey's life and faith. There are some interesting choices here, including one person, Mahatma Gandhi, who expressly declined to embrace the Christian faith even as he was following the teachings of Jesus more closely and seriously than perhaps 98% of all the Christians who ever lived. Some of the people profiled are fairly well known, like former Surgeon General C. Everaett Koop, and some are more obscure, at least to me, like Japanese author Shusaku Endo, but they are all worth getting to know, flaws and all. Who would make your list of thirteen influential people who have had a positive effect on your faith? Philip Yancey would certainly be a strong candidate to make my list.

Mr. Yancy, an excellent wordsmith and essayist, writes chapters about 13 people (Martin Luther King, G.K. Chesterton, Paul Brand, Robert Coles, Leo Tolstoy & Feodor Dostoevsky, Gandhi (a non-Christian), Everett Koop, John Donne, Annie Dillard, Frederick Buechner, Shusaku Endo and Henri Nouwen).

Each of these people, none of whom are "professional Christians", exemplifies by their lives and achievements an application of Christian faith and principles that allowed them to make a difference in the world. All of them did so as individuals working outside the organized structure of the church. Their lives and comments provide inspiration to any Christian who would go beyond the faith as only a road to their personal salvation in the next world and toward applying their faith to creating a better life for people in this world.

Soul Survivor is good starting point for further study because Yancy concludes each chapter with specific recommendations for further reading in the lives and writings of each subject.

I highly recommend this book.

"How can I fit together my religious past with my spiritual present?" "What allowed me to ransom a personal faith from the damaging effects of religion?" "How have I changed because of my contact, direct or indirect, with this baker's dozen?"

These are the questions that Yancey answers in his book "Soul Survivor." Because of the scars left from his childhood religious community he presents to the world 13 people who have impacted his faith-life and who have led him to a further desire for Jesus. Some of the people presented are Christians and some are not, all are flawed as human examples of faith but he shows his readers their worth.

I admit that after struggling to read "The Jesus I Never Knew" I was not looking forward to choking down this book. I admire Yancey's point of view when he writes and I find him to be very thoughtful, even original, but I liken his writing style to that of a long winded preacher who doesn't know when to make his point and then move on. (I tend to wonder if a chapter will ever end.) Although I found his style to be the same in "Soul Survivor" I was riveted by the people that he writes about and was thoroughly hooked into this book by the second chapter. (Something that never happened for me with "The Jesus I Never Knew.")

As a journalist, Yancey's life has allowed him to come in contact with quite a few people. In "Soul Survivor" he presents the 13 people that have most influenced his faith beginning with the very well known Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi, to the not so well known people like Dr. Cole Brand or Henri Nouwen. Yancey presents each person as an exposition of Christian faith in one way or another. I wondered what the Mahatma Gandhi chapter was going to be about. How could I possibly be inspired from Gandhi (A non-Christian)? However, Yancey skillfully presents what is inspirational about the man and has helped me to look at Gandhi through glasses of inspiration rather than a pure Biblical rationale. I also thought that reading about infamous people like Dr. Paul Brand would be an exercise in the boring but Yancey's portrayal of him helps me to appreciate him too. (It is actually my favorite chapter in the book.)

I was deeply challenged by what I read because the people that he chose to write about are truly inspirational. I knew that each human Yancey presented was sinful in their own way (he admits as much) but I knew if I could harness their areas of individual excellence into my own Christian life then Jesus would have a champion among his people. I found myself deeply challenged and provoked to repent for my short comings. After reading the "Soul Survivor" I realize, along with Yancey, that "I had not learned to love individuals." I read about people who in many ways are loathsome to the cause of Christ and I found myself in want to be as they were, or are. I learned that I think too highly of myself as a Christian and not highly enough of others. This epiphany alone made the book worth the read.

All-in-all the book was good. It was typical of Yancey's style which is not to my preference, but it may be to yours. It is worth reading; and I dare say, worth re-reading.

"Soul Survivor" continues Yancey's ongoing theme of struggling to find and live out an active, meaningful faith in postmodern times. However, even though it is billed as a book about his struggles and milestones in forging a living, vital faith, the book is really about the people who have impacted Yancey, either through direct contact or through their lives and writings.

In some ways, this is a disappointment. From what I have read and heard, Yancey's faith was "salvaged" by three overall factors: his relationship with his wife, his love of the natural world, and classical music. Hopefully, Yancey will write an in-depth book about these specifically and how God used them to mature, deepen and "road-test" his faith.

However, once the reader understands Yancey only gives dribs and drabs of self-revelation and mostly focuses on the subjects, enjoyment, astonishment and introspection can begin. Whether it is Annie Dillard toiling over her typewriter in a small, dingy room, or Paul Brand spending nights studying ways to reconnect nerves in the human body, Yancey provides powerful, soul-stirring examples of real people seeking to use the passions and gifts granted by their Creator to make a difference. Real people who generally don't fit into the Fundamentalist cliche and stereotype of a "good" Christian.

While some of the people explored in the book are well known (Gandhi, MLK, Chesterton) some are not, or at least not as well known. Paul Brand, Annie Dillard, and others all provide moving and challenging glimpses into lives profoundly affected by grace and love for humanity.

Purposefully or not, grace is an overriding theme to the lives explored in Soul Survivor. God's grace in mercy, forgiveness and ability to use and bless the gifts He has given despite people's valiant attempts to screw up their lives. Whether it is a Russian asectic, a Hindu pacificist, or a thrice-divorced Canadian writer, Yancey quietly and subtley displays the depth and breadth of God's patience, joy and love for those who receive His call. While I found the accomplishments of many of the subjects both challenging and shaming (as I have done so little to impact the world around me), I found the facts of the lives of these people enormously encouraging: God continued to use, love and bless them, despite their mistakes, frailties and faults.

While the book was written to be read in order, the structure of the book (most of the chapters are essentially self-contained) lends itself to good "chunk" reading - a piece here, a piece there. Not to say it is light reading - it is not, though it is an easy, enjoyable read. But more than Yancey's other books, it is more easily read a little at a time, and if you put it aside for a while, you won't need to re-read copious amounts to catch up.

If you are not Christian and looking for a well-written, honest and challenging exploration of the relevancy of Christianity, this is a great starting point. If you are a Christian, and looking for inspiration in how to make a difference, and wanting reassurance that you can be an effective instrument of love and grace despite your faults and shortcomings, this is a terrific book to read.

Most of my life I've been looking for God, but in all the places where you are supposed to find him (namely church), I have found exactly the opposite: judgement, intolerance, pettiness, legalism, and lies. Yancey, whose experience with the church has been even more dismal, acknowledges this unfortunate truth, but offers suggestions for knowing God in spite of it. His primary salvation (and mine) has been the dozens of people he has known or read about that testify to God's greatness. This book is a tribute to twelve of those people.

I highly recommend it. I'm only 57 pages into it and it has already changed the way I look at religion.

Extraordinary. Yancey describes the dark side of the church. Why didn't he reject his faith? Thirteen "real-people" mentors expose Jesus' teachings through their lives. Hard to put down.

There are trends within the church of "missing the point." We all do it, and we all reinforce it by not rocking the boat. The misconceptions of the leaders give rise to unbalanced lives in the followers -- and these misconceptions are passed on in sunday schools and church meetings through generations. What to do about it? Only when we truly understand what Jesus was talking about, can we adjust our perspectives properly. Sometimes, though, we never get the chance to truly understand...

As a youth, Yancey grew up in an incredibly conservative church that emphasized all the wrong things. He witnessed horrible crimes in the South between white and black Americans -- many done in the name of God! He has seen the results of these "misconceptions," and what a hell is created when they are not addressed.

As he matured, and sought a true foundation (any foundation!) for his faith, thirteen individuals touched his life.

These thirteen were not all in the public spotlight, not all known for their "perfection," and not all even Christians. What touched Yancey about them were their lives. In their lives, their decisions and struggles, they painted a truer portrait of Jesus Christ than any number of pastors could. They knew Christ, and it showed.

Helpful to any confused Christian or someone looking to go deeper. Yancey, like his mentors, has a gift for presenting the good news in an insightful and energizing light. In this book, it shines.