INSIGHT
Philip Yancey is spreading rumours
- Rob
Oller talks to award-winning author Philip Yancey about his new
book Rumours of Another World
If Chicken
Little is correct and the sky really is falling, then we have two
choices: run for the hills or get a ladder, climb up and fix it.
Philip Yancey prefers the ladder approach.
A self-professed "experiential" believer, the award-winning author
thinks it's about time the Christian community reached into its collective
tool chest and did more to fix what's broken with the world. And there's plenty
to work on.
"Jesus taught us to pray the Lord's prayer - your will be done on earth
as it is in heaven. Well, if you read the papers, you know that's not happening," Yancey
said. "But it's still what we Christians are called to do."
That calling is partly what prompted Yancey to pen his latest book, Rumours
of Another World, which addresses the issue that our culture is much better
at tearing things apart than putting them back together.
"The only thing I have to offer is my point of view ... for me, it is seeing
the entire world as God's world," he said. "When Jesus was walking
around on this planet he saw it as God's world and he fixed things that he saw
were not right - and that's what we Christians are called to demonstrate to the
world."
Righting wrongs does not happen through "holy huddles" that hide
behind doctrine, but by seeking, finding and living life to the fullest, Yancey
said. But that doesn't mean we should turn to materialism to make us happy.
Quite the opposite. The key to living a full life is to act selflessly, not
selfishly, he said.
"Jesus said you don't find life by acquiring more and more but by giving
yourself away," Yancey said.
The new book tells stories of those fulfilled through service and exploring
and examining clues of God's goodness.
"If God did create this world there are going to be rumors of that," he
said, explaining how we can "know" God through such wonders as the
Rocky Mountains.
Yancey's latest book is a departure of sorts in that he does not deal so much
with his wounded past as with a hopeful future. More specifically, he sees
the book as a tool that Christians can use to share their faith in a less threatening
way. Rather than espouse theology, Rumours offers insights on a softer level.
"There are lots of people out there who are spiritual but not necessarily
religious," he said. "They live on the borderlands of belief. Something
like September 11 happens and they don't know what to do with their thoughts
and feelings. I'm trying to relieve that nervousness, not dump a boatload of
theology on them.
"I hope it's the kind of book where if Christians have a relative, neighbour
or colleague at work ... it's a friendlier way to share."
Yancey saw a need for that method of sharing while travelling in Europe, where
he saw that faith in God is much more flimsy than it is in the United States.
"I realized a lot of my energy (in writing earlier books) had been in addressing
Christians and trying to make corrections and point out things that had been
misrepresented to me," he said. "What I began to understand (during
the European trip) is that a lot of people didn't grow up in the Church. They're
just wondering, 'Is there anything out there?'"
The question/challenge struck Yancey: "What could I say to these people?"
What he decided to say is that God can be found in such things as nature, classical
music and romantic love.
Yancey put much of his original manuscript on the chopping block as he gained
a better understanding of potential readers.
"I cut 25,000 words out of the text, because I had been making certain assumptions
about my audience," he said. "I would quote the Bible, then realize
that there are people who don't know the Bible ... so it doesn't work."
Ultimately, Yancey hopes Rumours awakens hearts to see that God wants the best
for us.
"If you had asked me 20 years ago the definition of sin, I'd have said it
was God's way to keep us from having a good time," he said. "Now, I'd
say God is trying to keep us from hurting ourselves. I am learning to view sins
as spiritual dangers - much like carcinogens, bacteria, viruses and injuries
- that must be avoided at all costs, for my own sake.
"I am learning to trust that God wants the best life for me in this world,
not some diminished, repressed life."
And the rumours of that are everywhere.
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