Rumors of Another World:
What on Earth Are We Missing
By Phillip Yancey
Reviewed by Pat Beaty
It has become the Christian Readers
habit it seems, to expect more food for thought when beginning a book by this
author, than one can possibly ingest, let alone spare time to contemplate. This wonderful work is certainly no
different. However, you will find
the contents so absorbing, so riveting, that you will truly enjoy every
thought, every revelation, from this writer’s mind.
From
the first chapter, “Life in Part,” to his last chapter “Stereoscopic Vision,”
Yancey includes the reader in his story of how he views God’s creation with
gratitude and bemoans the vast amount of God’s grace that we are missing,
living in a “Reductionist” world, as we must do. He states “no society in history has attempted to live
without a belief in the sacred, not until the modern west.”
The
author states that he “began to listen to his own longings as rumors of another
world, a bright clue to the nature of the Creator.” He states that “nature and supernature are not two separate worlds
but different expressions of the same reality.”
“Paying
attention” is a particularly fascinating chapter. It is interwoven with stories
of people he encountered over the years. As in every chapter of this book, it is
interlaced with references to many other works including the Holy Bible.
In
“Stereoscopic Vision” the reader will find some contrasts that will remain in
his mind, I am sure. The story of
Clarence Jordan and his beliefs during the Civil Rights struggle is engrossing
as well as moving.
Finally,
the two statements below by the author in his chapter, “Paying Attention” might
sum up what meaning he wanted his words to convey in this work. “I need only read the Psalms to realize
that God wants us to love and honor Him, through the creation, not apart from
it.” And, “one day I realized with a start that God sees all the wonders
of the earth at all times. Not
only does God see them, God is their source, and each reveals something of the
Creator. “
There
is so much more in this treatise than this reviewer can tell. Suffice it to
say, you will enjoy and be blessed by reading it. And, don’t overlook the
explanation of “Reductionism” in the early pages.
