Again, I'm posting more thoughts on Grace . . .
These thoughts (below) are from my reading in Grace Notes, by Philip Yancey (taken from his writings in several books). Today's (April 26,2011) was about Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, and was titled "Truth Minus Grace". Today's thoughts were excerpted from Yancey's book Soul Survivor (pp 131-134). It's continued from the last few pages in the book of other excerpts in Soul Survivor but it stands alone concerning the thoughts about Grace that I want to convey. With appreciation to Philip Yancey:
"I feel sad as I read Tolstoy's religious writings. The X-ray vision into the human heart that made him a great novelist also made him a tortured Christian. Like a spawning salmon, he fought upstream all his life, in the end collapsing from moral exhaustion.
"Yet I also feel grateful to Tolstoy, for his relentless pursuit of authentic faith has made an indelible impression upon me. I first came across his novels during a period when I was suffering the delayed effects of "church abuse." The churches I grew up in contained too many frauds, or at least that is how I saw it in the arrogance of youth. When I noted the rift between the ideals of the gospel and the flaws of its followers, I was sorely tempted to abandon those ideals as hopelessly unattainable.
"Then I discovered Tolstoy. He was the first author who, for me, accomplished that most difficult of tasks: to make good as believable and appealing as evil. I found in his novels, fables, and short stories a source of moral power.
"A.N. Wilson, a biographer of Tolstoy, remarks that "his religion was ultimately a thing of Law rather than of Grace, a scheme for human betterment rather than a vision of God penetrating a fallen world." With crystalline clarity Tolstoy could see his own inadequacy in the light of God's ideal. But he could not take the further step of trusting God's grace to overcome that inadequacy.
"Shortly after reading Tolstoy I discovered his countryman Fyodor Dostoevsky. These two, the most famous and accomplished of all Russian writers, lived and worked during the same period of history. Though they read each other's work with admiration, they never met, and perhaps it was just as well--they were opposites in every way. Where Tolstoy wrote bright, sunny novels, Dostoevsky wrote brooding, interior ones. Where Tolstoy worked out ascetic schemes for self-improvement, Dostoevsky periodically squandered his health and fortune on alcohol and gambling.
" Dostoevsky made many mistakes in life, but achieved an amazing feat in art. His novels communicate grace and forgiveness, the heart of the Christian gospel, with a Tolstoyan force.
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These thoughts (below) are from my reading in Grace Notes, by Philip Yancey (taken from his writings in several books). Today's (April 26,2011) was about Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, and was titled "Truth Minus Grace". Today's thoughts were excerpted from Yancey's book Soul Survivor (pp 131-134). It's continued from the last few pages in the book of other excerpts in Soul Survivor but it stands alone concerning the thoughts about Grace that I want to convey. With appreciation to Philip Yancey:
"I feel sad as I read Tolstoy's religious writings. The X-ray vision into the human heart that made him a great novelist also made him a tortured Christian. Like a spawning salmon, he fought upstream all his life, in the end collapsing from moral exhaustion.
"Yet I also feel grateful to Tolstoy, for his relentless pursuit of authentic faith has made an indelible impression upon me. I first came across his novels during a period when I was suffering the delayed effects of "church abuse." The churches I grew up in contained too many frauds, or at least that is how I saw it in the arrogance of youth. When I noted the rift between the ideals of the gospel and the flaws of its followers, I was sorely tempted to abandon those ideals as hopelessly unattainable.
"Then I discovered Tolstoy. He was the first author who, for me, accomplished that most difficult of tasks: to make good as believable and appealing as evil. I found in his novels, fables, and short stories a source of moral power.
"A.N. Wilson, a biographer of Tolstoy, remarks that "his religion was ultimately a thing of Law rather than of Grace, a scheme for human betterment rather than a vision of God penetrating a fallen world." With crystalline clarity Tolstoy could see his own inadequacy in the light of God's ideal. But he could not take the further step of trusting God's grace to overcome that inadequacy.
"Shortly after reading Tolstoy I discovered his countryman Fyodor Dostoevsky. These two, the most famous and accomplished of all Russian writers, lived and worked during the same period of history. Though they read each other's work with admiration, they never met, and perhaps it was just as well--they were opposites in every way. Where Tolstoy wrote bright, sunny novels, Dostoevsky wrote brooding, interior ones. Where Tolstoy worked out ascetic schemes for self-improvement, Dostoevsky periodically squandered his health and fortune on alcohol and gambling.
" Dostoevsky made many mistakes in life, but achieved an amazing feat in art. His novels communicate grace and forgiveness, the heart of the Christian gospel, with a Tolstoyan force.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 Comments:
Though believing in grace for some 30 years, I sadly must admit to spending way too many tortured days swimming alongside Tolstoy in that uphill salmon stream. I love what Yancy shares in this excerpt. In his writings, he sees so deeply into the reader's struggle between law and grace. His book, "What's so Amazing about Grace" is one of my most favorite books.
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