Philip Yancey Confesses Near Decade Affair - Divorce Minister
To my great shame, I confess that for eight years I willfully engaged in a sinful affair with a married woman.
My conduct defied everything that I believe about marriage. It was also totally inconsistent with my faith and my writings and caused deep pain for her husband and both of our families.
-Philip Yancey in “Author Philip Yancey Confesses Affair, Withdraws from Ministry,” Christianitytoday.com
When I was going through my divorce and its immediate aftermath, I read Yancey’s famous book Where is God When it Hurts?. I found it helpful in my healing journey.
So, this news saddens me greatly. I am very disappointed in Yancey who ought to have known better. Even he admits as much in his lengthier statement.
He states a little further in the same statement:
I have confessed my sin before God and my wife, and have committed myself to a professional counseling and accountability program. I have failed morally and spiritually, and I grieve over the devastation I have caused.
This wasn’t just “sin” but rather SINS. You cannot carry on a near decade long affair without numerous lies and deceptions.
He led a double life for nearly a decade deceiving not only his wife but also the Christian community that platformed him. This is why the community is so shocked. We expected better from a Christian leader who taught important theological concepts to the masses.
Yancey continues and explains that he is stepping down from ministry by retiring and admits that he is totally disqualified by his sinful behavior. He owns this, which is more than many cheaters do.
Ending the statement, his wife, Janet Yancey, shares directly:
I, Janet Yancey, am speaking from a place of trauma and devastation that only people who have lived through betrayal can understand. Yet I made a sacred and binding marriage vow 55½ years ago, and I will not break that promise. I accept and understand that God through Jesus has paid for and forgiven the sins of the world, including Philip’s. God grant me the grace to forgive also, despite my unfathomable trauma. Please pray for us.
While I am grateful that she was given a voice in this, I am concerned by the content of her statement. It reminds me of myself early in my discovery and divorce process. We often just want things to go back to “normal.”
While forgiveness is available, that does not undo the damage done by the sins. We might forgive a child for breaking our favorite mug, but that does not magically fix that mug.
Also, I am saddened by the implication she makes that ending a marriage ravaged by infidelity via divorce is her breaking her marriage vows. God does not see it that way (see Mt. 19:9 and 1:19). I hope some people are in her corner gently explaining this to her.
