Logo

 

Banner Image:   Baptist-Times-banner-2000x370-
Template Mode:   Baptist Times
Icon
    Post     Tweet

God Has Spoken by J.I. Packer 

A re-issue of the bestselling sequel to Knowing God


God Has SpokenGod Has Spoken
by J.I. Packer
Hodder and Stoughton
ISBN: 978-1-473-63709-2
Reviewer: Pieter J. Lalleman

Professor Packer argues that the Bible is the very word of God, a reliable record of his revelation to humankind and indispensable for our salvation.

I agree with all that, as should all evangelicals. The more controversial elements of Packer's book are the discussion of inerrancy on pages 102-106 and the long appendix which reproduces the entire 1978 Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy.

This book first appeared in 1965 and has hardly changed since then, although other editions appeared in 1993 and 2005. It fights the modernist 'Battle for the Bible' of the Fundamentalists against the Liberals.

Packer (born Gloucester, 1926) wrote this book as a proud Anglican, often referring to Anglican documents and confessions, interacting with scholars of previous generations. When the text says 'this century' it means the 20th, 'the last century' being the 19th. There is no inclusive language yet, the bibliography is dated and there is no guidance on how to actually read the Bible. It's a shame that the publisher expects almost £9 for a dated book.

Readers of this review would be better off if they bought the 2014 edition of Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for all its Worth, which is far more practical. Those interested in the 'Battle for the Bible' can now read Andrew T.B. McGowan, The Divine Spiration of Scripture (2007) and/or Craig Blomberg, Can We Still Believe the Bible? (2014).
 

The Revd Dr Pieter J. Lalleman teaches Bible at Spurgeon's College


 
Baptist Times, 17/02/2017
    Post     Tweet
Clever Cub Forgives a Friend, and Invites Someone New, by Bob Hartman  
Latest titles in series which takes the world of the child seriously and then tries to choose appropriate stories from the Bible to address their experiences - relevant and readable
The Hardest Problem: God, Evil and Suffering by Rupert Shortt 
'Not only helpful to Christians but worth passing on to thoughtful unbelievers who find the problem of evil and suffering an obstacle to belief'
Heroes or Villains by Jeannie Kendall 
'A gem of a book, thoughtfully and insightfully exploring the qualities we share with Bible characters'
Poverty, Riches and Wealth by Kris Vallotton
A book which makes you think with sections you might disagree with - but the golden thread that you are wealthy in proportion to your generosity, not according to your riches - is an excellent, Biblical principle
Lydia by Paula Gooder 
'Thoroughly recommended, not just as a historical novel, but also as a useful reference book kept close to the regularly-used commentaries'
Swansong by Jo-Anne Berthelsen
'This book certainly challenges us, but also encourages us that our words have real power to transform the lives of others'
     Reviews 
    Posted: 01/03/2024
    Posted: 22/09/2023