Packer was described by Time magazine as ‘one of the most influential evangelicals in North America’, and wrote in 1973 what many consider as the definitive classic evangelical book of the 20th century: Knowing God (Hodder & Stoughton). It has sold more than a million copies in North America alone. It had a huge influence on my evangelical spirituality.
Born in England, Packer studied at Corpus Christi College, Oxford and attended lectures by CS Lewis.
Packer went on to teach at Oak Hill Theological College in London before attending Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, where he underwent theological training for ordination into the Church of England.
His theology was centred on Paul’s key themes: justification by faith alone, regeneration, reconciliation, which find little or no basis in the teaching of the historical Jesus.
As a Christian under the influence of Packer I zealously defended the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, which affirmed a fundamentalist position on biblical inerrancy (that the Bible has no errors or contradictions whatsoever when properly understood). It is a statement of impressive intellectual gymnastics that convinced no one but those already committed to inerrancy.
His failure to engage with other Abrahamic monotheisms, especially Islam, is a significant deficit in his voluminous work which severely limits its relevance in today’s religiously turbulent world.
Total rubbish! He didn’t need to be a people pleaser… NOT a failure to not engage with other Abrahamic monotheisms!!! In my opinion his teaching is what we need today.
Great man of God.
Rest In Eternal Peace JI Packer
He taught a gospel about Jesus not the gospel of Jesus.
One needs to learn and embrace the gospel about Jesus!
Very important first step.
Then the Holy Spirit does his work in us as we grow in grace… the gospel of Jesus… this is for a lifetime.
Blessings
I’d rather follow the gospel of Jesus.
The gospel you follow is very different.
31 And He (Jesus) began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and *said, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”
Mark 8:31-33
The gospel of Jesus includes His death and resurrection.
the whole NT message is good news.
Mark 1:1 – the good news
Mark 1:15 – repent and believe
Mark 10:45
“The Son of man came . . . to give His life as a ransom for man.”
the true meaning of Surah 37:107
“we have ransomed him with a mighty sacrifice”
https://apologeticsandagape.wordpress.com/2016/10/21/so-why-did-allah-substitute-an-innocent-animal-in-the-place-of-abrahams-son/
His failure to engage with other Abrahamic monotheisms, especially Islam, is a significant deficit in his voluminous work which severely limits its relevance in today’s religiously turbulent world.
Not everyone is called to engage Islam.
But some have . . . and you dismiss them or get upset with them or ignore them.
Yet you get upset with me or dismiss my engagement or you, at the end of the day, when you run out of arguments, you just say, “that is American fundamentalism”, etc.
and James White and Samuel Green and Anthony Rogers and Jonathan McLatchie, etc. (and other Muslims spew anger and rancor and some even express death threats to some who do engage Islam – David Wood, Robert Spencer, etc. ) Shamoun has had anger problems, which hopefully, he is getting counseling for, etc. even you admitted that he has many good arguments and you even said that was one of the reasons you allowed him to write a couple of articles here in the past.
James White has engaged Islam fairly and reasonably, yet you ignore or dismiss. (S. Green and A. Rogers and McLatchie have also been fair and reasonable.)