J. I. Packer passed away at the age of 93 on July 17, 2020. I have been helped a great deal by this godly, articulate, Christ-honoring theologian over the years. In 2012, I wrote a short review of Packer's wonderful little book, Fundamentalism and the Word of God. Here's what I said:
I just read J. I. Packer’s 1958 book, Fundamentalism and the Word of God, and was struck by its relevance for today. Much about the world when Packer wrote is so different—no computers, no cell phones, Cold War raging, Eisenhower in the White House… it was the year Elvis Presley joined the army and Madonna was born. But the theological controversies and attacks on Christianity in 1958 look eerily like those that carry on in our day.
Packer has no wish to defend “fundamentalism” in the sense of militant, separatistic, anti-intellectual religion. But he’s very eager to affirm the abiding truth of the Gospel as revealed by God through his prophets and apostles and preserved in the Bible (i.e., the “fundamentals”). The relentless eroding of these essentials by opponents of God’s Word is Packer’s driving concern.
He contends that many critics are actually attacking a caricature of biblical Christianity, thus distracting us all from seeing the real thing and the real threats against it. The main issue dividing genuine believers in Christ from their various opponents is the locus of authority: in Christianity, where is authority grounded—in church office, human reason, subjective religious experience, or in the Scriptures?
“We shall maintain that Jesus Christ constituted Christianity a religion of biblical authority… We shall argue that subjection to the authority of Christ involves subjection to the authority of Scripture” (p. 21). And so, for example, setting up human reason as judge over God’s Word (as theological liberalism does) is a form of impenitence; and the same goes for setting up church tradition as the seat of divine authority (as Roman Catholicism does).
Packer’s ambitious thesis is none other than to contend that the evangelical faith is God’s revealed truth. Evangelicalism is “the oldest orthodoxy, grounded four-square upon the teaching of Christ and His apostles” (p. 22; see also 15, 29, 38-40, 47, 122).
Packer frequently describes the stance taken by opponents of “fundamentalism” as “subjectivism.” What he means by this is setting up standards that may seem right, reasonable and natural by which to judge Christian belief. But, of course, this begs the question of who’s doing this “setting up.” The culture-tinted outlook and ideological leaning of religious thinkers can become the standards for what’s good and right (we all face this danger); human opinion is thus made to be the arbiter of truth. But human opinion down through the ages has varied widely, even wildly.
Take the post-enlightenment emphasis on natural over against supernatural causes. In the last couple centuries a huge sector of the academic world, and now even of society in general, has settled into the idea that no events take place that violate the laws of nature. Thus, the Bible’s miracles (preeminently the resurrection of Christ, but all the others as well) must be relegated to the category of myth or superstition or “literary device,” or sheer error. Packer responds by saying this new fundamentalism imposes on God and his revelation certain standards that, at root, reflect man-made thought rules.
The debate in 1958, as today, really comes down to a choice between two versions of Christianity. “We have to choose whether to bow to the authority claimed by the Son of God, or whether on our own authority to discount and contravene a part of His teaching; whether to rest content with Christianity according to Christ, or whether to go hankering after a Christianity according to the spirit of our age; whether to behave as Christ’s disciples, or as His tutors” (p. 170). If human tradition or reason is set up “as the measure and test of truth, it will quickly substitute for man’s incomprehensible Creator a comprehensible idol fashioned in man’s own image…” (p. 171).
I commend this book to you—though let me add one thing I saw in it that’s quite different from Christian books in 2012: This short work (191 pp.) requires careful and attentive reading. Skimming the book will not do; multi-tasking as you read will guarantee that you’ll come away bewildered or bored. On many pages you’ll need to read and then re-read. Don’t rush Packer; read his claims word for word. Read with a pen in hand—make notes in the margin or elsewhere. By doing this you’ll find great help for building a solid, vital framework for thinking about truth, faith, and life as God’s people.
Packer’s book ranks 682,859 on amazon.com’s best seller list [on July 21, 2020, it's' up to 6,519]. But I can assure you that it is worth immensely more for the healthy spiritual growth of your mind and heart than a lot of best-selling titles! Take time to read Packer—you’ll be glad you did.
