You’d think that when a theologian passes away, their scholarly output would cease. And yet here we are with another new book from J.I. Packer, Proclaiming Christ in a Pluralistic Age.
To be fair, this book is a compilation of lectures from 1978, so in that sense it’s not exactly “new.” And yet, it’s also fresh and timely (as we would expect from Packer). Striking directly at what he sees as the theological temptations of his own day, what were “temptations” in the late 1970s have metastasized in our own time and still need the antidote that Packer sees in Scripture.
Specifically, Packer highlights five truths:
- The story of Christianity, which we find in Scripture and which we must proclaim to the world.
- The humanity of Christ, which was full and complete
- The Divinity of Christ, which was likewise full and complete
- The Work of Christ, also, you guessed it, full and complete
- The uniqueness of Christ, He alone is the way to know God
This is a short book (and apparently the lectures are available somewhere on the internet, so you can listen to it as well if you can find it), so I won’t extend the review. I will just say that as with everything I’ve read from Packer this book is excellent and well worth your time. Packer ably defends the truths of Scripture in a way that is gentle, thoughtful, and robust. This is meat for the soul, and you should absolutely have it on your shelf.
Dr. Coyle Neal is co-host of the City of Man Podcast an Amazon Associate (which is linked in this blog), and an Associate Professor of Political Science at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, MO
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