In Depth:  Jim Packer

For two centuries now in Protestant communities the Bible has been under suspicion.

It is accused of being factually false, spiritually wrongheaded, ethically irrelevant, and antihuman in its overall influence. Once, most Westerners knew something of what was in the ‘Good Book’; nowadays, however, very few know or care what the Bible teaches. Though the criticisms and doubts about Scripture have been compellingly countered over and over again, that does not change the secular mind-set or banish biblical illiteracy from our midst. Yet ignorance of the Bible remains tragic, for it virtually guarantees ignorance of God. To re-establish in people’s minds the truth and wisdom of the biblical message is perhaps the church’s most urgent task today.

As I wondered what to call this piece, two ideas popped into my mind. One was the haunting KJV version of Acts 27.27, where we read that before the shipwreck ‘we were driven up and down in Adria [the Adriatic]’. The other was the equally haunting title from old Etonian, social critic, master satirist and beautiful writer George Orwell: Down and Out in Paris and London. Suddenly my own title was fully formed in my mind.

So, now, my story

My wife and I moved to Canada in 1979. Principal James Houston had recruited me to teach theology at Regent College, which I still do. God’s call was clear. Our only uncertainty was where we might find a spiritual home. New Westminster Diocese, of which Vancouver is the see city, was decidedly liberal, and its few evangelical clergy seemed to be keeping their heads down. But in 1978 my oldest friend among Canadian clergy, Harry Robinson, became rector of St. John’s Shaughnessy, nearby where God gave us a place to live. So that problem was solved. Called as I am to be a pastor, alongside my teaching duties, I became Harry’s honorary assistant. (For the record, I am now the longest serving clergyman in the St. John’s team.)

Recent tensions in the Anglican Communion over homosexual practice have caused Professor Packer great heartache. Here he takes the opportunity to explain his actions.

In 1966 in Britain, when evangelical leader Martyn Lloyd-Jones called on Anglican evangelicals to leave the Church of England, I, with John Stott and others, stayed put and maintained that this was not the way to go.

The outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury has warned that the gay issue is on the verge of splitting the Church of England. Already serious trouble has been caused among Anglicans in Canada. Here, leading evangelical theologian Jim Packer sounds a vital warning.

In June 2002, the synod of the Anglican diocese of New Westminster, in which Vancouver stands, mandated its bishop to do what he had already indicated his wish to do, namely, to authorise the production of a liturgical form for blessing same-sex unions, to be used in any parish of the diocese that requests it.

This month sees the centenary of the birth of C.S. Lewis, regarded as the greatest popular apologist for the Christian faith of the 20th century. Here, Professor Jim Packer gives his own assessment of the great man.

Clive Staples Lewis of Ulster (born in Belfast, 1898), of Oxford (fellow of Magdalen College, 1925-1954), and of Cambridge (Professor of Mediaeval and Renaissance Literature, 1954-1963), is looked upon as an old and helpful friend by many of today's Christians.

Jim Packer has written this article in response to the debate begun in EN between Paul Gardner and Alister McGrath.

Inerrancy, like fundamentalism, is a word I would rather not use when confessing my faith. Why? Because, like fundamentalism, it carries a huge load of prejudice and misconception.