# J. I. Packer and the Evangelical Future



## Dewi Sant (Mar 7, 2010)

Dear Brethren,

This is not a review that I have written, but rather a heads up to those who might be interested in reading a review of the book, J. I. Packer and the Evangelical Future: The Impact of his Life and Thought - reviewed by Iain H. Murray for the March 2010 issue of Banner of Truth Magazine.

Have any of you read this festschrift of Packer? The review? Thoughts?

Kris


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## bouletheou (Mar 7, 2010)

Wait, I get to beat him to it....


I'm sure somebody has read it!

BTW, the word is festschrift. "celebratory writing." I only know that because I had to look it up for a blog post.

I haven't read it, but I've got an opinion as to the future of the evangelical church.


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## Mushroom (Mar 7, 2010)

> Wait, I get to beat him to it....
> 
> 
> I'm sure somebody has read it!


Yeah, you beat him to it, but you gotta work on the totality of your literalism. It should have been "I'm sure somebody, _somewhere_, has read it." But good effort, brother.


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## Backwoods Presbyterian (Mar 8, 2010)

Here is the response to Iain Murray's review by Carl Trueman.

Be careful it is kind of caustic.


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## Dewi Sant (Mar 8, 2010)

Backwoods Presbyterian said:


> Here is the response to Iain Murray's review by Carl Trueman.
> 
> Be careful it is kind of caustic.


 
Thank you for the link, Sir. I couldn't help but think that perhaps Trueman doth protesteth too much. Not so much caustic as ad hominem and the very tone he accused Murray of taking. I have been a fan of Dr. Lloyd-Jones for some time (it's a "Jones" thing, and Welsh, to boot) and Packer, well, less so. To be fair I suppose I should read the festschrift, but with so many books that need reading and so little time to read them....

Thanks again for the link, it brought me to my senses - this is an old fight and I have no dog in it.

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bouletheou said:


> I haven't read it, but I've got an opinion as to the future of the evangelical church.



I'd like to hear your thoughts - that is if we are allowed to go off topic...

BTW, ever get any PCA bikers attending during the annual rally?


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## rbcbob (Mar 9, 2010)

Mr. Trueman would have done well if, before writing his article, he had consulted Murray's *LLoyd-Jones, Messenger of Grace* (2008). In this book Murray reveals information not previously made public which (1) candidly concedes MLJ's shortcomings and (2) sets the record straight regarding those fissures which occurred in the late 60's and early 70's.

The popular reports at the time quite misunderstood the main point of MLJ's concern and made the whole division to rest upon a minor point in the entire dispute.

It took four decades but Packer finally came out of his apostate Anglican Church of Canada in April 2008.


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## Dewi Sant (Mar 9, 2010)

rbcbob said:


> Mr. Trueman would have done well if, before writing his article, he had consulted Murray's *LLoyd-Jones, Messenger of Grace* (2008). In this book Murray reveals information not previously made public which (1) candidly concedes MLJ's shortcomings and (2) sets the record straight regarding those fissures which occurred in the late 60's and early 70's.
> 
> The popular reports at the time quite misunderstood the main point of MLJ's concern and made the whole division to rest upon a minor point in the entire dispute.
> 
> It took four decades but Packer finally came out of his apostate Anglican Church of Canada in April 2008.



I thought there was a clarifying book out there and I'm sure thast was the one I had heard of, thanks for the tip. By the way, it was written by Murray - Lloyd-Jones' biographer, friend and admirer. I got the feeling that Trueman held Murray's review in contempt because it was biased but couldn't help wondering if that is such a bad thing. After all, what is a festschrift if it is not written by one's admirerers?
Thanks for the book idea, I'm going to add that to my wish list.


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