Doing Theology for the People of God

Doing Theology For The People Of God
(Studies in honour of J. I. Packer)
Edited by Donald Lewis and Alister McGrath
Apollos (IVP). xv + 280 pages. £9.99
ISBN 0 85111 450 4

This collection of articles was written to be presented to Jim Packer on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Like the contents of a box of chocolates some essays are more appealing than others, and different readers will have different tastes.

There are three sections to choose from: Systematic, Biblical and Exegetical, and Historical and Interdisciplinary. There is also a brief biography of Packer and bibliography of his works.
The list of contributors reads like a 'Who's Who' of contemporary evangelical scholarship including John Stott, Colin Brown, Roger Beckwith, Bruce Waltke, William Dumbrell, Kenneth Kantzer, Howard Marshall, Paul Barnett and Peter Jensen. All pay fitting tribute to a man who has been of such influence on them in particular and the wider church. Two essays focus directly on Packer's work: Roger Nicole examines Packer's contribution to the doctrine of Scripture, while Mark Noll surveys his contribution to American evangelicalism. He hints at Packer's breadth, but generously passes over the recent debacle of Evangelicals and Catholics Together.
Personal interest led this reviewer to focus on a few items in particular: the essay of James Houston on the thought of Luther and Calvin, and the transmission of reformed theology. His fitting conclusion is to point to the heart of theology as the vital reality of knowing God, living in fear of him and doing all to his glory.
The provocative and controversial draws attention. There is an essay by Loren Wilkinson on whether the Incarnation would have occurred without sin. The question is surely illegitimate, being beyond the range of Scripture (and she admits that this is Packer's own position). To say that Christ is the great Purpose of Creation is surely to beg the question of whether sin and redemption are also embraced in the Purpose. And en route there are such theological assumptions as the reality of death and pain within creation even without sin. Perhaps it would be better to give this chapter a miss.
More stimulation is at hand in the chapter by David Wright who ponders why the practice of infant baptism is widely considered to be of little value. He admits that it can be a struggle to match Scriptural teaching to this practice. In the end he tries to do just that, leading to extraordinary conclusions. He advises paedobaptists to teach young children that 'By one Spirit they have been baptised into the one body of Christ...[that] they are in Christ by baptism, that in baptism they died and rose again with Christ, and that through baptism they are his forever.' As such, children are to be welcome early to the Lord's Table. Here is a paedobaptist being honest about baby baptism, and the implications are rather painful to see when set out so clearly.
It is McGrath who really hits the nail on the head with his essay on the importance of tradition. In particular he highlights the tradition of Reformers and Puritans in doing theology within the context of personal piety and in the service of the wider church, rather than in a purely academic (and even secular) setting. This has surely been Packer's genius, and it is for this that he is so highly esteemed. No doubt this will be his favourite chocolate in the box.

Bill James

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