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A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life
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Average Rating:  out of 13 Reviews
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Price: $25.00
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Sale: $15.68
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Manufacturer: Crossway Books
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EAN (European Article Number): 9780891078197
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Number of Items: 1
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Binding: Paperback
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Author: J. I. Packer
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Publisher: Crossway Books
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Dewey Decimal Number: 285.9
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Publication Date: 1994-06-15
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Reading Level: 368
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Description: J. I. Packer has had a long-standing passion for the Puritans. Their understanding of God and His ways with man has largely formed his own spirituality and theological outlook. In A Quest for Godliness, the esteemed author of Knowing God and a dozen other books shares with his readers the rich world of Puritanism that has been so influential in his own life. Dr. Packer masterfully uncovers the hidden treasures of Puritan life and thought. With crystalline clarity he reveals the depth and breadth of Puritan spiritual life, contrasting it with the superficiality and deadness of modern Western Christianity. Drawing on a lifetime of study, Dr. Packer takes the reader on a survey of the lives and teachings of great Puritan leaders such as John Owen, Richard Baxter, and Jonathan Edwards. He offers a close look at such subjects as the Puritan view of the Bible, spiritual gifts, the Sabbath, worship, social action, and the family. He concludes that a main difference between the Puritans and ourselves is spiritual maturity--the Puritans had it; we don't. In a time of failing vision and decaying values, this powerful portrait of Puritans is a beacon of hope that calls us to radical commitment and action when both are desperately needed. A Quest for Godliness is a profoundly moving and challenging exploration of Puritan life and thought in a beautifully written book. Here is J. I. Packer at his very best. "In A Quest for Godliness, J. I. Packer paints a vivid portrait of Puritans--their piety, church life, and social impulse--providing a model of passionate, holy living for today's often-complacent church. Packer's characteristically lucid style and penetrating insights into Christians of old send a vibrant challenge to those of us who follow Christ in this last decade of the twentieth century. I heartily recommend this book." --Chuck Colson "Dr. Packer has blended theology, biography, history, and practical exhortation in a book that is a delight to read. But even more, the book speaks to our contemporary church situation and causes us to search our hearts and examine our ministries. Whether you are just getting acquainted with the Puritans or are a long-time friend, A Quest for Godliness will instruct and inspire you. Here is solid spiritual food that contributes to maturity." --Warren W. Wiersbe
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Customer Reviews
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Review Summary: An Edifying Overview of Puritan Life and Ministry - A Must Read! |
Date: 2008-06-06 |
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Details: In 336 densely packed pages and over several chapters, Packer, in his book, 'A Quest for Godliness,' brings the reader face to face with many different facets of Puritan life and ministry with historical precision and keen theological insight. Packer insists that an encounter like this with the Puritans is essential for Christians today who have all but lost any true sense of what Puritans believed, lived for, and sought to give to the church.
In an introductory chapter, Packer explains why we need the Puritans; his reason is clear and unmistakable. "The answer, in one word, is maturity. Maturity is a compound of wisdom, goodwill, resilience, and creativity. The Puritans exemplified maturity; we don't. We are spiritual dwarfs" (22). In an earlier chapter, Packer compares the Puritans to giant Redwoods. Packer writes,
"As Redwoods attract the eye, because they overtop other trees, so the mature holiness and seasoned fortitude of the great Puritans shine before us as a kind of beacon light, overtopping the stature of the majority of Christians in most eras, and certainly so in this age of crushing urban collectivism, when Western Christians sometimes feel and often look like ants on an anthill and puppets on a string (12)."
To some, this description of the Puritans sounds exaggerated and contrived; a depiction not even close to the original. This is not surprising. The word `Puritan' was originally coined as a smear word implying, "peevishness, censoriousness, conceit, and a measure of hypocrisy...it's primary reference...was...to what was seen as odd, furious, and ugly form of Protestant religion" (21). Many of the word's negative connotations have endured and hardened a prejudice toward the Puritans in much of the Western world. Fortunately, at the time that Packer wrote this book (1990), scholars, for the past half-century, had already begun to unearth the lost and forgotten treasures of Puritanism, while "meticulously wiping away the mud" from the original portrait. Since then, much ground has been regained in Puritan studies, and we now have a host of resources to which we can turn for insight into what the Puritans were really like.
Nevertheless, I think Packer's book is still very important, despite the recent growth in Puritan literature. For one, Packer writes from the burden to demonstrate why we need the Puritans. Although it is wonderful to have Puritan resources at our fingertips and in abundance, it is equally important to understand why we should make it a priority to study them. Packer's explanation of why we should dig deep into the Puritans in chapters one and two of this book should be required reading for Christians of all walks of life.
The remainder of the book is devoted to exploring five different aspects of these godly people we call the Puritans. Packer examines, in three chapters a piece, the Puritans and the Bible, the Puritans and the gospel, the Puritans and the Holy Spirit, and the Puritan Christian life, and the Puritans in ministry. Within the section on the Puritans and the gospel, one will find Packer's famous essay from his introduction to John Owen's Death of Death in the Death of Christ. Packer's heart-felt and rigorous defense of Calvinism and it's inexorable relation to the gospel is worth the price of this book alone.
A fair and thorough reading of the section on the Puritan Christian life would probably help to dislodge our misconceptions about the so-called ridged formality and prudishness of the Puritans. Far from dull and unloving, the Puritans were those who cared deeply for the physical and spiritual well-being of their families, who sought to live all of life with great passion (not merely passion as a feeling, but passion for Christ), who desired to work with diligence and excellence in their calling, and who treasured marital devotion and fidelity.
That is not to give the impression that the Puritans were flawless and worthy of emulation in every respect. They had their faults, and Packer deals with several of these squarely and with grace. But, in their case, the good far outweighs the bad, and their example in a multitude of areas should be admired and followed.
Packer's book, overall, is excellent. His careful choice of words to describe the Puritans ("sweet, peaceful, patient, obedient, and hopeful," is just one edifying string of adjectives) and his insight into what makes the Puritans a valuable model for Christians today are only two of the many reasons why I thoroughly enjoyed this book. One weakness I did perceive (and this is minor), is the lack of chapter to chapter coherence in some cases. 'A Quest for Godliness' is not a book that Packer sat down and wrote from start to finish. Rather, it is a collection of essays on the Puritans previously written by Packer that have been tied together by a some introductory chapters and an identifiable theme. This, however, is only a small weakness, if one could call it a weakness. Regardless, Packer's book is definitely one that is worthy of close attention; not for the sake of raw information and an educated historical perspective, but for the good of our souls, as we learn from a group of men and women who walked near to God. |
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Review Summary: Puritan Revival! |
Date: 2008-03-10 |
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Details: Packer does an outstanding job imparting the Purtain's' Christian beliefs and how it relates to our everyday walk with Christ. |
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Review Summary: Packer's Best |
Date: 2008-01-09 |
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Details: J. I. Packer is one of the top thinkers of our day. His love for the Puritans is obvious from his devotion to their thoughts and theology. This is perhaps the best book Packer has written. Everyone should have this book on their shelf. |
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Review Summary: A Quest for Godliness |
Date: 2007-10-11 |
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Details: I heard that this was a life changing book so I took advatange of ordering it on Amazon and have been greatly pleased. |
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Review Summary: A Giant Redwood Stands Tall |
Date: 2007-09-22 |
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Details: JI Packer is a gifted scholar. Not because he has any unusual knowledge or superior intellect (altho he does possess these in abundance!) - but because he has chosen to make the past accessible to us.
This past is not an everyday event. The age of the Puritans was uniquely God-seeking and Lord-exalting. These Puritans knew whom to fear, knew whom to turn to, knew whom to extol, knew whom to obey.
In a century of persecution and The Great Assizes, during turbulent and antagonistic reigns, they made it known that they served only under One's rule. These men and women of the past, were fearless and absolutely committed to the Reformation. They were not satisfied with half-measures or the petty pay-offs their lords so regularly gave into.
Even in their everyday life, they suffered trials of incredible variety.
It is only an attestation to God's providence, His gracious benevolence, that they withstood the test of time.
And so this is the premier work on those Giant Redwoods. It is inescapable in its scope and God-revering in its content.
'The doctrine of revelation is in the melting-pot; the historic evangelical belief in verbal communication from God through the Bible is at a discount; can Owen, the greatest British divine of his day, if not of all time, help us recover and re-establish the truth?
Or is he himself vulnerable to criticism? One feature of the contemporary theological scene is the polemic of Karl Barth and some of his followers against expositors of Reformed orthodoxy for having, as they allege, foreshortened their doctrine of divine communication by 'freezing' the Spirit in the Scriptures.
In fact, we shall find that the criticism, as applied to Owen, is wholly invalid, and that the point at which Barth regards Owen's generation deficient, is actually the point of Owen's greatest mastery.' pg 84
The Puritans are being heard from the pulpits again, thanks to men like Packer and Lloyd-Jones. Their legitimate voice has many a word of advice to a complacent, under-achieving Western world, where once they ruled in submissive allegiance to a glorious God. They are the intellectual giants of our Christian culture. |
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