AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Taking God Seriously by J.I. Packer

The Anglican Church is in trouble.  At least that’s impression I got when I read Taking God Seriously by J.I. Packer.  And the main cause of this trouble?  According to Packer, It stems from the lack of solid teaching in Biblical doctrine, or, in a word, “catechism.”  I would agree this is a problem even outside the Anglican movement.

From the author’s introduction, I expected this to be a book that outlined a scope and sequence for that training, or maybe an abridged systematic theology.  What it is instead is a series of essays that the author himself admits tend to re-tread the same territory.  These essays each deal with a different foundational doctrine—repentance, the church, the Holy Spirit, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, etc.  But more on the content of the book later.

In reality, the first thing I noticed about this audiobook is the narration.  And that’s not a good thing.  Narrator Arthur Morey’s voice sounds like one of those text-to-speech robots on this recording.  After the first fifteen minutes of listening, I wanted to throw in the towel; just because of the narration.  Unfortunately, I can’t even recommend the book because of the poor narration, which is a shame because there is some great material in Taking God Seriously.

Many of the essays mention homosexuality, and a few deal with this subject in lengthy detail.  Even when the subjects of the chapter don’t seem to be directly related to this topic, homosexuality is often discussed.  Granted, this has been a particularly contentious issue recently in the Anglican Church (indeed, in many other denominations, also), but it still comes across like Packer is dwelling on it too much.

This book has a decidedly Anglican bent, and Packer is wrong to assume that readers in general will share his interest in the ins and outs of denomination gatherings and policy changes.  That said, the chapters on the Holy Spirit, the Bible, the Lord’s Supper, and church unity contain some profound words of wisdom for all evangelicals.  I especially loved Packer’s argument that a greater emphasis on Pentecost Sunday is necessary in order to better understand the work of the Spirit.  Conversely, I thought his justification for retaining the practice of infant baptism was remarkably short on biblical support.  His weak argument sticks out like a sore thumb  in a book that doesn’t seem to lack Biblical support on any other topic.

Packer is a man who loves the church and definitely knows his stuff.  I wish the narration was better for this book so I could recommend it.  Outside of this glaring issue, Taking God Seriously’s other shortcomings are not enough to disqualify it from a well-deserved spot on the shelf.

In print form, of course.

Please Note: This audiobook was gifted as a part of the Christianaudio Reviewers Program in exchange for my unbiased review of this work. This has in no way influenced my opinion or review of this work.  More information can be found about this and other Christian audiobooks at christianaudio.com.