A lifelong pursuit of knowing God should embody the Christian's existence. According to eminent theologian J.I. Packer, however, Christians have become enchanted by modern skepticism and have joined the "gigantic conspiracy of misdirection" by failing to put first things first. Knowing God aims to redirect our attention to the simple, deep truth that to know God is to love His Word. What began as a number of consecutive articles angled for "honest, no-nonsense readers who were fed up with facile Christian verbiage" in 1973, Knowing God has become a contemporary classic by creating "small studies out of great subjects." Each chapter is so specific in focus (covering topics such as the trinity, election, God's wrath, and God's sovereignty), that each succeeding chapter's theology seems to rival the next, until one's mind is so expanded that one's entire view of God has changed. Author Elizabeth Eliot wrote that amid the lofty content Packer "puts the hay where the sheep can reach it--plainly shows us ordinary folks what it means to know God." Having rescued us from the individual hunches of our ultra-tolerant theological age, Packer points the reader to the true character of God with his theological competence and compassionate heart. The lazy and faint-hearted should be warned about this timeless work--God is magnified, the sinner is humbled, and the saint encouraged. --Jill Heatherly
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"This is a strong book, probably good for new believers as a theological guide or for standard devotional reading. The introduction quotes both Spurgeon and C.S. Lewis, so I knew I'd found a good one. Combats a lot of misconceptions in the modern church. "
— Jed (4 out of 5 stars)
“The truth he handles fires the heart. At least it fired mine and compelled me to turn aside to worship and to pray.”
— John R. W. Stott, English Christian leader“As long as I am able to read I hope to read Knowing God by James I. Packer each year. It is so basic, scholarly, warm, and reverent, I wonder how I managed without it for so long.”
— Dr. Stuart Briscoe, author" One of the best Christian books I ever read. It explains perfectly the true meaning of Gods word. Also perfectly read. "
— Peter Moesch, 5/22/2024" Try to read it every year. "
— Jerry, 2/20/2014" In my top 5 of all books of all time. Reading it again for the 3rd time. "
— Santosh, 2/3/2014" I think I would have enjoyed this book quite a bit more if I hadn't spent six months reading. Packer carefully goes over the character and attributes of God, seeking to establish a Biblical theology of God amongst Christians whom he feels are often mislead or ignorant. I'm sure he's right, but are those people reading this book? I couldn't help thinking he was kind of preaching to the choir. "
— Arlie, 2/1/2014" This is really a very good book. My recommendations. "
— Bethany, 1/18/2014" The book had much to be praised and much to be critiqued. The high point of the book is Packer's distinction between knowing God and knowing about God. However, he falls into unfounded conclusions at various points in the book. "
— Danny, 1/16/2014" How great the knowledge and wisdom that God has given this man. I joke that "Packerness is close to Godliness" but in all seriousness, anyone desiring to know about the doctrine of God will be encouraged and built up by this book. "
— Joshua, 1/13/2014" I'm in chapter4 and it's something you can't read once... i'd love to read it again because i know i missed a lot. "
— Gift, 12/21/2013" Known as a Christian classic, and there is good reason for such a distinction. "
— Jstrick, 12/14/2013David Cochran Heath is a professional actor with more than 30 years of experience on the stage in over 130 productions. He is also a lifelong fan of radio theater and has done a variety of narration and character work. He lives in San Diego with his wife, Beth.
Simon Vance (a.k.a. Robert Whitfield) is an award-winning actor and narrator. He has earned more than fifty Earphones Awards and won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration thirteen times. He was named Booklist’s very first Voice of Choice in 2008 and has been named an AudioFile Golden Voice as well as an AudioFile Best Voice of 2009. He has narrated more than eight hundred audiobooks over almost thirty years, beginning when he was a radio newsreader for the BBC in London. He is also an actor who has appeared on both stage and television.