Hello my dear friend,



I owe you an apology if in my approval and recommendation of the Packer book (that I had only half finished) you have already ordered it.



I believe in my estimation the first half of the book to be very balanced, edifying and informative. With that said, I must say that the second half of the book, where he tries to analyze the Charismatic movement and Charismatics to be quite deficient and at times confusing. He talks at times about how Charismatics tend to read in to scripture verses more than is there (which is true). This is mostly because they take their experiences and try to make scripture fit their beliefs. This is a case of presuppositions interpreting scripture and creating a theology out of it. But if you read the part of the book that I am talking about, you find that Packer does just the same thing that he accuses the Charismatics as doing. He takes his presuppositions (i.e.: his experiences) and tries to fit scripture to fit his theological beliefs. This I think is where he misses the boat and here is where I think Wayne Grudem in his explanations on the Charismata of the Holy Sprit is “right on�€?!!



Let scripture speak for itself and don’t add anything to it, or take anything away. To his credit, Packer does believe that the manifestations of the Spirit are from God that Charismatics experience. But he then, in his explaining why they occur, rationalizes them. This is hurtful because it relies on man-made theory rather than simply taking what scriptures say by faith (no additions, no subtractions).



Again I apologize again for recommending this book before I finished it. The first half is excellent. And… as far as it being easier to read… well… as I got into the second half of the book I felt like the “old Packerâ€? had returned. I found convoluted sentences that I had to read over and over again to figure out what he was saying. Those sentences could have been worded much differently and his meaning would have been understood better without changing any of the meaning of what he was trying to put across.



I really appreciate Grudem and Piper as Charismatics that hold true to scripture and their teaching on the Holy Spirit and the gifts.



Has the book dropped out of my top ten? Unfortunately yes. I still do appreciate Packer as a man of God (fallible as we all are) and a fine teacher. Can I recommend this book to those who want to learn more about the Holy Spirit? The first half of the book yes, the second half of the book no.



Hope your day is going well. God is good! I look forward to hearing from you regarding this matter.



Chip ( )