Re: A Second J. I. Packer Quotation, this time he's sure.

Ed,

FWIW, Packer is undisputedly one of the most respected of evangelical
theologians. His views reflect the common evangelical and largely
traditional orthodox protestant understanding of the Bible.
Universalism is found in neither of those. For you to react to
negatively to him reveals that you have fundamental disagreements not
just with Packer, but with the evangelical Christian perspective.

Of course, you are most welcome to do so, but don't expect that your
concerns will cause any red flags to jump out in our minds. One of
the strategies of the skeptic is to set Biblical teachings against
each other. Evangelicals, on the other hand, believing there is one
primary author behind all of scripture, seek out an understanding
that lets both apparently antithetical views stand. While I freely
admit that we haven't solved all the problems, this enterprise has
been around for a long time--there are satisfactory answers, for
those willing to be satisfied, for most of these objections that you
raise.

All this being said, what Packer has to say about hell is irrelevant
to what he has to say about Genesis--unless you don't believe the
genetic fallacy is really a fallacy. Finally, I think again we're on
the edge of faith-science concerns here. Let not turn this list
into--"here's all of Ed's concerns with traditional Christianity".

TG

-- 
_________________
Terry M. Gray, Ph.D., Computer Support Scientist
Chemistry Department, Colorado State University
Fort Collins, Colorado  80523
grayt@lamar.colostate.edu  http://www.chm.colostate.edu/~grayt/
phone: 970-491-7003 fax: 970-491-1801