Knowing God in 2008: Introduction

** Details on a new book reading project. You can join by following the weekly posts, or by reading along! **


One of the books that most helpfully shaped my understanding of God and the Christian faith, when I was a young believer, was J.I. Packer's modern classic Knowing God.

The concept of knowing God, however, is continually under attack. In the late 1700's, Immanuel Kant posited that we can know nothing of God -- whatever is "up there" is utterly unknowable to us, he claimed. This philosophy has been with us, not least of all in the sciences, ever since. Very ironic given that Immanuel Kant's first name points to God, who became intensely knowable by taking on human flesh!


But it's not just philosophers like Kant. Many in our day, including some hip young pastors, treat true knowledge of God as elusive at best. You may have faith, you may have spirituality, but you can't claim to actually know -- really, truly know -- the truth about God.

Certainly this much is true: Left to myself, who am I to say that I know something about an invisible God? That a mere mortal could speak of knowing God, let alone write a whole book about it, is possible only because of verses such as these:

"And God spoke all these words, saying, 'I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me." Exodus 20:1-3

"And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." John 17:3

Other passages remind us that knowing God's love requires a divine work within us, it's not something we can attain to. This is true of Ephesians 3:14-19 and certainly John 3:3.

Starting next week, we will base weekly blogs on the theme Knowing God in 2008, based around the chapters of J.I. Packer's book. You are welcome to read along, or to simply follow the posts each week. (Note: We will post on other stuff too, but this will be a staple.)

I believe this will stimulate us to think about God more deeply and more clearly. We will cover some material that's neglected quite a bit in our day. We'll also pave the way for a class beginning in the Fall on the character of God -- details on that soon!