Look up the old back issues of Evangelical Magazine in which Packer’s articles were first published. How did the material change from its first publication to its collection in book form? How did it stay the same?

Packer writes his book as a Protestant for a Protestant audience, and it reflects that theological heritage. How would a book on The Importance of Knowing God Personally written by a Roman Catholic have been different?

Packer puts a great deal of stress on the role of God as judge, exercising retributive justice, as well as on the divine attribute of God’s wrath. How does Packer’s discussion of divine judgment and wrath connect to his thematic interest in The Role of Scripture in Gaining Knowledge of God?

The most controversial part of Knowing God is Chapter 4, in which Packer makes his case against the use of any imagery in Christian worship. Do you agree with Packer’s position? Why or why not?

Anglicanism—Packer’s theological affiliation—centers the church’s place in the Christian life in its theology, and yet Knowing God scarcely ever mentions the communal role of the church in the Christian experience. Why do you think this is? Was it an oversight or an intentional omission?

Packer uses Reformed (Calvinist) theology throughout his book. Research the positions that non-Reformed Protestant theology (sometimes called Arminian theology) takes on Packer’s chosen themes. How would an Arminian reading of Romans 8 have changed Packer’s depiction of the Christian life in Chapter 22?

In Christian theology, there are several different views on the sacrifice of Jesus and what it accomplished, usually referred to as “models of the atonement.” The one Packer uses is called penal substitutionary atonement. Research a different model and compare and contrast it with Packer’s work in Knowing God.

Is there another divine attribute that you would have liked to see addressed and highlighted in Knowing God? Make an argument for an attribute that provides additional clarity to Packer’s thematic engagement with The Relationship Between Doctrine and Devotion.