J.I. Packer

James Innell Packer (22 July 1926 – 17 July 2020) was an English-born Canadian evangelical theologian and one of the most influential voices in twentieth-century Christianity. Trained in the low-church Anglican and Calvinist traditions, Packer spent the first half of his life in England and the second in Canada, joining the faculty of Regent College in Vancouver in 1979 where he remained through his academic career.

Packer is best known for his spiritual classic Knowing God (1973), which has sold over one million copies in North America alone and remains foundational reading for evangelicals seeking to understand God's character and our relationship with Him. His prolific theological output, ecumenical engagement, and role as a key architect of evangelical identity made him a towering figure recognized by Time magazine in 2005 as one of the 25 most influential evangelicals, though macular degeneration concluded his public ministry in 2016.