Packer on Friesen's Book "Decision Making and the Will of God."

J. I. Packer and Carol Nystrum critiques Garry Friesen's model for decision making in their God's Will: Finding Guidance for Everyday Decisions.

In Decision Making and the Will of God (Portland: Multnoma, 1980), Garry Friesen put forward, in place of the idea of guidance by immediate "impressions" or by arresting circumstances, a Bible-based "wisdom" model for determining the will of God with regard to school, marriage, career and all other significant choices, much in line with what we have been affirming in this book so far. But it has been reported that "many...came away from his presentation with a great disquiet, a disquiet that arises from a tone that implicitly denies that existential dynamic of the Spirit in the life of the believer and substitutes instead a formula (albeit a thoroughly biblical formula) for determining legitimate options in any situation." And Friesen's book was once roundly critiqued in J. I.'s hearing as a fine statement of the "Deist doctrine of guidance"--a doctrine that is, that denies, ignores, or otherwise leaves out of account all direct action of God the Holy Spirit in the deep Christian heart and consciousness. It has to be admitted that Friesen's book, however salutary in other ways, does appear overall as an example of the subspiritual mindset in action.

Packer and Nystrum go on to explain what the subspiritual believer does wrong: he overvalues reason, and he undervalues the grace of faithful waiting.