Hot Tub Religion

Hot Tub Religion emerged from J. I. Packer's growing concern about the therapeutic drift he observed in American Christianity during the 1980s. Writing as a Reformed theologian who had witnessed the church's increasing accommodation to consumer culture, Packer diagnosed what he saw as a fundamental confusion between authentic Christian faith and a comfortable spirituality designed primarily for personal satisfaction and emotional well-being.

Packer's central argument targets the transformation of Christianity into what he terms "hot tub religion" — a warm, soothing experience that makes no difficult demands and promises only pleasant feelings. He contends that this therapeutic approach fundamentally misunderstands both the nature of God and the purpose of the Christian life. Rather than offering comfort without cost, genuine Christianity calls believers to worship a holy God who demands righteousness and transforms lives through discipline and sacrifice. Packer traces how this distortion affects preaching, pastoral care, and personal discipleship, arguing that churches have increasingly adopted the language and methods of pop psychology rather than biblical theology. He calls for a recovery of doctrinal seriousness, moral accountability, and the kind of robust spirituality that can withstand genuine hardship.

The work has endured because Packer identified cultural tendencies that only intensified in subsequent decades. His warnings about the therapeutic captivity of the church proved prescient as prosperity theology, self-help spirituality, and consumer-driven church growth strategies became even more prevalent. The book remains relevant for anyone concerned about maintaining Christian distinctiveness in a culture that prizes personal comfort above divine truth.

Who should read this: Pastors, church leaders, and serious Christians who sense something amiss in contemporary church culture will find Packer's diagnosis illuminating and challenging. Those comfortable with therapeutic approaches to faith or uninterested in doctrinal critique may find his arguments unnecessarily harsh.