John Piper’s Book Desiring God was very helpful to me at a point in my Christian Life. I have since been bothered by questions about of his “Christian Hedonism.” First, it just did not seem like proper hedonism to me. Although I did not have a detailed argument against his “hedonism,” I did have a few arguments. Recently I found a good post on this at Prosblogion.
Second, although newer additions contain a much needed chapter on the role of suffering, dying to self and repentance are two closely related themes that the book does not cover. These themes I think are critical to growth in the Christian life and need explaining in light of the prima facie contradiction of hedonism.
However, overall I find the book Desiring God to be a much needed message for the Church today. If you have not read it or have not read it in awhile, then this summer might be a great time to read Piper and put on the mind of Christ who for the joy set before him endured the cross.
Books
Religion
Monday, June 27, 2005
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I am reading this post a few days late, however, here goes:
The amount of Scripture fragments that Piper puts into his book, Desiring God, is quite impressive. However, once I began asking, "does this verse fragment support the argument he is trying to make?" I found the volume of fragments to be misleading. In fact, I was left with the clear understanding that no Bible verse (or verse fragment) says that the "pursuit of pleasure in God is the chief end of life". The more I studied Piper's use of language, the more dispairing I became of his theology and his philosophy.
A good set of starter articles for studying the critical side of hedonism is found at http://thefaithfulword.org/cathedonism.html
I no longer trust any theology that begins with unprovable catch phrases such as "God is most glorified when..."
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