What Piper Does NOT Mean

I recently blogged about John Piper’s book, Desiring God.  I asked you what you thought of the term “Christian Hedonism” at face value.  I mostly got the kind of response that I expected.  It’s pretty much the same reaction I had when I first heard that Piper uses the term and that he unabashedly champions Christians’ pursuit of pleasure.  It was to me, as Shawn termed it, oxymoronic.  So I did what I generally do when I am pretty sure I’m going to disagree with someone; I bought his book. 

After reading it, I’m swayed a bit his way.  I can’t say I’m off the fence, but I’m no longer on the opposite side from him.  I get where he’s coming from.  I’m persuaded by his (very well-defended) premise, but I’m not quite ready to call myself a Christian Hedonist.  Maybe I’m scared of the words and what it will make people think.  Or maybe I’m just not totally convinced.  But, I feel like I should be.

In any event, my uncertainty is what is prompting me to go back and reevaluate passages I marked during my initial read.  I am not totally re-reading, but merely reviewing key texts so that I can get a better grasp on what he’s really saying.  It is this reviewing process that may (and probably will) prompt posts.  That’s the plan, anyway.  I even made a category just for it.

In the introduction to his book, Piper gets a few things out of the way.  He presents six brief defenses about what Christian Hedonism is NOT:

1.  He doesn’t mean that Christian Hedonists should use God as a means to get worldly pleasure.  “He is the end of our search, not the means to some further end.”¹ 

2.  Pleasure does not become the Christian Hedonist’s god.  In fact, whatever brings us the most pleasure already is our god.

3.  Christian Hedonists are not placing themselves above God.  “A patient is not greater than his physician.”²

4.  Piper is not saying that pleasure now serves as a barometer for the rightness or wrongness of an action.  Instead, he argues that God requires that we find joy in Him. 

5.  “The distinguishing feature of Christian Hedonism is not that pleasure-seeking demands virtue, but that virtue consists essentially, though not only, in pleasure seeking.”³  I quoted it because I can’t really figure out how to paraphrase it (which, quite possibly, means I don’t totally grasp it).  He uses these texts as support:  Micah 6:8, Romans 12:8, Hebrews 10:34, 2 Corinthians 9:7, 2 Corinthians 2:3, 1 Peter 5:2, Hebews 13:17.  Again, he’s arguing that Christian Hedonism is demanded in Scripture.

6.  Christian Hedonism is not a distortion of the accepted Heidelberg and Westminster Catechisms.  He actually quotes from them to support his argument.

In all, though the term “Christian Hedonism” did sound new-fangled and dangerous to me, his entire argument is that it’s nothing new.  He reassures the reader that he has “no desire to be doctrinally novel.”⁴  He uses Scripture and writings of the church fathers and very respected men of faith to support his stance.  And he argues it very well.  I’m almost convinced.  Like I said, I feel like I should be.

 

¹John Piper, Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist (Colorado Springs, CO: Multnomah Books, 2003), 24.

²Ibid., 24.

³Ibid., 25.

⁴Ibid., 27. 

Christian Hedonism

In the spirit of my suggestion at the end of Thursday’s post, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite books.  I recently finished reading Piper’s Desiring God.  Whew!  What a spiritual and intellectual workout!  While I wholeheartedly recommend the book, I do so with caution.  This is not a leisurely read!  It took me over two months to finish the book… and I’m still not done!  It’s one of those that left me feeling like, “Wow – that was awesome.  But, I need to read it again.”  I’m not going to completely read it again, but I do plan to go back and review what I marked during my initial reading.  If you have any desire for all-surpassing joy, then I recommend this book.  (The Bible first, then this book. ) 

As I rehash some of Piper’s major points, I will probably be sharing them on my blog.  I don’t know how often or how much, but I’m pretty sure I will.  It was hard NOT to blog about it as I read it, but I wanted to get a total picture before I started spouting off my own pseudo-theology when I had no idea what I was talking about.  I also don’t really want to just parrot Piper, either.  I will probably be highlighting some of his major points and giving my own thoughts about it all. I don’t know yet.  Point being: I didn’t want to start talking about it without telling you that I may be starting to talk about it. 

In the meantime, I have a
Question for discussion:  When you hear the term “Christian Hedonism,” what’s your gut reaction? 

Rules for responding to the question: 

1. If you’ve already read the book, share your gut reaction the first time you heard the term. 
2. Do not Google what it means!  Use your head and tell me what you think. 
3. Don’t give me Piper’s definition or his defense of his term.  That hearkens back to rule #1!