Before the Calvinista fan-boys jump on us for this one, keep in mind that the chief issues with Piper’s theology is not his Calvinism. He gets that part right. Neither does believing soteriology correctly mean that every aspect of someones’ teaching is necessarily good. Pulpit & Pen has criticized Piper numerous times before, including Piper’s mollycoddling of Andy Stanley, his promotion of Black Lives Matter, his pacifism and support for gun control, his religious romanticism, and his support for Beth Moore, even going so far as encouraging men to listen to her. Then there was his promotion of Rick Warren some years back, his charismaticism, and his weird Christian Hedonism.
While we have criticized Piper for all of the above, we have never called him a “heretic” or suggested that he was not a Christian. We have, however, expressed our concerns in the most respectful ways possible.
E.S. Williams, who has already published a great booklet on the problems with New Calvinism, has now published a book on the problems with several aspects of John Piper’s theology. Williams himself is a Calvinist, a Reformed Baptist holding to the 2nd London Baptist Confession of Faith and a part of Spurgeon’s London Metropolitan Tabernacle, now pastored by Peter Masters. This is no “Arminian attack” on Piper. This is a person of similar soteriology who is explaining the deeply troubled theology of John Piper. The book is called “Christian Hedonism? A Biblical Examination of John Piper’s Teaching” and can be purchased on Amazon.
The description reads…
Many people sense that there is something profoundly wrong with combining the Christian Faith with the philosophy of hedonism, but few people are able to explain why Christian Hedonism is a false doctrine. This short book sets out to evaluate John Piper’s teaching in the light of Scripture. We see how he amends the Westminster Shorter Catechism to say that ‘the chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever’. We see how he creates a new commandment, ‘Delight yourself in the Lord’, from Psalm 37.4, and then tells Christians that the vocation of their lives is to seek maximum pleasure in God. We observe how he extols the worldly worship of a Passion Conference. We learn of his new definition of love as ‘holy, divine Eros’. We note how he cleverly ‘digs up’ Scripture to find a ‘happy God’. We see how Scripture is twisted to make the claim that the apostle Paul and the Lord Jesus Himself were Christian hedonists. This book provides clear evidence that antinomianism is the underlying error upon which Christian Hedonism is built.
Antinomianism is a heresy denying the perpetuity of God’s Law, meaning “anti-law.” Although Williams does not accuse Piper of full-blown “antinomianism” he does consider this ancient heresy to be weaving its way through the teachings of Christian Hedonism.
The books has been reviewed glowingly by the discernment community. The Christian News Wire says…
Christian researcher, Denise Gumprecht, who has worked behind the scene on many projects detailing a compromised American Church and a growing carelessness amongst American Christians, added, “This book is a gift to the Church. If men take the time to read it, they will begin to understand why Christians can no longer blindly follow the teachings of John Piper.”
You may purchase the book here.
