Desiring God - Introduction

Lately I have been looking for books to give my sister that would help her understand theology a bit more. Several authors came to mind, Lewis, Packer, Chesterton among others. But one that I could not ignore was John Piper. I am not a big fan of the guy mainly because his followers scare the bejeezes out of me. But, I always said I thought his theology was alright. So, I decided that Pipers book Desiring God might be a good book to start out with. But, as anyone who has ever given someone a book knows, I must read it first before I recommend it. Hence I am starting a series outlining Desiring God not only to understand his position and get the full impact of his writing in my life, but to see where we might differ and why.

According to Piper, "Christian Hedonism" is based on five basic convictions.

1. The longing to be happy is a universal human experience, and it is good, not sinful.

2. We should never try to deny or resist our longing to be happy, as though it were a bad impulse. Instead we would seek to intensify this longing and nourish it with whatever will provide the deepest and most enduring satisfaction.

3. The deepest and most enduring happiness is found only in God. Not from God, but in God.

4. The happiness we find in God reaches its consummation when it is shared with others in the manifold ways of love.

5. To the extent we try to abandon the pursuit of our own pleasure, we fail to honor God and love people. Or, to put it positively: the pursuit of pleasure is a necessary part of all worship and virtue. That is, The Chief end of man is to glorify God BY enjoying him forever.

He gains these statements from various readings from the Scripture, Lewis and Edwards. For the most part I have enjoyed what he has to say and agree with the five statements above. The wording is a little strange, but that’s all. This of course being the introduction, I figure he will explain all of these in a more detailed fashion, but I must speak about one thing. I do not like the idea of changing the catechism’s language. I have my reasons, but I choose not to disclose them at this time. Maybe later on in the book if it seems necessary.

By the way, if anyone has any suggestions for a book for my sister feel free to tell me. She is moving to Mongolia for two years and will probably have to time to read.