Abraham Piper, son of prominent author John Piper, uses TikTok as a platform to spout vain words to deceive his 920,000 followers. He calls fundamentalism “a destructive narrow-minded worldview” and preaches the gospel of “live as you please.” He says, “Nothing really matters and this is what gives us the freedom to feel our own meaning, and feel it with ease instead of a sense of fear or guilt.” John Piper’s most influential book is Desiring God, which promotes the strange concept of “Christian Hedonism,” according to which man’s highest calling is to pursue his own happiness by pursuing God. “The desire to be happy is a proper motive for every good deed, and if you abandon the pursuit of your own joy you cannot love man or please God” (Desiring God). Piper cites C.S. Lewis, “It is a Christian duty, as you know, for everyone to be as happy as he can” (Desiring God, Kindle location 1615). In Desiring God and Don’t Waste Your Life, Piper describes the roots of Christian Hedonism. He is candid in his admission that he got it from the writings of the following very dangerous men: Blaise Pascal (Roman Catholic), C.S. Lewis, Daniel Fuller, and Harold John Ockenga. Piper says that Christian Hedonism “does not mean God becomes a means to help us get worldly pleasures,” but in spite of this disclaimer, Christian Hedonism has played right into the hands of the contemporary philosophy of “don’t let anyone tell you how to live.” Now we see how that Piper’s own son understands Christian Hedonism. (For more on this, see John Piper and Christian Hedonism, available in print and as a free eBook from www.wayoflife.org.)
(Friday Church News Notes, August 26, 2022, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)