Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Word of Warning About Piper's Emphasis, June 21, 2005
This is a general comment on Piper's books. I deeply appreciate the work of John Piper--especially his emphasis on missions and on living God-centered, Christ-exalting lives of worship. And I am Augustinian, so I love Piper's theology and am thrilled that he has become so popular. But I do want to provide a warning. Piper's main emphasis is (and you'll read this over and over again) "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied (or delighted) in Him." This is a biblical and wonderful proposition that Piper became aware of through the writings of Jonathan Edwards. And to Edwards, this was one small part of his theology.
But Piper has taken this idea, which he calls "Christian Hedonism," and built his whole life and ministry around it. The problem is that if you read enough Piper, you will begin to focus on the FEELING of being delighted in Christ, rather than on Christ Himself. And when your feelings don't match what you want them to be, you will become disheartened. (And let's face it, few of us have the emotional intensity of John Piper.) At that point, your feelings (of being delighted in God) become the object of your desires and, thus, an idol. Yes, they are feelings TOWARD God--but those feelings are NOT GOD. And when the focus of your life has become your emotions, it has deceptively become an idol.
I know Piper fights against this tendency. But I'm afraid he is often unsuccessful. The fact is, the Christian life is not going to be one of unending joy in God. Read the Psalms to see how often the psalmists cry out in agony and desperation and sadness to the Lord. Read Romans 7 to find out how tough and discouraging the Christian life can really be.
According to Piper, our happiness in God should be the driving motivation in our life. But when Christians are inevitably not overflowing with delight in God, then under Piper's framework, the only solution is to seek that feeling of joy rather than just do our duty. There are times when duty and obligation (which Piper hates) are the only motivations for the Christian to be obedient and live a life of faith. I agree wholeheartedly with Piper that delight in God is a much better motivation for the Christian than duty. But when that delight is not there, we still must be faithful and obedient, and we can't always wait on our feelings to drive us on toward the prize.
Read Piper's books. And enjoy his passionate and Christ-exalting preaching. But beware and repent when your emotions--rather than the Triune God Himself--become the focus of your life.
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Piper Lite, May 24, 2003
This condensed version of Desiring God is Piper-lite. It's the essence of Christian Hedonism without the more intricate exegesis of Scripture and the fuller, lengthier illustrations from history. It serves as a good introduction to Piper's writings and/or as a good book for a new believer who is not used to heavier reading.Readers should not stop here, however. This book is like the shallow water on the shore of Christian Hedonism, whereas Desiring God, The Pleasures of God, and Future Grace plummet the depths. So, if this book grips you, move on to the meatier version. Unlike some of Piper's critics, I do not find him proof-texting Scripture (its more like the critics are proof-texting Piper). There is absolutely no relish in Piper for emotion-driven worship abstracted from a life of reflection or holiness. What Piper aims for, rather, is to free Christians from the silly notion that it is wrong to pursue pleasure in the All-Satisfying God. That would be like saying it is wrong for me to take my wife out to dinner because it makes me happy to be with her. How in the world could my pleasure in the person of my wife (not what she does, but who she is) fail to honor her? It is the same with God. When we worship Him without any emotional counterpart, we fall under the indictment of Jesus: "these people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me." As Piper says, "where feelings for God are dead, worship is dead." Finally, a comment on why the duty of delight is dangerous . . . It is dangerous, because it compels us to sell all for the treasure of Christ and count everything as rubbish for the surpassing value of knowing Christ and embrace suffering as a means of multiplying the joy of knowing Christ in the lives of others. It is this element in Piper that sets him apart from the rest. For Piper, joy is that which compels us to live a life of radical sacrifice in the service of God and others. I highly recommend this book. It is one of the better "small books . . . big change" books out there. Just don't stop here. That would be like settling for an appetizer before dinner. There are several courses to the meal Piper prepares that you don't want to miss!
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36 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dangerous? Yes! Dangerous Indeed!, June 5, 2002
The Dangerous Duty of Delight is a condensed version, a distillation (if you will), of John Piper's classic book Desiring God. I read Desiring God while studying in seminary. I must admit, it did not really convince me of his claim that every Christian should be a Christian Hedonist. I do not disagree with Piper on this point. However, his attention to detail was, I felt, too great in Desiring God. He lost me in the minutia of his arguments. This brings me to the tiny little book with big impact - The Dangerous Duty of Delight. If you will pardon the pun, this book is de-light version of Desiring God. I found this book very readable, very agreeable, and very clear. You get the great thinking of Piper without the minutia. What could be better? Piper lays out his thinking on Christian Hedonism - the belief that every Christian should live for the fullest experience of pleasure possible (which is only found in living a life fully pleasing to God). He is fond of the notion that our fault is not in seeking pleasure, but that we settle for being too easily pleased, thereby missing the depths of true pleasure that await us in deeply experiencing God. After laying out the initial thoughts of Christian Hedonism, Piper applies the idea to four areas of life. I will confess to the reader of this review that I am not Piper's biggest fan. I usually read Piper to keep me on my toes. His strong and persuasive Calvinism (largely absent from this book) has not convinced me that Calvinism presents the complete and true teaching of the Bible. However, reading authors with whom I disagree keeps me sharp. That being said, I would recommend The Dangerous Duty of Delight to every reader. Not because I am a fan of Piper, but because it is a wonderful, concise and understandable presentation of the truth that every Christian should pursue deepest fulfillment found only through deeply following God's instruction in the Bible.
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