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30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Speaking to the "unfelt" needs of the heart, October 19, 2008
This review is from: Spectacular Sins: And Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ (Hardcover)
Within the last few months there have been several books that sound an ominous tone . These books have come from the fields of economics, politics and culture. Authors describe an uncertainty, a recognition of something unsettling among us as a people. Into this mix John Piper offers his latest offering, Spectacular Sins.
Piper provides a theological foundation for what he suggests is an inevitability, evil will continue to flourish now and on into the future. Not a particularly cheery thought, but one, in a contemplative moment, we intuitively fear may be true. Particularly, as we consider the tensions that lurk just below the surface of modern life. There is a sense of being on the brink of some calamity that is never that far removed from our daily lives.
Among the writings presently offered by religious purveyors of what is essential to get through life today, there is very little substance. They offer little guidance or comfort for the harsh realities of life. Indeed, there is a weariness from trying to live our best life now and enjoying the material blessing of God. When calamity strikes these trite offerings are of little value. Reality quickly prompts questions such as Why me? Why now? In Spectacular Sins, Piper costructs a theological framework that allows us to properly deal with inevitable calamities.
This little book (128 pages) lifts the reader above a resigned sense of fatalism and reminds us of a great God and his loving watchful oversight over all things touching his creation. Piper states upfront that his job is, "to put the kind of ballast in the belly of your boat so that when these waves crash against your life, you will not capsize but make it to the harbor of heaven-battered and wounded, but full of faith and joy." (p.28)
Piper identifies calamities as, "the overwhelming evil in the world...heart rending calamities...calamities (that) strike the world of unbelievers and the children of God every day with mind-numbing pain." These calamities "...come directly from natural disasters, and some come directly from the sinful acts of man against man." (p. 25)
Unlike authors who create alarm and anxiety in the hearts of their readers over culture wars or politics, Spectacular Sins provides practical advice. Piper reminds us of the glories of Christ. (p. 32) He gives eight things to do with evil and four things never to do with evil. (p.50-51) His capstone is the sovereignty of God. Is there any truth that is so anemically understood among Christians today as God's sovereignity?
Finally, Piper states his objective in writing this book is "to strengthen your faith in the goodness and mercy and wisdom and power of God, not just in the midst of calamity, but in the very sins that are woven into the calamity." (p. 107) He closes with this charge, "When you are tempted to forsake God because of the greatness of evil and misery in the world, may you remember that the Bible has prepared us for temptation...and disaster never escape the good governance of the infinitely wise God." (p. 107) Piper spoke of these principles in an interview with a NPR correspondent about the Tsunami that occurred a few years back. That interview may be accessed through his ministry, Desiring God. Spectacular Sins is a wake-up call but more importantly a reminder of our sovereign and loving Father.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Test Preparation, March 19, 2009
This review is from: Spectacular Sins: And Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ (Hardcover)
In the aftermath of the seemingly senseless murder of Dr. Fred Winters, this book is especially appropriate. As Al Meredith, pastor of Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, TX, said from behind the same pulpit in which Pastor Fred was shot and killed, "God has given us hope and peace in the face of life's worst tragedies.... God gives a peace that the world doesn't understand."
In the comfort and complacency of the western world, the question of evil is one that is difficult to answer. Compounding the problem is the heretical "prosperity gospel" teaching that is so pervasive today. It is only when we are confronted with the reality of evil in its rawest form that we are forced to address the issue. Sadly, many people use horrific events to rebel against God. Rather than flee to God as their shelter in time of storm, they ask the question, "How can a good God allow bad things to happen?" Rabbi Harold Kushner famously answered that question in his book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People. Unfortunately, his answer was that God can't help it. To answer the question of evil, Kushner minimized the power of God. He essentially said that God was too frail and powerless to overcome the omnipotence of evil in the world. The god he described is certainly not the God of the Bible.
Instead of following in the heretical footsteps of men like Kushner, in Spectacular Sins, John Piper chose to accurately describe the God of the Bible. In the book, he avoids the temptation to either minimize evil or God. He neither takes a monistic or dualistic view of evil. In other words, as opposed to the monist, evil is very real. As opposed to the dualist, it is not an eternal counterbalancing force to good.
Piper answers the question of evil by biblically expounding on the most spectacularly evil occurrences of history. The events he lists are far worse than any hurricane, tsunami, holocaust or senseless shooting. They are cosmically horrific events beginning with the fall of Satan and culminating in the murder of God incarnate. In each instance, Piper effectively shows that God is sovereign over even the most heinous evil imaginable.
One of the beauties of the book is how God is accurately portrayed as sovereign over evil without being the author of evil. While nothing is beyond the scope of God's almighty power, He is not culpable as the formative cause of evil. The only way to walk this fine line is to humbly embrace the tensions of Scripture which is what Piper does in a masterful and worshipful way.
The best way to answer the question of evil is to prepare for the test before it comes. Part of living in a fallen world is that storms will come to everyone. As James 1:2-4 states, every storm in life is a test that is designed to produce endurance in the lives of God's people. As with any test, it's best to know the answers in advance. This book will help prepare you for the tests.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Majesty of God Magnified, March 30, 2009
This review is from: Spectacular Sins: And Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ (Hardcover)
John Piper's Spectacular Sins is, please forgive me, spectacular. Not so much a book as a 128-page Christ-exalting sermon from the warm, tender, and tough heart of a loving pastor. It is by no means exhaustive or expansive. Instead Piper focuses on six of the most vile and well-known sins from the narrative of Scripture; the rebellion of Satan, the Fall of Adam and Eve, the building of Babel, the sale of Joseph by his brothers, Israel asking for a king, and Judas Iscariot trading the most precious Treasure for thirty pieces of nothing.
This entire book is excellently God-honoring, but the last chapter, "Judas Iscariot, the Suicide of Satan, and the Salvation of the World," is worth ten times the price of the entire book. One thing that really popped out at me in the final chapter was when Dr. Piper compares Judas to anyone who goes after God merely for his gifts. He writes,
"Judas was a lover of money, and he covered it with a phony, external relationship with Jesus. And then he sold him for thirty pieces of silver. How many of his ilk are still around today! Don't be one. And don't be duped by one."
This is a much-needed exposition of what the health, wealth, and prosperity "gospel" really is; a convenient use of Jesus to get things, not God himself. Lest we be Pharisaical judges, we must remember that as sinners we are naturally idol worshipers, and without grace will want the gifts but not the Giver. We must oppose prosperity teaching intently and aggressively, but also lovingly and meekly, praying for those who preach and believe it.
This book is short. One could easily get through it in one or two sittings, but the chapters are small and divided into subsections to aid in a more spread-out, devotional reading. However you choose read it, you will be challenged and edified and comforted and enthralled with the majesty of God in his triumph and sovereignty over all sin, and with the radiance of this majesty in Jesus. Everyone not only should read this book; everyone needs this book (or at least its message)!
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