John Piper's New Religion: "Christian Hedonism"

I knew John Piper was a Calvinist, but until recently I didn't realize that he's actually the founder of a new religion: "Christian Hedonism"! The Real John Piper website explains:

"Since 1986, when Desiring God, first burst upon the scene, John Piper has preached and taught his unorthodox doctrine of Christian Hedonism across the world, winning over many, especially many young people, to his radical new view of the Christian Faith. 

A careful reading of Desiring God shows that Piper modifies the biblical doctrine of salvation. Piper raises the question: 

‘Could it be that today the most straightforward biblical command for conversion is not “Believe in the Lord,” but, “Delight yourself in the Lord”? And might not many slumbering hearts be stabbed broad awake by the words “Unless a man be born again into a Christian Hedonist he cannot see the kingdom of God”? (John Piper, Desiring God, page 55). 

So he asserts that salvation is dependent on one first becoming a Christian Hedonist. But there is no biblical basis for claiming that hedonism plays any role in salvation."[1]

Notice how John Piper added to Scripture when he said: "Unless a man be born again INTO A CHRISTIAN HEDONIST he cannot see the kingdom of God." I challenge Piper to show me even one translation of the Bible that includes the words "into a Christian hedonist" in John 3:3 — there aren't any! Instead, what we do find is that there are many warnings in the Bible not to add to God's Word. For example, Proverbs 30:6 says: "Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you and prove you a liar." Larry Moyer has written a popular Free Grace book titled: 21 Things God Never Said. Well, here's another saying we could add to the list. God never said: "Unless a man be born again into a Christian Hedonist"!

In a sermon titled "Fifteen Dreams for the Future of Christian Hedonism," Piper goes so far as to say: "You're not saved if you're not a Christian Hedonist."[2] This statement was edited out of the sermon transcript on the desiringgod.org website, but it can still be seen by watching the sermon video. In the sermon, Piper explains that a Christian Hedonist is one who seeks "devotion to pleasure as a way of life". That's interesting because I always thought that a Christian's devotion should be to Jesus Christ, not to the self-pursuit of pleasure! In effect, Piper has put his feelings and emotions (e.g. his happiness, joyfulness, cheerfulness, etc.) on a pedestal and has made them into the "be all and end all"[3] of the Christian experience. But that's backwards; feelings are more like the caboose of the train rather than the locomotive. Jesus said, "If you know these things, happy are you if you do them" (John 13:17). In other words, we are to do right regardless of how we feel about it, and our feelings will follow after. Not only that, but you can't place your trust in your feelings. Feelings change all the time. Martin Luther has well said: "Feelings come and feelings go, and feelings are deceiving. My warrant is the Word of God, naught else is worth believing!" In other words: if you go by your feelings you're headed for a train wreck!

I will be writing more on this new teaching of "Christian Hedonism" in the days ahead. Stay tuned! 

References:

[1] www.therealjohnpiper.com (see under the heading "John Piper's Christian Hedonism?"). Note: Another alarming statement in Desiring God (also on page 55) is when Piper talks about "converts to Christian Hedonism". Not converts to Christ, but "converts to Christian Hedonism"! Piper has replaced Christ with his new religion: "Christian Hedonism". 

[2] John Piper, "Fifteen Dreams for the Future of Christian Hedonism" (2016), www.desiringgod.org/messages/fifteen-dreams-for-the-future-of-christian-hedonism/ (video timestamp: 7:45 - 7:47 minutes). Note: Piper's statement "You're not saved if you're not a Christian Hedonist" was edited out of the transcript that appears on the desiringgod.org website. 

[3] The phrase "be all and end all" can be defined to mean "the most important part of something or the reason for something" (Merriam-Webster). Or this definition: "The be-all and end-all is the thing, idea, person or activity that is the most essential element in a person's life, there are no substitutes or alternatives that can take its place" (grammarist.com). In case someone might be tempted to think that I'm overstating the case, notice what Piper says in his sermon titled "It's My Pleasure!" Piper begins by saying: "Those who know me best know that I am a Christian hedonist. That means that I think my desire to be happy is a proper motive for everything I do. [Editor's Note: That's only partly true. Happiness is first of all a mandatory requirement for salvation according to "Christian Hedonism".] I do what I do because I think it will make me happier in the long run." Notice how Piper uses the word "I" six times, "me" twice, and "my" once. So in the first two sentences of his sermon, he refers to himself almost 10 times! (That's not counting the title.) That's why I say that his personal feelings (such as: his happiness, his joy, his cheerfulness, etc.) are "the be all and end all" of his new religion, hence the name: "Christian Hedonist".