John Piper's New Religion, Part 2: Abandoning Sola Scriptura

I recently noticed a disturbing question and answer on John Piper's Desiring God website. A man named Daniel wrote to the ministry with this question: "How does Christian Hedonism avoid making joy into an idol?" To which Piper responded by saying: "Well, the short answer is, Christian Hedonism doesn’t make a god or an idol out of joy, because Christian Hedonism says we make a god out of whatever we find most joy in. That is the short answer. So, find your greatest joy in God and, thus, be done with all idolatry."[1] There are several troubling aspects to Piper's response; I will just single out one to focus on right now. Notice that Piper replied by saying, "Christian Hedonism says". He didn't say, "The Bible says"! But that was the apostle Paul's authority and it should be ours: "For what do the Scriptures say?" (Rom. 4:3).  The fact that Piper appealed to "Christian Hedonism" is significant because it shows that Piper's source of authority is no longer sola Scriptura ("Scripture alone"). Actually, several more times throughout the article Piper answers by saying: "Christian Hedonism says," "Christian Hedonism says". Excuse me? Whatever happened to "Thus saith the LORD"?! Charles Haddon Spurgeon is right to have said:

"Brethren, how careful should we be that we do not set up in God's temple anything in opposition to his Word, that we do not permit the teachings of a creature to usurp the honour due to the Lord alone! 'Thus saith antiquity,' 'thus saith authority,' 'thus saith learning,' 'thus saith experience,' ['thus saith Christian Hedonism,']—these be but idol-gods which defile the temple of God: be it yours and mine, as bold iconoclasts, to dash them in pieces without mercy, seeing that they usurp the place of the Word of God.  

'Thus saith the Lord,'—this is the motto of our standard; the war-cry of our spiritual conflict;—the sword with which we hope yet to smite through the loins of the mighty who rise up against God’s truth. Nothing shall stand before this weapon in the day when God cometh out of his hiding place; for even at this hour when, 'Thus saith the Lord' sounds from the trumpet of the Lord's ministers, the hosts of Midian begin to tremble; for well they know the might of that terrible watchword in days of yore."[2]

Someone may say that Piper is just answering the question. Yes, but how does he answer the question? That's my point. Notice that Piper didn't say, "Thus saith the Lord"! Keep in mind here something very important, and that is this: Piper supposedly believes that the Bible is the sole rule for all faith and practice! The Westminster Confession of Faith which Piper supposedly believes in says, "The Scriptures are the only rule of faith and practice." Notice that: "the only rule" — not merely "the only rule of faith", but also "of practice". Let me show the contrast here between what Piper said and what a Bible-believing Christian would say. A Bible-believing Christian who believes in "Scripture alone" would have said: "What's an idol? What does the Bible say an idol is? My Bible is the authority; that's where to start." And furthermore, the reason the question about Christian Hedonism was even asked in the first place is because that's what Piper believes in. It's not like he's on the outside looking in. Rather, he's totally into Christian Hedonism. I dare say he's the founder of it! So the question that Piper was answering was a personal one, and Piper's answer was a personal answer. He's a "Christian Hedonist" and he answered by quoting his authority, which is his new religion of Christian Hedonism — not Scripture alone. 

Keep in mind that I'm not saying Piper doesn't believe in the Bible or use the Bible. Of course he does! That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that the Bible is no longer his "sole rule for faith and practice". Instead, Piper has mixed the philosophy of hedonism with Christianity and has come up with "Christian Hedonism" (cf. Col. 2:8): his new religion and his new authority, at least in part. But "a little leaven leavens the whole lump" (Gal. 5:9). Either way, Piper no longer practices sola Scriptura. 

At the very end of the article on the Desiring God website, Piper says: "So maybe the sum of the matter for Daniel is this: How does Christian Hedonism keep joy from being an idol? Simply believe in the Bible, and let the whole counsel of God inform your system. So I don’t want to be more Christian Hedonist than I am biblical." Notice Piper said, "let the Bible inform your system". Okay, but that's not sola Scriptura. This is my point. Piper is not practicing sola Scriptura: Scripture alone. I also find Piper's answer very interesting when he said, "Simply believe in the Bible". Really? Is that the best you can do? Isn't Piper always the one talking about how "even the demons believe and tremble" (James 2:19). And what about when he says to let the whole counsel of God "inform your system." Are you kidding me? Piper is talking like the Bible is just one piece of the puzzle, one spoke in the wheel, one source of truth that he will incorporate in his "system" (whatever that means). Actually, not even incorporate; Piper merely said "inform". So basically Piper is saying, yes the Bible is helpful and maybe even necessary, but not sufficient. You also need Christian Hedonism. That's a lie from the pit of Hell! By way of contrast, Jesus was exclusive. He said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (Jn. 14:6). Even in Piper's last sentence, he's leaving room for both the Bible and Christian Hedonism. That is not sola Scriptura. It is not "Scripture alone". 

References:

[1] "Does Christian Hedonism Make Joy an Idol?" (January 26, 2013), Desiring God website. 

[2] Charles Haddon Spurgeon, "Thus Saith the LORD:" (Ezekiel 11:5), The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit (September 25, 1864), surgeon.org [accessed July 22, 2022]. Note: The punctuation is from the 1865 edition of Spurgeon's sermon "THUS SAITH THE LORD" (Sermon III), from the book Sermons of Rev. C. H. Spurgeon. Eighth Series (New York: Sheldon and Company, 1865), p. 56.