I like John Piper. I really do. And I want to like him more, but he isn’t helping me do that. Piper has said a lot of great things over the years, and I have no doubt that God has used him to strengthen the faith of many people. I don’t want to take away from any of that. But every time I try to further appreciate John Piper’s work, I run across stuff like the following. Seriously, it keeps happening.
According to John Piper’s disciple, Justin Taylor:
I’m going to take it for granted that Taylor is a reliable witness in this case.
In my experience, Piper has a propensity to make these kinds of statements. You know, the kind where you start to feel that maybe you’re not all you think you should be but at the same time make you think that John Piper is all he should be and more — because odds are very few people listening to him have ever cried over Calvinism. And following Pipers formula that UNDERSTANDING CALVINISM = TEARS, they start to feel guilty. John Piper, then, tells a story about how gripped he was by the truth of Calvinism and how tears just poured from his eyes. Maybe he even gets a little weepy in the pulpit, and all of the Piperians go “Wow! If only I could be like Piper!” I’ve had too many conversations with Piperians that ended with “Wow! Piper is so amazing. If only I could be like Piper!” This kind of thing is a chronic problem, and Piper bears a lot of the responsibility for the obsession his followers have for him.
So have you shed tears over Calvinism? If not, you probably don’t understand it in the first place.
But what if you have severe allergies and your eyes are almost always watery. Can you ever be sure that your misty-eyed experience was Calvinism-induced? Perhaps your allergies were responsible but by coincidence the episode corresponded with a moment when you were really feeling how awesome Calvinism is. Maybe that’s all it was. How can you ever know that you really understand Calvinism with allergies like this?
Or maybe you’re just a naturally emotional person who weeps pretty easy anyway, should you really get the credit for crying over Calvinism. That hardly seems fair to me since I haven’t cried since I was a child.
And what about those people who have the multipurpose talent of producing tears on command? They could cry if you mentioned something even more clinical than Calvinism such as blood coagulants or cold sponge baths by overweight male orderlies. That isn’t fair, and no one can be sure that those were Calvinist tears.
Examples could be multiplied.
Sorry, Piper, but I’m calling bullshit on your whole formula.
The ubiquity and uniformity of the “Wow…Piper!” conversations among Piperites (I’ll call them ‘Pips’) makes us outsiders suspect that there must be a secret manual out there somewhere written to instruct Pips on the proper techniques for praising Piper and shunning anyone who questions him in any way.
Whether such a manual exists or not, I doubt any Pips will interact with you here because you are working with the assumption that John Piper is capable of error; that directly contradicts their very basic, though usually unstated, assumption that Piper is always right. Disagreement on such a basic level makes dialogue impossible.
It is a sad situation on both sides. People like you see much to be appreciated about Pips and vice versa, but the divide cannot be crossed. You are absolutely closed to the notion of the impeccability of John Piper, Pips appear to be just as closed to anything short of that.
You don’t ask why understanding Calvinism made John Piper cry? What if it was tears of joy, humility, and incredulity of being saved by grace alone? Wouldn’t or shouldn’t Lutherans cry at that realization, too?
PS: I’m not a Piperian.
Jeff,
Perhaps you should read the post more carefully. I have no problem with Piper crying over Calvinism, Sleepless in Seattle, or anything else that might bring him to tears. He can cry all he likes over whatever he likes. My problem is with his imposition on others that if THEY don’t cry, then THEY don’t really understand Calvinism. This is a ridiculous standard.
Furthermore, are you characterizing “being saved by grace alone” as Calvinism. This doctrine doesn’t originate with Calvin or the Reformed and it is not primarily associated with Calvin or Calvinism in the minds of those who hold this doctrine. Truly, Luther was the first reformer who clearly articulated this doctrine – though by no means the first to teach it in the history of the church.
Thank you for commenting and for not being a Piperian.