what do you think

[Onesimus85]

lately I have been reading a lot of books, (a foreign idea for me in the summer). Anyway, I was wondering if anyone has read or heard of John Piper. And, was wondering about what other members of the Wesleyan tradition thought about some of his books.

[GustheMule]

lately I have been reading a lot of books, (a foreign idea for me in the summer). Anyway, I was wondering if anyone has read or heard of John Piper. And, was wondering about what other members of the Wesleyan tradition thought about some of his books.
I'm not a Wesleyan but I'm very familir with Piper. I don't totally agree with him on everything, but he really is about the best Christian author out there. He's a Calvinist and some of his books emphasize God's sovereignty to maybe an unhealthy extent (HE says his favorite chapter in the Bible is Romans 9 Huh?)

If you are introspective like me I don;t recommend some of his books like God is the Gospel (actually I give this one a thumbs down to everyone) and Desring God--this is a good one to read but don't fall into the self-examination trap, please. However, if you are happy-go-lucky, Piper is your man to splash cold water in your face. You don't have to be a Calvinist to like Piper. Calvinism is not essential to most of his points. I think his best book is "Furure Grace."Two tremendous short ones are "THe Passion of Jesus Christ" and "Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ." "When I Don't Desire God" is also a very well written book. You can read alot of his work for free online at his Desiring God website.

One of Piper's main themes is that we should be satisfied with who God is for us in Jesus. If we are not then we are probbaly struggling with either sin or depression or both. He lifts up Christ and helps you find ways to lift him up in your own life.

[ClementofRome]

I like Piper, but I believe that his concept of Christian Hedonism is a bit overboard. Now, I understand what he means, but the language he employs to described an unabashed lavishing and downright total enjoyment of God is a bit over the top for me. Yes, we should enjoy God, but "hedonism" has so many negative connotations that he might have chosen a different word.....but, you can decide for yourself:

http://www.desiringgod.org/library/topics/christian_hedonism/ch_index.html