For those of you wondering what view of God\u2019s sovereignty Piper MIGHT be talking about in his youtube clip (that we\u2019ve been discussing here), watch and listen to this youtube clip:<\/p>\n
Letters Q&A \u2013 If God loved the world why did he let Satan control it?<\/p>\n
I suspect the crucial word in Piper\u2019s youtube clip (that some have mentioned but most have not) is \u201cultimately.\u201d\u00a0 I do think he is saying in that youtube clip that a person who \u201cultimately\u201d (finally, firmly) rejects God\u2019s way of running the world (as Piper describes it\u2013 which I call meticulous providence or divine determinism) is likely to go on to reject God, then to reject the biblical testimony and finally to perish spiritually.<\/p>\n
Many of you have wondered here whom he is talking about.\u00a0 Knowing Piper\u2019s strong antipathy towards open theism, I suspect he is talking about open theists.\u00a0 I don\u2019t take it that he is condeming them to hell.\u00a0 I think he is issuing a stern warning about where open theism (and anything very much like it) leads.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t think it is right to interpret him as saying simply that someone who rejects GOD will perish.\u00a0 That hardly needs to be said, does it?\u00a0 His point obviously has to do with a person\u2019s acceptance or rejection of God\u2019s sovereignty.\u00a0 But what view of God\u2019s sovereignty?\u00a0 Surely he wouldn\u2019t bother to say that a person who rejects any and every view of God\u2019s sovereignty will perish.\u00a0 Who rejects any and every view of God\u2019s sovereignty? Even process theologians claim to believe in God\u2019s sovereignty.\u00a0 Clearly, in his youtube clip, Piper is saying that a person who rejects the picture of God\u2019s sovereignty he describes is in danger of perishing IF they go on to reject the biblical witness and God himself.\u00a0 But the point is, I think, that he sees a trajectory from rejection of his view of God\u2019s sovereignty to rejection of the biblical witness to rejection of God himself.\u00a0 Whether that is an inexorable trajectory is the issue.\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t say so.\u00a0 A hermeneutic of charity keeps me from thinking that is what he means.\u00a0 I certainly hope it isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Still, even if he doesn\u2019t mean that, his warning is too harsh.\u00a0 I do not see any trajectory from open theism to rejecting the biblical witness to rejecting God.\u00a0 One could just as easily posit a trajectory from rejecting free will to rejecting the biblical witness to rejecting God.\u00a0 Wesley certainly posited just such a trajectory in Predestination Calmly Considered and other anti-Calvinist writings.\u00a0 But Wesley did not make it an inexorable trajectory.\u00a0 I hope Piper doesn\u2019t mean his trajectory is.\u00a0 But I know some in the \u201cyoung, restless, Reformed\u201d movement do think that.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For those of you wondering what view of God\u2019s sovereignty Piper MIGHT be talking about in his youtube clip (that we\u2019ve been discussing here), watch and listen to this youtube clip: Letters Q&A \u2013 If God loved the world why did he let Satan control it? I suspect the crucial word in Piper\u2019s youtube clip […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n