Publication Date:September 30, 2008 Shipping:Eligible for Super Saver Shipping Availability:Usually ships in 24 hours
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Does God's Plan Require Sin?November 20, 2008 4 out of 6 found this review helpful
This book helped me to understand once and for all that I am not a supralapsarian, but rather an infralapsarian. According to Piper's understanding of the Ordo Salutis (the order of the divine decrees), God REQUIRED sin in order to bring about the plan of salvation. Original sin is simply the outworking of the divine decree - as are our continuing spectacular sins. I found this idea very uncomfortable biblically and theologically. It comes perilously close to making God the author of sin (He is at the very least the requirer of sin in Piper's supralapsarian scheme). If you are a decided supralapsarian, then this book will be right up your alley. However, if you are an infralapsarian (or a sublapsarian), you will find Piper's conclusions a bit gut-wrenching.
Overall, I found the book an easy and fascinating read. This would be great fodder for small group or Sunday School discussion.
Speaking to the "unfelt" needs of the heartOctober 19, 2008 10 out of 10 found this review helpful
Within the last few months there have been several books that sound an ominous tone . These books have come from the fields of economics, politics and culture. Authors describe an uncertainty, a recognition of something unsettling among us as a people. Into this mix John Piper offers his latest offering, Spectacular Sins.
Piper provides a theological foundation for what he suggests is an inevitability, evil will continue to flourish now and on into the future. Not a particularly cheery thought, but one, in a contemplative moment, we intuitively fear may be true. Particularly, as we consider the tensions that lurk just below the surface of modern life. There is a sense of being on the brink of some calamity that is never that far removed from our daily lives.
Among the writings presently offered by religious purveyors of what is essential to get through life today, there is very little substance. They offer little guidance or comfort for the harsh realities of life. Indeed, there is a weariness from trying to live our best life now and enjoying the material blessing of God. When calamity strikes these trite offerings are of little value. Reality quickly prompts questions such as Why me? Why now? In Spectacular Sins, Piper costructs a theological framework that allows us to properly deal with inevitable calamities.
This little book (128 pages) lifts the reader above a resigned sense of fatalism and reminds us of a great God and his loving watchful oversight over all things touching his creation. Piper states upfront that his job is, "to put the kind of ballast in the belly of your boat so that when these waves crash against your life, you will not capsize but make it to the harbor of heaven-battered and wounded, but full of faith and joy." (p.28)
Piper identifies calamities as, "the overwhelming evil in the world...heart rending calamities...calamities (that) strike the world of unbelievers and the children of God every day with mind-numbing pain." These calamities "...come directly from natural disasters, and some come directly from the sinful acts of man against man." (p. 25)
Unlike authors who create alarm and anxiety in the hearts of their readers over culture wars or politics, Spectacular Sins provides practical advice. Piper reminds us of the glories of Christ. (p. 32) He gives eight things to do with evil and four things never to do with evil. (p.50-51) His capstone is the sovereignty of God. Is there any truth that is so anemically understood among Christians today as God's sovereignity?
Finally, Piper states his objective in writing this book is "to strengthen your faith in the goodness and mercy and wisdom and power of God, not just in the midst of calamity, but in the very sins that are woven into the calamity." (p. 107) He closes with this charge, "When you are tempted to forsake God because of the greatness of evil and misery in the world, may you remember that the Bible has prepared us for temptation...and disaster never escape the good governance of the infinitely wise God." (p. 107) Piper spoke of these principles in an interview with a NPR correspondent about the Tsunami that occurred a few years back. That interview may be accessed through his ministry, Desiring God. Spectacular Sins is a wake-up call but more importantly a reminder of our sovereign and loving Father.
