Bible Promise Books(565)
Charismatic Interest(1,853)
Discipleship(6,648)
Knowing Christ(1,464)
Knowing God(1,437)
Knowing Holy Spirit(110)
Making Disciples(157)
Spiritual Disciplines(2,272)
Holy Spirit(929)
Prayer(2,132)
Spirituality(17,346)
Shop Now At Christianbook.com
Shop Knowing God or
Choose a Category
- Academic
- Accompaniment Tracks
- Advent
- Adventures in Odyssey ™
- Audiobooks
- Bible Accessories
- Bible Covers
- Bible Studies & Curriculum
- Bibles
- Blooming Bargains
- Books
- Catholic
- Children
- Christian Living
- Christmas
- Church & Pastoral
- Church Supplies
- Closeouts
- Clothing & Accessories
- Crafts & Recreation
- DVDs
- Download
- Easter
- Education
- Fall
- Family
- Father's Day
- Fiction
- Focus Magazines
- Focus Resource
- Focus Reviewed
- Focus on the Family
- Gift & Home
- Graduation
- Homeschool
- MP3 Music Downloads
- Mother's Day
- Music
- New Release
- Patriotic
- Pre-Order
- Radio Theatre
- Slightly Imperfect
- Software
- Spanish
- Spring
- Subscriptions
- Sunday School
- Teens
- Thanksgiving
- VBS
- Videos
- Winter
- eBooks
Top-Rated Products
Customer Reviews for Multnomah Books Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
Multnomah Books Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
Strengthen your relationship with God simply by enjoying him and his creation. Piper compellingly reveals why your deepest and most enduring happiness can only be found in God. Laying biblical foundations for a life of celebration, he describes how to glorify the Lord by truly desiring and enjoying him. Includes a discussion guide. 320 pages, softcover from Multnomah.
Average Customer Rating:
(22 Reviews) 22
Rating Snapshot (22 reviews)
5 stars
17
4 stars
1
3 stars
2
2 stars
0
1 star
2
19 out of 2286%customers would recommend this product to a friend.
Customer Reviews for Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
Review 1 for Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
Overall Rating:
Life Changing!
Date:February 26, 2013
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
Can we make sense of satisfaction or real joy? It’s one life’s most common questions. Answers for most people are rather less common. I’m interested in knowing, aren’t you? Here’s a book to show us the way.
The subtitle of “Meditations of a Christian Hedonist” tells you what a unique writing John Piper presents to us in this revised edition published by Multnomah. It’s interesting that he has to answer for his writings 25 years later when life had opportunity to test his theories. I found it a real challenge to my Christian life. He goes against so much conventional wisdom, but really discusses the subject with a Bible ever in his hands.
Don’t let the term “Christian Hedonist” turn you off. He certainly isn’t suggesting that you throw your life away in a pointless pursuit of worldly pleasures. Quite the opposite, he simply believes that life’s greatest joy comes from seeking joy in God. He further proves that this is exactly what the Lord enjoys from us. As he says, “This is a serious book about being happy in God.” We all want to be happy and this truly is the only way. This works beautifully in that: “We get the mercy; He gets the glory. We get the happiness in Him; He gets the honor from us.”
He tweaks the famous confession to “The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.” I think he makes a powerful case that the Bible actually teaches this very thing. His chapter on the “The Happiness of God” is hard to refute. Apparently, in the last 25 years several have tried.
Mr. Piper weaves his premise through many of the most important aspects of the Christianity. Happiness in God is all through the warp and woof of our Christian experience in conversion, worship, love, and prayer. It gets especially interesting and life-altering when he speaks on things like money, missions, and suffering. Our modern-day Christianity comes out of those chapters bloodied but perhaps that is fair as this same modern Christianity has slaughtered our happiness on many occasions!
You simply must read this book. There’s not much Calvinism to work around if you are more of a whosoever-will man like I am. I read each chapter so much more slowly than usual. There was so much to think about, so much heart-searching demanded, but I assure you that you will be glad you took the time to read it. I can see myself referring to it again and again in the years ahead.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
Share this review:
+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.
Review 2 for Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
Overall Rating:
Date:September 27, 2012
nbcb
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
John Piper is one of the most godly people I know of. His approach to people's situations/problems is Biblically sound. He does not bow to any cultural pressures.
Share this review:
+2points
2of 2voted this as helpful.
Review 3 for Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
Overall Rating:
Date:June 28, 2012
Chris
Although pastor John Piper has written more than forty books, Desiring God is the one for which he is most well known. Even people that have never read the book are more than likely familiar with Piper’s resource ministry that bears the same name.
The subtitle of the book, Meditations of a Christian Hedonist, provide a glimpse into the the theme and subject matter that Piper spends close to 350-pages unpacking. Essentially, Piper asserts that as believer’s in Jesus Christ, our chief end and goal should be to find joy and utter delight in Jesus and in so doing, bring Him glory. What makes this so revolutionary for some is that Piper gives the reader permission to seek pleasure, joy, and enjoyment from our relationship with Jesus and to be selfish in our endeavors to derive satisfaction from Him.
I’m sure there are some that may perceive this approach to relationship with God dishonorable and even blasphemous. After all, we should approach our relationship to God with fear, awe and reverence and seek to please Him in all that we do. If this is you, I encourage you to read Desiring God and consider Piper’s claims and the scripture that he references, and see if perhaps Piper can’t convince you that pursuing maximum joy is essential to bring glory to God.
WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group provided this book to me for free in exchange for this honest review as part of their Blogging for Books program.
Share this review:
+2points
2of 2voted this as helpful.
Review 4 for Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
Overall Rating:
Rightly considered a classic
Date:April 3, 2012
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
Thousands of books are published every year but among those thousands very few will be a remembered after a year of their publishing, and even fewer still will be remembered twenty or thirty years after its first publishing. Desiring God by Dr. John Piper is a book that has been held in high regard by many Christians for a very long time. I first read Desiring God when I was a teenager and read it again several years later. After many years of reading Desiring God I was excited when last year the Revised Edition of Desiring God came out.
Desiring God has been a paradigm shifting book. By that I mean that it has made a deep impact on how I live out the Christian life. Piper in this book teaches that there is no need to choose between duty and delight in the Christian life. Desiring God teaches that for followers of Jesus, delight is the duty, because Christ is most magnified in His people when they are most satisfied in Him. Piper time and time again draws his readers backs to the Scripture by showing why pursuing maximum joy is essential to glorifying God. By going into the implications this has on conversion, worship, love, Scripture, prayer, money, marriage, missions and suffering he convincingly demonstrates the integrated nature of what a Christian life looks like when Christ is most magnified in His people when they are most satisfied in Him.
Desiring God will turn your Christian life upside-down by giving you a vision of the glory of God and the beauty of Jesus Chris. I recommend you read Desiring God but be prepared to be confronted and challenged with the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Title: Desiring God
Author: John Piper
Publisher: Multnomah Books(2011)
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the Multnomah Books. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
Author: John Piper
Publisher: Multnomah Books(2011)
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the Multnomah Books. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
Share this review:
+2points
2of 2voted this as helpful.
Review 5 for Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
Overall Rating:
Perplexing and unsustainable
Date:February 20, 2012
John Piper presents a most perplexing theology in his book "Desiring God - Meditations of a Christian Hedonist." The book actually contained very little about desiring God, but it did speak a great deal about desires. The entire contention of the book is that all men desire to be happy, and this desire must come from God. So, the ultimate happiness that man may find is in God Himself. God, on the other hand, has created all things to glorify Himself, and He gets the greatest glory when we are happy in Him. That sounds great on the surface. But other statements just struck me as odd. Among them, that no one does a good deed for any other reason than that it will make them happy. (He actually said this, "...the pursuit of pleasure is an essential motive for every good deed." - at location 1933-1934 in the Kindle edition). Does that include a soldier diving on a grenade to save his fellow warriors? How much pleasure was expected in that good deed?
The first issue I had with the book is that the first couple of chapters are really an explanation of Piper's form of Calvinism. Apart from my own disagreements with this view of theology, the chapters were not really necessary. (Actually, nearly ALL of the chapters were too long. Much of the content was not related to the theme or title of the book).
Although the main theme of the book (that man should find his ultimate happiness in God) is fine with me, I was amazed at the way Piper harshly condemned the performance of the Christian disciplines out of the sense of duty. He contends that it leads to legalism (even though telling Christians to pursue their own pleasures can lead to other things, as well). However, he goes on to recommend doing the "duty" anyway, in the case of a Christian who has no joy! (location 5267, Kindle edition) Basically, Piper is caught in a balancing act that is not sustainable.
For one thing, he kept reiterating that we are commanded to delight in the Lord! ("...the pursuit of pleasure is not just tolerable; it is mandatory..." - location 1871-1872, Kindle edition) But this is highly destructive to his own argument. After all, if it is mandatory, then we have a "duty" to pursue pleasure.....but Piper says that it should not be out of a sense of duty... Um...so why the command to do it? If true worship is made void when performed out of duty, why does God keep telling us (and Piper keep reminding us) that we are commanded to seek happiness in worship?
Also, he said at location 2131: "Joy in ministry is a duty." This is astounding in light of his demeaning statements against worship and service out of a sense of "duty"! So, JOY in ministry is a duty, but the ministry itself is not? He condemns the thought of Christian duty, yet says we have a duty to be joyful....
There are other problems I had with the book, not just the Calvinism and the holes in the arguments. But it is not necessary to state them all here. In short, this book was disappointing. I should have realized that I wouldn't like it after reading his chapter on "Christian hedonism" in his book "Brothers, We are Not Professionals" (which is a great book; I highly recommend it for ministry leaders). In "Desiring God," he overstated his Calvinism and understated the serious Biblical and theological problems with his view.
I received this e-book free from the Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for my honest review.
Share this review:
-1point
3of 7voted this as helpful.
Review 6 for Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
Overall Rating:
Life Changing
Date:December 29, 2011
Ian7
Location:Phx, Az
Age:18-24
Gender:male
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
I would have to say that the idea of Christian Hedonism is something that takes time to reflect on and is challenging to our everyday culture, but through this I believe it creates a stringer walk with our Father. I found this book to be encouraging to my walk and in return encouraging to others around me.
For new followers, this may be a little heavy but I would still recommend it. Piper is not an easy read and it takes time to grasp his writing style, at least for me.
Share this review:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Review 7 for Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
Overall Rating:
Christian Hedonsim-is that an Oxymoron?
Date:November 4, 2011
pkerry319
Location:Waukee, IA
Age:45-54
Gender:male
Quality:
4
out of
5
Value:
4
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
2
out of
5
If you are looking for a book that reads like a legal brief then this book is for you. I found this to be a bit of a difficult read with its many reference to abstract theological concepts and the quoting of very old sources that require some redefinition of terms to make sense in a modern context.
The premise of the book is that the highest goal of mankind is to glorify God by enjoying him forever. This pursuit is labeled as Christian Hedonism. I have to admit that this terminology is a little uncomfortable for me, which perhaps is the author’s purpose for using it. That is to make the reader a bit uncomfortable so as to pursue the insights in the book.
I would highly recommend this book for one reason. Chapter 7 is the clearest presentation of the power and value of simplicity that I have ever read. It is a clear denunciation of the materialism that permeates Western cultures and the Western Church as well. The rest of the book thought provoking and challenging, but difficult for me to stay interested in.
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.
Share this review:
-2points
0of 2voted this as helpful.
Review 8 for Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
Overall Rating:
A Classic for Good Reason
Date:August 18, 2011
Christin
Location:Tarpon Springs, FL
Age:18-24
Gender:female
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
After reading the Revised Edition of John Piper's Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist, I see why this book has become a classic in the twenty-five years since it was first published. From what I have experienced and seen in my own life and in the American Church, joy is a seriously under-developed fruit of the Spirit. In this book, Mr. Piper biblically demonstrates that we were meant to seek our personal joy and happiness...in Christ! Because, "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."
"This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome," 1John 5:3. There seems to be a prevalent idea that obeying God should be burdensome. That doing what is right should be hard. But this is not biblical. If we truly love God, keeping His commands will not be a burden, but rather, a joy! When God created mankind, He made us in such a way as to not be satisfied by anything but Himself. "In Your presence is abundant joy; in Your right hand are eternal pleasures." God's commands are given to us as instructions for attaining ultimate happiness, contentment and joy! And when we obey and find our satisfaction in Christ, He is glorified. Everything that we used to consider gain is loss in comparison with the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus!
The Revised Edition of Desiring God includes a study guide for group or individual study and an additional chapter on the topic of Christian suffering that, in my opinion, the book would be incomplete without.
I would very highly recommend Desiring God to any Christian! This is one that I plan to re-read in the near future because it is so saturated with truth that it requires more than one read to absorb it all.
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.
Share this review:
+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.
Review 9 for Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
Overall Rating:
Date:August 17, 2011
Well...I am going to come right out and say it. I really struggled reading this book. I agree with with what the author is saying, but I found it very difficult to read. It came highly recommended by my father-in-law who is a pastor, so I know it's good. I have read two other books by John piper that I really enjoyed. He has a very warm writing style. I think the content was a little too technical for me right now.
I received this book for free for the purpose of review from Waterbrook Multnomah.
Share this review:
+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.
Review 10 for Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
Overall Rating:
Not for me
Date:August 7, 2011
Rev Bob
Location:North olmsted, OH
Age:45-54
Gender:male
Quality:
2
out of
5
Value:
3
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
1
out of
5
From all the books I've reviewed for Waterbrook's this one is the hardest book I've read, I had to literally force myself to read it. I can't buy into the whole Christian Hedonism philosophy. My best advice is to read it for yourselves, then you make the call if this book is good or bad for you. I've included a short video of Piper discussing his book. I apologize to Waterbrook and Mr Piper but I have to be true to my interpretation of this book. Remember it's my interpretation others may find it a better read than I have. So again i say read it for yourselves and then make your own conclusions.
Share this review:
-3points
0of 3voted this as helpful.
Review 11 for Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
Overall Rating:
This book is not for the namby-pamby Christian
Date:July 13, 2011
TrollMaster
Location:Redmond, Washington
Age:Over 65
Gender:male
Quality:
4
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
4
out of
5
In this Christian classic, John Piper serves up a delicious meal of meat-and-potatoes doctrine, and explains why it is almost correct for the Westminster Catechism to say, "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." Piper modifies this to say, "The chief end of man is to glorify God BY ENJOYING Him forever."
Piper points out God has a passion for His own glory. At first that sounds like an arrogant statement, but Piper convincingly shows that God's glory is of paramount importance to Himself and is supported by Scripture. See John 11:1-6, John 17:1-5, and John 17:24-26.
I highly recommend this book for Christians who want to understand how God can be most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.
Share this review:
+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.
Review 12 for Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
Overall Rating:
exceptional book
Date:July 13, 2011
Donna Sill
Location:Webb City, MO
Age:55-65
Gender:female
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
A book worth reading over and over. The discussion guide at back of book helps solidify the most important information.
Share this review:
+1point
1of 1voted this as helpful.
Review 13 for Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
Overall Rating:
Piper Walks a Tightrope...and Succeeds
Date:July 12, 2011
Matt Ahearn
Location:Boise, ID
Age:18-24
Gender:male
Quality:
3
out of
5
Value:
4
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
4
out of
5
The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. That is John Piper's thesis throughout Desiring God as he argues that we are meant to experience an abundance of joy in life through the glorification of God. Early on, Piper spends time defending this idea he calls "Christian Hedonism." In this argument, he ties together God's sovereignty, His desire to glorify Himself, and our pursuit of pleasure in God. This culminates with the idea that, "God's pursuit of praise from us and our pursuit of pleasure in Him are the same pursuit" (50).
According to Piper, the idea that work for God is unholy if done in pursuit of happiness is incorrect as long as this pursuit centers around brings glory to God instead of achieving worldly gain. Thus, we should desire joy and happiness so long as it flows from glorifying God. In order to demonstrate this point, he breaks down the Christian life into several sections that revolve around things like worship, prayer, money, and marriage. In each of these, he shows the proper way to delight/fulfill joy in God while properly glorifying Him. For example, in regards to worship, Piper suggests that emotion, like joy, is actually a necessary part of worship because emotion reflects the "worth of God's glory" (88). Meanwhile, in regards to money, Piper opines that the proper manner to delight in God through money revolves around fulfilling His mission in the world (201). In the end, Piper suggests that pursuing joy through glorifying God will lead to more scriptural living, deeper affection within the body of Christ, and will glorify God.
At first glance, it appears Desiring God is nothing more than Calvinistic "health and wealth" doctrine. However, Piper actually weaves an extensive scriptural case that does not center around health or wealth, but about glorifying God through enjoying Him. The sovereignty and glory of God is at the center of the book and Piper is clear that material possessions and blessings are for God's glory. Only through using them properly will man find true happiness. Thus, instead of merely teaching that man should be happy, Piper properly avoids heresy by connecting joy to working for God. This is theme found within Scripture and Piper proves it well (Philippians 1). In this, he avoids the trap of the prosperity gospel while making some key and well proven points about joy in the Christian life.
That said, Desiring God is about two hundred pages too long. The different sections of application are helpful, but they essentially repeat Piper's main point, but in different terms. This is helpful, but often makes reading redundant and limited. In addition, the massive amount of quotations from C.S. Lewis, Jonathan Edwards, and the Bible make the book rather choppy and hard to follow. More summarization would have served Piper well and perhaps shortened this lengthy discourse.
These objections, though, are mere points of technicality. Ultimately, Piper argues well for Christian Hedonism and speaks on enough issues to challenge almost any reader. While Desiring God is a difficult read at times, it is well worth the time to investigate and think through the claims and challenges of John Piper.
Reviewed by Matt Ahearn for Waterbrook Multnomah as part of their Blogging for Books program. I received the book as a review copy and I was not required to give a favorable or unfavorable perspective.
Share this review:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Review 14 for Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
Overall Rating:
A Thought-Provoking Read
Date:July 10, 2011
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
"Dictionary.com" says that a hedonist is a person whose life is devoted to the pursuit of pleasure and self-gratification. At first glance this doesn’t sound so bad. The United States' "Declaration of Independence" lists the pursuit of happiness as one of our unalienable rights, after all. But hedonists take this concept to a dangerous extreme. If their pursuit of pleasure hurts someone else or requires criminal activity of some kind, well, that’s justifiable in their eyes. I read a Garfield cartoon last week that illustrated this perfectly. (That’s right. Garfield is a hedonist. I suspect all cats are. But they’re cats, not people. We don’t expect better behavior from them.)
In the cartoon, Garfield says, Happiness is what I’m all about. Then he smacks Jon upside the back of the head while Jon is drinking coffee, causing Jon to spit the coffee out all over the place. Garfield smiles and says, My happiness (July 6, 2011).
Recently, Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers sent me a complimentary copy of "Desiring God" by John Piper for my honest review. The subtitle reads, "Meditations of a Christian Hedonist." That’s what caught my attention. Christian Hedonist is most-definitely an oxymoron. But the book is a classic. My copy is a 25th anniversary revised edition.
To make matters even more interesting, I’m concurrently reading another book that includes several quotes from Piper’s "Desiring God." And both books quote Jonathan Edwards and CS Lewis. In fact, they use some of the same quotes! But the other book gets straight to the point: Christians must learn to look to God first in every circumstance of life, good or bad. "Desiring God," on the other hand, required the author to defend and sufficiently explain his use of a controversial term before the reader could grasp and accept the truth he was trying to present: we find pleasure and satisfaction in God alone. God is glorified when we do.
That message is absolutely true. And when we find that pleasure and satisfaction in God alone, we are able to help others do the same. Christian hedonists bless God and others through their pursuit of pleasure and self-gratification. Christian hedonists are addicted to God.
I found Piper’s approach curious, but he really made me think. If you enjoy thinking challenges, I recommend this book!
Share this review:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Review 15 for Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
Overall Rating:
Find joy in Desiring God
Date:July 11, 2011
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
DESIRING GOD
Mediations of a Christian Hedonist
By John Piper
Mediations of a Christian Hedonist
By John Piper
The purpose of life is to glorify God by enjoying Him. We are to approach Him with the wonder of a child and take pleasure in Him. It is human nature to seek happiness and pleasure and this in turn leads to true praise and worship. True worship of God is spontaneous and from the heart not just the mouth.
God delights in the fellowship of the Trinity and His delight flows down to those who thirst after Him. He delights in His creation and shows His love by giving Himself to us; we must do likewise and give ourselves to Him. We should desire to share this gift of fellowship with others; it should be a joy not a duty or an obligation that we feel is forced upon us. True joy comes from bringing joy to others (a spouse, parent, friends, or co-workers) which is accomplished by sharing the gift of salvation.
Willful sinning is an act of contempt against God, a sign of disrespect. Many people today believe in Jesus just as they believe in Buddha or Santa Claus, but they don’t KNOW Jesus and they don’t delight in Him.
The ultimate goal of the Christian is to pursue the joy of God in everything we do!
This book is perfect for individual study or for a group setting. There is a Study Guide in the back, as well as; a Scripture index, a Person index and a Subject index and a Resource Guide.
This is a book that is very thought provoking and helpful for a deeper personal examination of one’s own personal life.
I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review
Share this review:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Review 16 for Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
Overall Rating:
A great look at being a happy Christian
Date:May 18, 2011
PDoug
Location:Northeastern PA
Age:55-65
Gender:male
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
4
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
This book speaks of a happy, loving God who takes pleasure in us and desires that we take pleasure in Him. It requires more than a quick reading to study out the scripture that is used by the author. It looks at a number of basic issues from worship to suffering in which the Christian can find joy. It gives an insightful and thoughtful perspective of the Christian life. I received this book from Multnomah Publishing for this review.
Share this review:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Review 17 for Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
Overall Rating:
Great book!
Date:April 25, 2011
Donald Key
Location:IA
Age:25-34
Gender:male
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
4
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
It is rare to find a worldview-shattering book that has the potential of setting your desires more squarely upon God. Finding such a book would not only change what you worship, but also the amount of joy that resides in your heart. For 25 years, Desiring God has been this rare book. In its pages, you will find the biblical call to pursue God through desiring Him. What we have lost through the Stoics, we have regained through the brilliant insights of Piper, which is the call to pursue joy as a valid pursuit and motive of the heart. Here, joy is not pursued for the sake of joy alone. Rather, joy is pursued so that one might have complete joy in Christ. And when one is completely joyous in Christ, he is then able to properly worship God. As Piper says, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” Hence, this book is not primarily about us, but is primarily about God and how we should relate to Him.
Desiring God is a defense, explication, and practical application of these biblical concepts. This means that Piper establishes his principles through biblical reasoning, and then highlights how the principles are played out in everyday life. This touches on the topics of money, marriage, prayer, suffering and worship to name a few. Along the way, Piper explores the Christians of the past who have advocated and lived out these principles. Piper finds C.S. Lewis, Jonathan Edwards, and Blaise Pascal to be the most helpful promulgators of these truths. The inclusion of block quotes from these three writers is one of the more helpful additions in the book. These writers developed their thoughts in a very deep and explorative fashion. This has the effect of bringing to life these truths. Piper excels at weaving these quotes with biblical exposition to make a solid case for pursuing God through joy.
The reader will benefit from this book to the degree that he embraces these concepts, as he is made into one who desires God above all else. This book is highly recommended, and will serve the reader well in developing a solid theological foundation for worship and living life for the glory of God.
A special thanks to WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, who graciously provided a complementary copy of this book for review.
Share this review:
+2points
2of 2voted this as helpful.
Review 18 for Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
Overall Rating:
This book is excellent
Date:March 23, 2011
Al Bathke
Location:Salem, OR
Age:45-54
Gender:male
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
Excellent book for strengthening spiritual walk with worthwhile challenges for facing todays issues and impact our attitude has.
Share this review:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Review 19 for Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
Overall Rating:
I urge you to buy the Revised Edition
Date:February 26, 2011
Pastor Tim VL
Location:Louisville, CO
Age:35-44
Gender:male
Quality:
4
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
If you are going to purchase a copy of John Piper’s “Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist”, I urge you buy the Revised Edition. If you already have the first edition, by all means invest in the Revised Edition; there is enough new grist in the Revised Edition to make an upgrade that is well worth the purchase.
Why?
First, the context and style of the Revised Edition gives the book greater weightiness. You may be thinking, “Context and style issues shouldn’t take precedence over issues of content.” I would tend to agree with you in all most all cases; however, it’s issues context and style that lends greater credence and cogency to the overall content of this edition, and its issues of context and style that sets this edition apart the previous edition(s). With respect to context and style, in the 25 years since the first edition came out, two contextual aspects make this edition more meaningful. (A) The Revised Edition was updated in the midst of the ongoing caldron of John Piper’s ever growing life and ministry experience. Over the past 25 years, the concepts written upon the pages of “Desiring God” appear to have developed far beyond thoughts, ideas, and concepts. The content of the book seem to have been tried in the fires of the author’s life and ministry in good times and in difficult times. In the preface, the author confesses that both his ministry and life have had some difficulties since the publishing of the first edition. Piper writes:
“One of the older women of our church quipped to us at our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, ‘The fist twenty-five years are the hardest.’ We have not found it to be so. We are nearing the end of the second twenty-five, and undoubtedly they have been the hardest. The body ages and things go wrong, Marriage, we found, passes through deep water as husband and wife pass through midlife and beyond. We made it. But we will not diminish the disquietude of those years. . . The other ‘marriage’ in my life (with Bethlehem Baptist Church) has been a mingling of sweetness and sorrow. As I sit here pondering the years, the sweetness so outweighs the sorrow that I have no desire to dwell on the pain.” (pg. 11)
It is clear that when John Piper writes about desiring and enjoying God, he is not witting about sycophantic Pollyanna emotionalism that is conjured up with a little moralistic hocus pocus. Piper is talking about a desire that is the product of our new birth in Christ and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
(B) In the passing years since the first edition of “Desiring God”, Piper has had to answer several meaningful critiques of the theory of Christian hedonism. As a result, the Revised Edition has a bit more of an Apologetic flavor. The apologetics in this edition addresses some questions that the first edition left wanting (questions about the supremacy of Christ in the will of man, the laboriousness that accompanies Christian sacrifice, and the pressing hardship of Christian suffering). The addition of a chapter on Christian suffering as the sacrifice of the Christian hedonist is a needed addition that makes the revised edition well worth the purchase.
Second, and most vitally, the content of the Revised Edition of “Desiring God” is exceptionally biblical and theologically robust. I approached this book with my guard up against any whiff of emotionalism that seems to be prevalent in too much Christian self-help literature. So, I did find myself trying to argue against Piper’s assertions and theories; but, more often then not, I found myself trying to argue away or minimalize Bible texts. From a Reformed theological perspective, Piper first grounded his theory in sovereign grace and the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. Chapter one deals with God himself as totally sovereign and supremely pleased (Psalm 115:3). Chapter two Piper argues that no one can delight in God as we are commanded to (Psalm 37:4) unless God transforms us into new creatures in Christ via the effectual calling of the Holy Spirit. In other words, we need to be born again, which is God’s doing. Following these two initial chapters, the rest of Piper’s theory flows out from the sanctification and the ordinary means of Grace: worship (ch. 3&4), the Word (ch. 5), and prayer (ch. 6). The remaining chapters build upon God’s sanctification and our implementation of the ordinary means of grace: money, marriage, missions, and suffering.
Third, and finally, I had some mixed thoughts on the binding and format of the book. I liked the included study guide. The study guide is easy to use without being simplistic. The inexpensive printing/binding makes this book accessible to wide audience. However, I wish there were an edition printed on heavier paper with a hard cover stitched binding. As a pastor, I tend to make many marginalia notations in books. “Desiring God” is such an influential and ground breaking book any thoughtful Christian will be utilizing and writing in this book, whether or not you agree with Piper’s Christian hedonism theory. The notes I took in this book tended to bleed through, and I am not sure how well the binding will hold up with extended use. That said, the binding and printing issues are only enough for me to downgrade the book one half a star out of five.
I received this book free for the purposes of review from WaterBrook/Multnomah Publishers.
Share this review:
+3points
3of 3voted this as helpful.
Review 20 for Desiring God, Revised Edition: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
Overall Rating:
Piper's classic has never been better
Date:February 24, 2011
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
Every author seem to have "the book." That is the book that people associates the author with. Jerry Bridges has The Pursuit of Holiness, J.I. Packer has Knowing God", and John Piper has this book, Desiring God. I first read this book in 1998 after my BSM (Baptist Student Ministry) Director read a page during a Bible Study. I was impressed with the theology and passion John Piper has for God. This book instantly became one of my favorite books. To is truly an honor to review the 25th anniversary edition of Piper's classic.
For those not familiar with the book, it centers around the idea of Christian Hedonism, which simply puts, "The chief end of man to glorify God by enjoying him forever." Piper draws our attention how we should treasure God above all our personal treasures and anything this world can offer. Using scripture, love, and prayer to show us how we can truly enjoy God. The final chapter of the book is on suffering, which is the best chapter on suffering I have ever read. Yes, there has been other books on suffering since then, but this was the first chapter I begin to see how God can use suffering to make us treasure and seek him.
This edition of Desiring God is just as good as the 10th anniversary edition I purchased when I was in college. To be honest, that edition has more things underlined than this edition. I guess I am still impartial to my first copy of the book. One plus of the book is that majority of the scripture quoted in the book is from the English Standard Version (ESV), which my favorite translation of the Bible. In some of the footnotes, Piper makes reference to other books that he has written to go into more detail on what he is talking about especially, When I Don't Desire God. I am happy to recommend this edition of Desiring God to anyone who has never read it nor who is familiar with John Piper.
Share this review:
0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.