Here's John Calvin sounding like John Piper:
But although our mind cannot conceive of God, without rendering some worship to him, it will not, however, be sufficient simply to hold that he is the only being whom all ought to worship and adore, unless we are also persuaded that he is the fountain of all goodness, and that we must seek everything in him, and in none but him.
...
For, until men feel that they owe everything to God, that they are cherished by his paternal care, and that he is the author of all their blessings, so that nought is to be looked for away from him, they will never submit to him in voluntary obedience; nay, unless they place their entire happiness in him, they will never yield up their whole selves to him in truth and sincerity.
Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1.2.1
2 comments:
The trick is getting men to feel that way...
Of course it is really Piper who very deliberately sounds like Calvin.
Getting people to FEEL that way? Well first of all you've got to get them to THINK that way.
For many Piper was a blast of fresh air when he first spoke over here. Others hated it. Now some of us (me included) don't get on with his style of speaking and/pr writing but have been greatly enriched by his message. For others it was a direct rejection of what he was saying because it went against the grain of "Duty" They probably felt a bit like those first labourers who worked in the field and got the same pay as the later workers.
A really good read on this type of theme is Leithart Deep Comedy.
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