Will Those Who Don't Hear Go To Hell?
I read an article by John Piper on crosswalk.com today, and though I haven't read a lot from Piper, this piece struck me as consistent with what I have seen of his teaching--half of it very profound, and half of it nonsense.
In any case, before I say in which of the two halves I believe the following quote belongs, I thought I'd throw it out for discussion. Certainly those of you on the email list have some thoughts about this point you'd like to share.
So, what say you all in response to the following quote from Piper? :
"Paradoxically, hatred and tolerance are teaming up to take eternal life from Muslim people. Jesus said - and we say it with tears - "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him" (John 3:36). In other words, nominal Christians, devoted Muslims, pious Hindus, faithful Buddhists, orthodox Jews, devout animists, sincere agnostics, secular atheists - everyone who does not hold fast to Jesus Christ as the supremely valuable Son of God and Savior - will perish and not have eternal life. "He who has the Son has life; he who has not the Son of God has not life" (1 John 5:12). Whatever obscures this message for Muslim people obstructs their way to eternal life. For them Christ is a prophet, but not the divine Son of God who said, "Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58). For Muslims Jesus is not the Savior who died for their sins and said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). Unless Muslims - and all others who deny Christ's deity - hear and embrace the good news that "the fullness of deity" dwells in Jesus (Colossians 2:9), they will be without eternal hope."
posted by Mike Mitchell at 1:17 PM
3 Comments:
Seems as though he's saying what many Christian's think, but are afraid to say out of fear of their own judgment. And regardless of how 'firm' the Bible seems as to who is 'in' and who is 'out', there is a quiet hope in the back of many people's mind that God will be lenient wih the rules. In other words... be more like us.
I have this hunch that God actually loves his children. Does this theology seem consistant with his love?
Shelby
In response to Shelby, most of my thoughts about John Piper's extreme Calvinistic view I give in the post that follows this one "More thoughts..." or something like that.
I think God's love is the thing people with Piper's perspective sell short. I don't believe what God has for us can truly be called love if it doesn't entail a free choice on our part. So certainly all the people he names in the quote "Muslims, Buddhists, nominal Christians, etc." are those God wants to live in his family as his children, which they can't completely do apart from Christ. But it is absurd (and rather arrogant) for Piper to assume he knows with full certainty that God automatically condemns to Hell all who die as Muslims. Piper is not so omniscient that he knows exactly how God makes the choice of Christ available to people in different cultures and situations.
But then again, according to Piper and the other hyper-Calvinist, no one really has a choice anyway.
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