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February 19, 2006
The Piper finale...
Let's just say that I have posted on a lot of topics before, but I have never received as many comments, as many private emails, or as much traffic, than I have in the last couple of days, regarding John PIper's, Don't Waste Your Cancer, my first response, followed by my subsequent follow-up.
Most of the responses came from various bloggers and those who read blogs, with the overwhelming majority coming from Hugh Hewitt's post on Saturday night.
These posts of mine received far much more attention that I would have expected, but I think it touched a nerve off in many people, as well as touching my own nerves off after what I had read from Piper.
If anything, I realize that there is a theological divide between many of us, and I am okay with that. As a Christian I believe we can disagree on many things, and still hold to the main tenants of the Christian faith.
I have always been a fan of Augustine's dictum:
"In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; and in all things, charity." - Augustine
Let me close this topic with a couple of statements:
1. I still strongly disagree with Piper, but I do apologize if I in anyway personally attacked John Piper himself, or if I was less than charitable. I do not know him personally, so I wish I would have done a better job of separating the person (Piper), and my disagreements over this theological view. There are many blogs online that I believe are too vitriolic in their attacks on people, rather than on their theological views, etc. I do not want to fall into that category as I do not find it helpful.
2. I appreciate everyone's personal stories, self-disclosures, and revealing of their own hurts in the comments they posted. Thank you for sharing. I learned a lot.
3. I think underlying all of the discussions back and forth was the disagreement over "who" and "what" is the originator of not only sin, but pain and suffering. So this discussion on cancer goes much deeper than what is seen on the surface, but resonates to the depths of what we believe and hold to regarding issues over free-will, determinism, suffering, sovereignty, theodicy, etc, etc. Because of this, this issue is multi-facted, and too complex for any blogging debate.
4. Piper's comments were very personal to him as they were very relevant to his own current suffering and trial of prostrate cancer. I too, out of my own experience responded to what was very relevant to me in the midst of my own suffering. That makes me realize that we all have different stories and experiences related to our own suffering, and if we listened to every story we would have heard many different things. And I think based on those experiences we would have all found different parts of Scripture that we resonated with in the midst of that suffering. That doesn't make us any less Christian, but it does make us different in the way we experience and respond to different experiences.
5. As Christians I think we can do a better job of disagreeing with each other and not making that into a war. So I thank those of you who shared your own responses, whether they disagreed with mine or not, yet still were able to separate the theological disagreements from yours or mine personal faith in Jesus Christ.
I pray for speedy recovery and healing for John Piper in the midst of his own suffering.
And I pray for continued dialogue for those of us who don't agree theologically, because I believe that our theology can only be enriched from one another.
Posted by rhett at February 19, 2006 10:23 PM
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Comments
Hi, Rhett. Greetings in Christ from Merced, CA!
I, like many (I assume), saw your posts via Hugh Hewitt. I enjoy Hugh's work. I am encouraged by your posts - but not in the way you might think.
I, like you, am a believer and have suffered the loss of many that I love from cancer. In particular, I still grieve for the loss of my first step-father, Tom, who departed this world back in 1986 after suffering many years of painful cancers.
The reason for my comments? Two questions pop into my mind: (1) What is un-Biblical about what Dr. Piper posted? and (2) What was un-encouraging about what Dr. Piper posted?
Just so you know where I stand: I found Dr. Piper's post to be both Biblical and encouraging. I would love to hear your comments and, perhaps, start a dialogue.
Yours in Christ's service and with His love,
Ted
Posted by: Ted Hoffmant at February 20, 2006 07:52 AM
Thank you for a winsome and graceful adjustment to your original comments. I too, was troubled with the tone on some of your original comments. I am a cancer survivor and was deeply touched by Piper's comments and troubled by your initial thoughts.
Grace, freely given, is most often powerfully distributed through Godly character. Atta Boy!
Posted by: Larry Miller at February 20, 2006 04:19 PM
"Piper's comments were very personal to him as they were very relevant to his own current suffering and trial of prostrate cancer. I too, out of my own experience responded to what was very relevant to me in the midst of my own suffering. That makes me realize that we all have different stories and experiences related to our own suffering, and if we listened to every story we would have heard many different things. And I think based on those experiences we would have all found different parts of Scripture that we resonated with in the midst of that suffering. That doesn't make us any less Christian, but it does make us different in the way we experience and respond to different experiences."
This is an excellent point and one we need to remember in ministering to those who are suffering.
When I lost a child to a second-trimester miscarriage, many sought to comfort me by saying, "Obviously something was wrong with that baby and God mercifully took it to Heaven." I did not find this comforting at all. Wasn't it bad enough to deal with a miscarriage without having to also deal with the grief of my baby having had something horribly wrong with it?
I clung to the sovereignty of God during that difficult time. I also clung to the knowledge that, on this side of Heaven, our questions will not always be answered.
Life is unfair. Less than a year after my miscarriage, I held my healthy newborn child at a funeral for another mother's precious newborn. Why should she lose her second child while I had six strong and vibrant children?
Some day, when I see Jesus, all of this will make sense. In the meantime, I know that God is in control. I also take comfort in the fact that I can't know all the answers. All I have to do is weep with those who weep, and acknowledge that, try as I might, I can't fix anything.
And, somehow, in all our brokennes, God carries us...and is glorified.
Posted by: Rebecca at February 25, 2006 10:23 AM
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