UPDATE: You can find that post here.
I am working on a post on John Piper called “Why John Piper’s Wrong On The Minneapolis Bridge Collapse.” It should be ready tomorrow. This isn’t a trash post per-se, because I like John Piper and appreciate his heart for people and Jesus. But his recent words regarding last weeks event are confusing and the post will sharply disagree with John Piper’s assessment of last weeks bridge collapse.
I’ve asked “Why Does Tragedy Like This Happen?” and explored the tendency of Christians to spiritualize tragedy by asking such questions as “Where Was God In Minneapolis?”, and now I want to deconstruct an actual response from a nationally recognized leader and pastor.
So until tomorrow, here are some words from Piper’s blog post on the bridge collapse. Read these as well as the whole post and think about if what he is saying makes sense and if it overly spiritualizes an event that really doesn’t need it right now:
Tonight for our family devotions our appointed reading was Luke 13:1-9. It was not my choice. This is surely no coincidence. O that all of the Twin Cities, in shock at this major calamity, would hear what Jesus has to say about it from Luke 13:1-5. People came to Jesus with heart-wrenching news about the slaughter of worshipers by Pilate. Here is what he said.
There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
The meaning of the collapse of this bridge is that John Piper is a sinner and should repent or forfeit his life forever. That means I should turn from the silly preoccupations of my life and focus my mind’s attention and my heart’s affection on God and embrace Jesus Christ as my only hope for the forgiveness of my sins and for the hope of eternal life. That is God’s message in the collapse of this bridge. That is his most merciful message: there is still time to turn from sin and unbelief and destruction for those of us who live. If we could see the eternal calamity from which he is offering escape we would hear this as the most precious message in the world.
