May 28, 2008

Piper on Arrogant Calvinists

"I love the doctrines of grace with all my heart, and I think they are pride-shattering, humbling, and love-producing doctrines. But I think there is an attractiveness about them to some people, in large matter, because of their intellectual rigor. They are powerfully coherent doctrines, and certain kinds of minds are drawn to that. And those kinds of minds tend to be argumentative. So the intellectual appeal of the system of Calvinism draws a certain kind of intellectual person, and that type of person doesn't tend to be the most warm, fuzzy, and tender. Therefore this type of person has a greater danger of being hostile, gruff, abrupt, insensitive or intellectualistic. I'll just confess that. It's a sad and terrible thing that that's the case. Some of this type aren't even Christians, I think. You can embrace a system of theology and not even be born again." (John Piper, Desiring God Ministries)

"The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong." (Psalm 5: 5 NIV)

God help us all to have grace in our speech!

"Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4: 6 KJV)

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