This was brought to my attention today at Apprising Ministries by Christian Research Network Contributor Christine Pack of Sola Sisters. I find this may 28, 2008 post to be a rather odd one by the New Calvinist mentor.

In How A Roman Catholic Anti-Calvinist Can Serve Today’s Poet-Calvinists Dr. Piper writes:

May 29 is G. K. Chesterton’s 134th birthday. He was a British journalist and brilliant writer. Nobody exploits the power of paradox like Chesterton. I celebrate his birthday by recommending his book Orthodoxy…

[H]is celebration of poetry and paradox undermines his own abomination of the greatest truth-and-mystery-lovers around today, the happy Calvinists… One of the reasons that Calvinism is stirring today is that it takes both truth and mystery seriously. (source)

Dr. Piper’s pretty postmodern there; I respectfully offer that if you were to substitute Emergents for Calvinists that could have been written by Living Spiritual Teacher and Emerging Church guru Brian McLaren,

Emergents will admit they take truth seriously, but you just can’t know it completely because it is mysteriously always evolving. John Piper then continues:

Read Orthodoxy. A few of you may be swept away into the folly of Roman Catholic sacramentalism… Here is a flavor of what to expect in Orthodoxy¹:

• “The poet only desires exaltation and expansion, a world to stretch himself in. The poet only asks to get his head into the heavens. It is the logician who seeks to get the heavens in to his head. And it is his head that splits.” (17)…
• “Mysticism keeps men sane. As long as you have mystery you have health. When you destroy mystery you create morbidity.” (28)…

¹ Page numbers from Orthodoxy (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1959). (source)

So, is Dr. Piper recommending mysticism as a way to embrace mystery? It would appear so, and may also shed more light upon John Piper, Rick Waren & Foster-Willardism. Mysticism is spiritual suicide; best run from it.

See also:

DON’T CONFORM TO THE WORLD OR TO FOSTER-WILLARDISM

MARK DRISCOLL AND NEO-REFORMED NEW CALVINIST CONTEMPLATIVE SPIRITUALITY

TIM KELLER AND CONTEMPLATIVE SPIRITUALITY