Another older post…
I honestly thought about titling this post “Goodbye John Piper” but wisdom and an already nervous state about the reaction as to what I am about to write convinced me otherwise. You see through the rest of the post I am going to be calling out and correcting someone that has influenced and impacted my theology and preaching more than just about anyone. I also highly suspect he will continue to positively influence and impact my life and ministry after this. However a recent tweet by John Piper showed just how badly we as Christians don’t get it at times.
The tweet in question simply said “Goodbye Burger King” and included a link to an article about a new Whopper burger and its wrapping. The tweet echoed a similar tweet from Dr. Piper that almost crashed the internet, at least for evangelicals. The tweet “Farewell Rob Bell” was posted in late February 2011 and caused a firestorm in blogs, sermons, books, articles, interviews and others that centered on a response or reaction to Bell’s book Love Wins. I weighed in on that issue on this blog and in sermons at the time. It was a big deal. Bell was attempting to rewrite the history of Christian thought and theology and challenging the very nature of what we believe about God and eternity. But is the issue with Burger King as serious.
Well what is the issue? Burger King is releasing the Proud Whopper which will feature rainbow colored packaging and promote the LGBT agenda. I am not sure this is a good business move by the fast food chain, however I live in the Bible Belt South and this move will play worse here than in other parts of the country. Whether you should eat that particular burger or any food from the chain is between you, God, how you read 1 Corinthians, and your cardiologist. My issue and where I think Piper misses it is in response to the tagline that the Burger chain is attaching to this promotion. That tag line is “we are all the same inside”. Their focus is that no matter the wrapper, their whopper is the same inside, and then the associated extrapolating of that thought onto humans. You know what, they are right! We are all the same inside. We are all totally depraved humans in desperate need of God to save us. I think this is where we should focus our efforts in response to this news. Instead of weeping or calling for boycotts or doing any of the other silly things we do as Christians, how about we respond with love, tell them they are right in what they are saying, and then tell them how they are right about it.
Mr. Gragg 