Yes, supportive and applauding pic.twitter.com/J3pQL9j0sH
— Julia L (@JuliaYunLiu) August 11, 2020
Barnabas Piper, son of celebrity Pastor John Piper, apparently just remarried to the applause of his father (see man seated to the right in above picture).
Normally, this would be mostly unremarkable. However, celebrity Pastor John Piper’s harsh stance against remarriage following divorce is what makes this extremely remarkable.
John Piper is on the record in denying remarriage for spouses even if their divorce came as a result of their former spouse’s adultery. His presence at his son’s remarriage does not fit with this harsh stance.
To quote the elder Piper:
“I don’t think the Bible allows divorce and remarriage ever while the spouse is living” (emphasis in original).
-from “Does the Bible Allow for Divorce In the Case of Adultery?” by John Piper, January 9, 2009 (link here)
Both church and denominational policy has been influenced by John Piper’s teachings, and this one on remarriage is especially cruel and merciless. Real people have been hurt by JP’s teachings on the issue of divorce and remarriage. That is why I am writing about his son’s remarriage.
I have gone on the record as to my disagreement with John Piper’s teachings on divorce and remarriage (for example, see here and here).
BP’s remarriage–assuming he had a biblical divorce, which is an open question)–is not a huge issue theologically from my perspective. I support remarriage after a divorce for biblical reasons. To me, allowing divorce and not remarriage is nonsensical theologically.
That said, my problem is more about John Piper’s apparent celebratory presence at said remarriage–something he claimed in 2009 was anti-biblical!
Now, I am guessing JP is wise enough to realize he needed to be at this wedding if he wanted to keep a relationship with his son. I do applaud that.
John Piper may still hold to his harsh theology on divorce and remarriage, but he may be unwilling to sacrifice his relationship with his own son over it. If so, that ought to awaken him to his seriously flawed and problematic theology of divorce and remarriage.
Either remarriage following divorce is anti-biblical, or it is not.
For a pastor with biblical convictions, it ought not to matter if the remarrying individual is your son or a simply a congregant. In fact, if one decides differently for one’s child, then I would suggest that is your REAL theology of divorce and remarriage.
I hope in the coming days we hear from John Piper, and he issues a corrective to his destructive, merciless teaching on these matters. However, I will not hold my breath until that happens.
