Christian hedonism

The Westminster Shorter Catechism summarizes the "chief end of man" as "to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever."{{sfn|Presbyterian Church (USA)|2014|p=205}} Piper has suggested that this would be more correct as "to glorify God by enjoying Him forever."{{sfn|Piper|1996|loc="Introduction"}} Many Christian hedonists, such as Matt Chandler, point to figures such as Blaise Pascal and Jonathan Edwards as exemplars of Christian hedonism from the past, though their lives predate the term.{{cite web |last=Chandler |first=Matt |author-link=Matt Chandler (pastor) |date=10 November 2013 |title=Persevering in the Pursuit of Joy |url=http://www.tvcresources.net/resource-library/sermons/persevering-in-the-pursuit-of-joy |location=Flower Mound, Texas |publisher=The Village Church |access-date=3 April 2017}}

Christian hedonism was developed in opposition to the deontology of Immanuel Kant. Kant argued that actions should be considered praiseworthy only if they do not proceed from the actor's desires or expected benefit, but rather from a sense of duty.{{sfnm |1a1=Kant |1y=1785 |1loc=sec. 1, 4:397 |2a1=Rand |2y=1961 |2p=32}} On the contrary, Christian hedonists advocate for a consequentialist ethic based on an understanding that their greatest possible happiness can be found in God.{{sfn|Piper|1996}} In this critique of Kant, John Piper was influenced by Ayn Rand.{{cite web |last=Piper |first=John |author-link=John Piper (theologian) |date=9 October 2007 |title=The Ethics of Ayn Rand: Appreciation and Critique |url=http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-ethics-of-ayn-rand |publisher=Desiring God |access-date=2 January 2019}}

{{see also|Ethical egoism#Criticism}}

Most immediately, some Christians object to the teaching's controversial name, as the word "hedonism" by itself has the connotation of the pursuit sinful, fleshly pleasures.{{cite web |last=Gentry |first=Greg |date=17 September 2005 |title=Why I Am No Longer a Piperite |url=http://parablemania.ektopos.com/archives/2005/09/why_i_am_no_lon.html |website=Parableman |access-date=2 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507213546/http://parablemania.ektopos.com/archives/2005/09/why_i_am_no_lon.html |archive-date=7 May 2018 |url-status=dead }}{{verification needed|date=January 2018}} It has little commonality with philosophical hedonism; however, Piper has stated that a provocative term is "appropriate for a philosophy that has a life changing effect on its adherents." Critics charge that hedonism of any sort puts something (namely, pleasure) before God,{{cite web |last=Booth |first=C. W. |year=2002 |title=A Biblical Study of the Theological Foundation of Christian Hedonism |url=http://thefaithfulword.org/studyhedonism.html |website=The Faithful Word.org |access-date=2 April 2017}} which allegedly breaks the first of the Ten Commandments: "You shall have no other gods before me." In response, Piper states on his website that

{{quote|By Christian Hedonism, we do not mean that our happiness is the highest good. We mean that pursuing the highest good will always result in our greatest happiness in the end. We should pursue this happiness, and pursue it with all our might. The desire to be happy is a proper motive for every good deed, and if you abandon the pursuit of your own joy, you cannot love man or please God.{{cite web |last=Piper |first=John |author-link=John Piper (theologian) |date=31 August 2006 |title=We Want You to Be a Christian Hedonist! |url=http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/we-want-you-to-be-a-christian-hedonist |publisher=Desiring God |access-date=2 April 2017}}|author=John Piper (theologian)|title=We Want You to Be a Christian Hedonist!}}

{{Portal|Reformed Christianity}}

• Ethical egoism
• Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, a Jewish theologian with a similar view

{{reflist|22em}}

{{refbegin|35em|indent=yes}}

• {{cite book

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|volume=13

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• {{cite book

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• {{cite book

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• {{cite book

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|chapter=Christian Hedonism: Piper and Edwards on the Pursuit of Joy in God

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|editor2-last=Taylor

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• {{cite book

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|editor2-last=Taylor

|editor2-first=Justin

|title=For the Fame of God's Name: Essays in Honor of John Piper

|location=Wheaton, Illinois

|publisher=Crossway

|pages=70–101

|isbn=978-1-4335-2321-2

}}

{{refend}}

• [http://www.thefaithfulword.org/cathedonism.html Articles critical of Christian hedonism]

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}

Category:Calvinist theology

Category:Christian belief and doctrine

Category:Hedonism

Category:Ethical theories