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Book Review - 90 Minutes in Heaven
- 04/23/06
- 24
We know of three people, from Scripture, who were privileged to see heaven. All of these men, Stephen and the Apostles Paul and John, were alive when they were given a glimpse of the wonders of heaven. Don Piper, a Baptist pastor, claims to be a fourth, though unlike the other three, he first had to die. Returning home from a conference, Piper’s car was crushed under the wheels of a truck. Medical personnel declared him dead at the scene of the accident. But ninety minutes after this accident, a pastor, waiting at the scene, was told by God to pray for the dead man. He did so, and Piper immediately returned to life. For the 90 minutes that his body lay lifeless inside the car, Piper claims to have been in heaven. He now carries with him memories of paradise and in 90 Minutes in Heaven, a book which has sold over 500,000 copies, he seeks to encourage other Christians with a description of our eternal home. “Because I was able to experience heaven,” he says, “I was able to prepare [friends] for it. And now I am preparing you.”
The title may be deceptive. One might assume, from the title, that a significant portion of the book is dedicated to describing heaven. The reality is that the author’s time in heaven comprises only 15 pages of this 205-page book. A further seven pages, appended to the end of the book, engage very briefly and unsatisfactorily with the “why questions.” The bulk of the book describes Piper’s accident, rescue and convalescence with some attention to the ministry opportunities that have arisen since his time in heaven. The book is, in reality, a biographical sketch of Don Piper and a lengthy description of the trials he faced as he recovered from devastating bodily injuries. Following the description of heaven, there is little further reflection on paradise. There is little attempt to describe how the author’s life and perspective on Scripture have changed because of his experience. There is little interaction with the Bible. There is little gospel.
Piper’s description of heaven left me cold. I was dismayed to find that his heaven seems largely man-centered. In fact, if you were to ask your unbelieving friends and neighbors to describe heaven, they would probably create a place very much like this. Piper did not see Jesus, nor did he see God, though, to be fair, he saw only the “outskirts” and did not pass through the gates. Despite this, he was exceedingly joyful and feels that he experienced the very joys of paradise. For ninety minutes he walked through heaven, greeted by those he knew in this life, all of whom were (quite conveniently), the same age they were when he had last known them. As I read this description of heaven I thought immediately of a quote from John Piper’s book God is the Gospel. He asks:
The critical question for our generation—and for every generation—is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever say, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?
From the descriptions in 90 Minutes in Heaven we would would have to respond, “yes!” It seems that Don Piper’s heaven is a heaven where we are fulfilled without Christ. Piper’s heaven was a place of reunion with loved ones, a place of beautiful music and a place of literal pearl (or “pearlescent”) gates and literal streets of gold. It is a heaven that can be so easily described to a human mind using mere human words, as if it had originated in a human mind. Piper is able to describe it in some detail, but what he presents is surely far too human to be heaven.
A further troubling aspect of the book is a clear lack of theological precision. For example, Piper continually describes miracles that surrounded his rescue and recovery, yet these are often not the type of events that theologians would classify as being miraculous. They may have shown God’s grace and power, but they were not, strictly speaking, miracles. He also uses his experience to minister to people who lack assurance of their faith. But what true, lasting assurance can we find in the dubious experiences of another mere human? Our assurance is to be in God and His promises through Scripture, not in man.
I do believe Don Piper is a sincere man and one who loves God. He seems to sincerely believe that he experienced heaven and has been called by God to share his experience with others. But I do not believe that he did see heaven. I cannot say what his experience was, whether it was purely psychological or whether it was even some type of demonic deception. What I do know is that the Scriptures are wholly sufficient for believers. We do not need to see or experience heaven in this life. Nor should we desire Don Piper’s heaven.
I see no reason to believe that God wants us to know more about heaven than He has revealed to us in His Word. As the old hymn asks, “What more can he say than to you he has said?” God surely desires that we desire heaven, but only if we desire heaven primarily so we can be with the Savior. This is the heaven which we glimpse only dimly in Scripture, but which we await with eager expectation. It is most certainly not Piper’s 90-minute heaven.
I am a follower of Jesus Christ, a husband to Aileen and a father to three young children. I worship and serve as a pastor at 
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Comments (24)
I agree with you Tim. Personally, it saddens me that books like those are still around and that people buy them. A few thoughts below:1. When I saw that book first time at the bookstore, I thought: could this be the same Piper who pastors a church in Minnesota? Of course I had not read carefully the cover…2. There are also books out there from people who claim to have been in hell -and I am not talking about Dante Alighieri’s twisted view that still sticks into people’s minds. As Scripture says the law and the prophets is enough warning to make a sinner realize the gravity of his sin. No one, not even those who claim that are coming from the dead can present a better argument than God’s word. Though God has not revealed to us all what we may want to know, he has revealed all what we need to know. And we’d better listen.
This reminds me of something that Geoff Thomas said in his sermon “Satisfied with the Scriptures” which I posted at my site yesterday.He said,
No additional words alleged to come from God bind our consciences so that we have to believe them. Our consciences are captive to the Word of God alone. It does not matter for our Christian lives if we never heard of one single ‘prophecy,’ or one ‘saying of Jesus’ which was not found in the New Testament, or one so-called infallible utterance made by a pope, or never attended a revival where the greatest preacher in the world was preaching an inspiring sermon. It does not matter that we went through our entire lives and missed such words. We have “Moses and the prophets”, and their words we must not miss out on.
I would add that a personal testimony of “heaven” can not bind our conscience or sway our hearts. We have “Moses and the prophets”.
I might have some sympathy for Piper, I’m sure he suffered through a tramatic experience. I have a bigger problem with the “pastor” who was told by God to pray for a dead man!
I’m also reminded of something Dr. Adrian Rogers said about near death experiences: “You’ve never been closer to death than you are right now.”
Tim: I appreciate your discernment regarding this book. I read through it back when it first came out, and had great concern about several things that didn’t seem to line up with the Bible’s description of heaven. I agree with you that Piper seems sincere, but my hunch is the severe trauma of his accident may have left him in a mental state that gave him the impression he’d been in heaven but wasn’t. After all, as Scripture says, it is appointed unto man to die but once…and after that, judgment.
Tim your main point was that it was a CHRISTLESS Heaven he ‘experienced’ and I fully concur with your concern about that.
You also commented;
“He also uses his experience to minister to people who lack assurance of their faith. But what true, lasting assurance can we find in the dubious experiences of another mere human?”
True, but just as preaching can be used by the Spirit, so can testimony. Paul told his Emmaeus story at least three times.
I find some of the comments VERY odd. Such as;
‘I have a bigger problem with the “pastor” who was told by God to pray for a dead man!’
The prophets Elijah & Elisha did this, JESUS did this, Paul did this….. - where’s the problem?!
‘My hunch is the severe trauma of his accident may have left him in a mental state that gave him the impression he’d been in heaven but wasn’t’ - is pretty offensive really. It could just have easily been applied to Paul; “Oh well! - he was hit by lightning, fell off his donkey and hit his head!”
As I said, I don’t like the sound of the man’s Heaven either, but some clearly have a big streak of Deism in them and have a dumb God who can’t speak any further because of the Canon! Again, when Jesus told people that the Father had spoken to Him, they could have said “But the Father CAN’T have spoken to you! The Canon closed with Malachi!”
BIBLE-TYPE DAYS ARE NOT YET OVER! The cast and subject of the Book of Acts is not yet over The Canon does not change God’s relationship with His own. It can’t, as the very Scriptures don’t allow it.
“True, but just as preaching can be used by the Spirit, so can testimony.”
True, but when a person comes to me seeking assurance of salvation, I would be remiss to give that person assurance based on my experience rather than on the truths of Scripture.
Great review, Tim. Yes, all these type of stories are false. There has been a lot of analysis of near-death experiences that have legitimate psychological and medical explanations.
One big example of the fraud associated with these experiences is the example of a physician named Eby, who wrote one book describing his trip to heaven, and another one describing his trip to hell. This Dr. Eby said in his book about heaven,( and he was a favorite guest of the “Heresy broadcasting network” TBN), that Jesus Himself said that Eby must return to earth after walking the streets of heaven to go back to earth to tell everyone that His coming back to earth was very soon, and promised Dr. Eby, that he would not die until He (Jesus) returned for the Rapture. Well, of course another false prophet, and Eby is long gone now. It is these types of books that are a discredit to the truth of scripture. All we need is the Bible with the illuminating light provided by the Holy Spirit.
Stan Ermshar
Great review Tim, thanks.
I once read a book by an author whose name now escapes me, but who was struggling with a friend’s testimony of an experience similar to Don Piper’s. The author cited Hebrews 9:27— “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment”—as ruling out a return from death. I was persuaded by that verse and have remained doubtful about such testimonies, believing that something else must be going on.
I’ve also got to believe that if any of us actually got to go to heaven for 90 minutes, we would have great difficulty not writing a whole lot more than 15 pages about it.
My $0.02.
I had a vision of heaven while in a Sunday school class, for just a moment, I was standing behind two cherubim and we were all chanting and the angel of Exekiel was standing in front of an altar contantly changing shape every time I blinked. And we were all singing praises to God who was on the altar. For some reason I was not able to see him and when i looked up, it was all gone. This all took place within a moment and I could go into lots of detail but I won’t right now. I put this down to intensive study of Ezekiel and the mind drifting during a particularly boring sermon in a Sunday school class. Although while dreaming I have heard a heavenly chorus where everyone was standing around singing all the time and praising God. This happens quite often. It all seemed to make sense once you were there, and I remember halfway waking up and saying to myself I can hear you and then it stopped. Great architecture in Heaven by the way! I probably induce a lot of this type of dreaming in my trade, I have been making by hand an illuminated mansucript of the Bible. And so I am in deep thought all the time over biblical passages and what they mean to me and waiting for inspiration to write the pages. My website has TV interviews with CBS, ABC and United Methodist Television.
James G. PepperBiblical Scribe
I’m with you Tim. Don Piper came and spoke at my church a few months back and although he talked about how his experience was meant to lead people to Jesus, we never once opened our Bibles nor did he really mention the gospel. I left extremely disappointed about how my time was wasted that Sunday morning.
Although I will say that he seemed like a good guy with a genuine heart for the Lord…just clearly misguided.
I haven’t read Piper’s book but am currently reading Steve Sjogren’s new book, The Day I Died, which strikes me as a very authentic encounter with God. This encounter includes God’s correction in Steve’s life and has brought change to the way Steve lives life and conducts ministry. This by a man who had been renowned as one of the more successful mega-church pastors in America! Perhaps you could review it one day.
Tim—
Thanks for reviewing books of all sorts. This one piqued my interest because in a Christian worldview, duly informed by the Scriptures as illumined by the Spirit, such a claim as “90 minutes in heaven” or a pseudo-resurrection does nothing but ridicules the verities of our faith. Such gibberish does nothing but lines the pockets of the one writing the gibberish.
I wanted to read the book simply to be able to speak to my wife and children about the folly of man’s vain imagination, and the dangers of false miracles, signs and wonders, which Jesus and the NT writers warn us will be a sign of the last days. I just couldn’t stomach putting money into the pockets of those promulgating error.
Luke 16:19-31 speaks of the parable that has been already referred to above. According to the Author of Life Himself (compare HIS “testimony” against Don Pipers, please), “…if someone from the dead goes to [the Rich man’s living family], they will repent…He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
I dunno. Jesus seems to be saying, “the book is a crock full of fertilizer, don’t waste my money on it— buy a good Bible instead.”
Truly, it is appointed for man to die ONCE, and then to face the judgment.
Test EVERYTHING by the Word, brothers. Quit being lead astray by every silly “vision” that so readily contradicts the Scripture.
For the Truth, Sola Scriptura!James H
Initially, my response to this book when promoted by the male leadership of my church was that it was not authentic. I had it given to me to read and found that it was not biblical in its assertions. I think the author must be a very dedicated and fine man, but I believe that his book is only another example of the gnosticism which is invading all kinds of churches all over. Sadly, we have become an experience-driven society prone to every strange tale which itches our ears or tempts our imagination. May God have mercy on us all.
A man from my church died of aids, had the toe tag, was placed in the morgue and three hours later came back to life. He claims to have been in heaven as well but says that no human words can even begin to describe the place. He is one of the most humble guys I know and spends most of his life praying for the sick, ministering to the needy and serving in our local church body. He says someday he might write a book but I think he is waiting until he gets a handle on the images that he saw. It literally was too overwhelming to begin to speak about.
I just find it interesting that this man at my church had a complete life change and is now more of a follower of Jesus than ever as he waits until he can go back There. But this Piper guy is more about describing what he saw, writing a book, speaking about his experience etc etc… what a difference between two men who claim to have similar experiences. Hmmm…
z.
One said;
Hebrews 9:27— “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment”— as ruling out a return from death. I was persuaded by that verse, and have remained doubtful about such testimonies, believing that something else must be going on.’
Another;
‘Truly, it is appointed for man to die ONCE, and then to face the judgment.’ - Test EVERYTHING by the Word, brothers.’
Let me say once again, I too would tend to discredit Piper’s experience because of its fruit, but from the comments and ‘proofs’ given above, even the Apostle Paul wouldn’t cut it with you guys, - remember? - he came back from the dead?!
- You say that Scripture is your only guide, but your selectivity is so obvious.
‘I’ve also got to believe that if any of us actually got to go to heaven for 90 minutes, we would have great difficulty not writing a whole lot more than 15 pages about it.’
Yes! I totally agree, and so Paul did do, but (VERY suspiciously!) said, “And I saw things I can’t TELL you guys.”
People exclude themselves from so much God might do in their lives in service of Him and others, by not believing they can live in God like His people in Bible days did. They thus have even less than the OT saints, who did not have the better New Covenant of the Spirit that Paul exhorts us to live and know. They do this by believing the life of the early Church believers is no longer available, and yet could not give a rational explanation to an enquirer why not.
Allan—
Um…when did Paul “die” again?
I mean, yes, we know he admits that he was taken “up to the third heaven” and had visions of Home that we have not—but he was also the author of over half of the NT canon…
He was an apostle….
And this dude Piper has a meaningless, Christ-less heaven that is absolutely UNNECESSARY and unauthorized because he is neither an apostle of Christ nor does the church need a new foundation. It was laid. Like most foundations, once is enough. The apostles and prophets laid the foundation for the truth, laid the foundation for the church in all ages, and no one doubts their miracles.
Please, brother, compare Piper’s fallacious and meaningless account to the glory of those accounts in Scripture.
And remember how many times Jesus and the apostles warned against false teachers, false prophets, false signs, false miracles…
And ask:
Why do we need this stuff?
Is Scripture enough or isn’t it?
James H
Allan—
I also would like to mention that Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology makes a “case” (which I obviously disagree with) for the perpetuity of the miraculous, of the “life” of the apostles (i.e.: people rising from the dead, rather incredible miracles happening, miraculous gifts continuing) not being limited to the writing and closing of the Canon of Scripture—
Basically, he’d agree with the position you seem to be taking. To be honest, I disagree with the position from a Scriptural standpoint (the miraculous was to authenticate the apostolate and the disciples’ ministry in Jesus’ absence)—I think that the age in which we live has the truth and that it has been established as trustworthy and complete, wholly able and sufficient to save with the illumination of the Spirit.
Further, when I hear of and read accounts such as Piper’s, and a few of the posts above (regarding, “I know a guy in my church who died, came back to life, etc…”), I cannot personally accept such accounts as anything but wishful thinking and NEVER have I heard of an account as glorious as those we find in the Scriptures.
When have you seen “Benny Hinn” or “Creflo Dollar” or any of the Television/TBN “apostles” so-called actually raise a person from the grave like Lazarus? When has a man born blind actually received his sight, or a paralytic gotten up to walk, etc. etc.—except in the presence of the authors of the Bible?
The pseudo-signs and pseudo-wonders that people claim as authentic come off as cheap wanna-be’s—they don’t hold a candle to the miracles written in the Scripture.
At bottom, I rest my case with what Jesus the Lord told Thomas after Thomas doubted the Resurrection:
“You believe because YOU HAVE SEEN, blessed are they who believe WHO HAVE NOT SEEN.”
Faith cometh by hearing the word. Faith IS the “evidence of things hoped for, the substance of things NOT SEEN.” We don’t hear Jesus telling us to “chase miracle-workers,” but rather He somberly warns that in the last days there will be many false “miracle, signs and wonders,” and they are according to Paul a sign of the coming of the “man of lawlessness.”
I don’t doubt that at the time of the NT being written that there were MANY miracles, many more than have been written in Scripture (at least, according to John’s Gospel). Just tell me this: with the closing of the NT Canon, in the absence of the apostles,
**why**
do we **need**
these
“miracles” which are NOTHING compared to the Scriptures’ miracles?
Why, when Jesus and the apostles warn *against* the false miracles and signs of the last days, do we hurry off to be deceived by charlatans?
The knowledge of being redeemed far outweighs and outstrips the novelty of seeing any sign or wonder—it is enough to be called friends of Jesus, to be called children of God—we lack NOTHING if there’s no substance behind these miracles. We lack NOTHING if Christ says, “you are forgiven.”
What’s the need that these “miracles” fulfill that full salvation in Jesus does not meet?
—James H
I wonder how Baxter’s twin books (A Divine Revelation of Hell / Heaven) compare?
uh. James H-
I am not typically an arguing man but I have to note that you pretty much rule out all modern miracles in what you wrote. I don’t agree that there are no true miracles in these last days.
The man I mentioned above had fully documented AIDs (not just HIV) and was pronounced dead and was in a mortuary. But now, he has a fully documented healing of AIDs and is very much alive. I also know a woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer and was given six months to live. That was 7 years ago and the doctors can’t find any cancer in her body anymore. I also know a lady who had a tumor in her face that was growing and would require surgury but if they operated on her she would have a scarred face. But we prayed and when she went back into the doctor the tumor had vanished.
That is only 3 off the top of my head and I know if I thought for a bit I could come up with more. Those are just the ones I know of. I am sure there are many more people around who have similar experiences.
God didn’t stop miracles after the “closing” of the NT.
Now, I am not saying that Piper’s testimony is ok or in anyway real. I am just saying that ruling out all miracles because of random abuse and deception is an extreme.
ok, anyway. my 2 cents…
z.
James H asked;
‘Um…when did Paul “die” again?’
Not when he was ‘caught up’ but when he was stoned to death.
All these people quoting; “It is appointed unto mano ONCE to die…” as proof Piper did not come back from the dead seem to be saying then that all those many people the Bible says were raised from the dead, were not! (???!!!)
It seems that those who quote the “it is appointed unto man once to die” verse would have a problem with several Biblical accounts of people being raised from the dead.
Having said that, I also have to comment that I have yet to hear someone’s description of heaven, be it from a supposed vision or from supposedly having been there while dead, that made me want to go there. Most of the descriptions, as Tim stated, “leave me cold”. Some sound so insipid and boring as to make me want to scream at the mere thought of spending eternity in such a place.
But when I ponder meeting Jesus…that is a different thing entirely. I love the song, “I Can Only Imagine”, which I first heard at the funeral of a man in our church.
Ever since my brother died, I have become more and more aware of how tempting it is to create some sort of comforting myths about Heaven. I’ve had people tell me, “I can just imagine Sam preparing some incredible feast for your grandparents.” Personally, I like to imagine him playing a grand piano the likes of which we don’t have on earth. But that is just silly speculation. What really gives me comfort is knowing that my brother is with Jesus. That is all that matters.
When I think of being face to face with Jesus, all the other stuff just fades. I think I will spend the first thousand years prostrate on my face in complete awe of the fact that I, unworthy as I am, have been allowed to see the wounds of the precious Savior who bought my pardon. Then maybe I’ll find my tongue and be able to praise Him. And then, maybe a few thousand years later, I’ll get around to all those questions I’ve been saving up over my lifetime. Or, most probably, they really won’t matter by then. Seeing Jesus will be all the answer I need.
Allan and “S.Z.” (sorry! I can’t spell…)
Allan: Actually, the Bible doesn’t say that Paul was stoned TO death, but stoned and *left for* dead. It does NOT say that he “died and rose”—but the way I’ve always read it was simply, “stoned and *mistaken* for dead.” Granted, it IS a miracle that Paul survived the abuse—they didn’t use pebbles to do the job, after all. I would NOT discount that miracle at all, but I will dispute that Paul was actually killed vs. mistaken and left for dead. There is a difference.
“S.Z.”—Uh, seriously, what you describe are gracious acts of God’s mercy, yes, but I have a great difficulty with agreeing with anything you’ve said. I too know of people who have recovered from cancer and other diseases, and it doesn’t surprise me that the fellow you know recovered from AIDS vs. HIV. I would NOT say that this or any story you have yet to share is anything out of the ordinary means of God’s grace. God heals the body—this I would not dispute. But, brother, the more I hear people *swear/promise/vow* that “really, this is a miracle…” I grow increasingly doubtful of the genuineness of it.
I will NOT say nor have I said EVER that those recorded in the Bible were NOT really miracles. I have NO PROBLEM admitting that God is the Lord of life and death, and that Jesus Himself rose from the dead (and Jonah the prophet, and others as recorded in the Scripture), I don’t doubt God’s Word. I DO, however, seriously call into question the supposed “miracles” when Jesus Himself warns of false miracles and signs in these last days. Instead of chasing after the false signs and false wonders, friend, please respond to the biblical verses I have alluded to in my previous post.
Please, tell me where we are told that “if you don’t have miracles in your life, you ain’t got Jesus?”
Rather, I see Paul himself along with Jesus and John the Revelator telling of false miracles in these last days. I turn on the TV and I peruse the bookstore and I see, read and hear “apostles” spewing forth their garbage about “healing services” only to see the broken hopes and dreams of the truly infirm and unhealthy, as they are told, “give to my cause, and I will heal you! Send a check, and I will pray for you…etc.” Worse is this: “Alas! I would have healed you but *YOUR FAITH* wasn’t *enough*—you are preventing your miracle healing for your lack of faith.”
Please, don’t give me any sensational descriptions of “I had a wart that was healed” etc.—deal with the Word.
I ask again:
if you had *no* miracles, but
only Jesus
is HE NOT ENOUGH?
This world is ripe for 2 Thes. 1:9ff, “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that *DECEIVES* those who are *perishing*. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a *POWERFUL DELUSION* so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.”
Again, Jesus said to Thomas, “…Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe…” and later, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:27, 29)
One last note:
There have been a few posts “refuting” the quote from Hebrew regarding “it is appointed for man to die once and then to face the judgment.” PLEASE explain why anyone would want to argue that this Scripture is false, and that we ought instead to believe Piper? Rather, “Let God be true and every man a liar”—yet another Scripture. Of course, what’s Scripture got to do with anything, right? We have those false signs and wonders to respect…
—James H
You know, as I post this, I’m sitting in service, and we are going through some of the events listed in this book. We also saw Piper’s testimony as broadcasted on TBN. It’s been almost ten years that I surrendered my will to the One who deserves my everything. Prior to that decision, I had spent my time debating the finer points of faith and doctrine. Whatever the case with this man, He knows. Whatever the issues with TBN, He will also sort it out. N either case, He will use it all for His glory. As for me and my house, I will serve the LORD!
TimAfter speaking with my Christian parents on this matter and my mother saying she doesn’t believe everything she reads, and my father saying people don’t die and come back to life, I questioned their faith in God and if they really have 100% faith. See I do. I also believe God uses all of us. In the Bible we are created for Him, in His image, and for His work. If that is a TRUTH, then why do all of you believe that it could not be God’s will that this pastor was to live through his ordeal, and that God allowed him a glimpse of Heaven so that those here on earth who had insecurities or questions(We ALL question ou faith and God during different points of our lives) could have some assurance that what they’ve spent their whole lives believing in does in fact really believe. God uses us everyday to work in other peoples lives, and he has allowed all of our life’s experiences to help other people. Don’t be so cold and cynical to cast this man off as a pretender. God may be judging our response to His message, and we will be held accountable for that when we get to Heaven. People sought after Jesus because they had heard what He had done for other people. God uses many people to get His word across. Don’t be so quick to judge.
“I questioned their faith in God and if they really have 100% faith. See I do.”
Lori - I would be interested in knowing how you reconcile your statement that you have 100% faith with this statement: “We ALL question ou faith and God during different points of our lives”
You both affirm and deny the completeness of your faith.
I would encourage you, if you have moments of doubt (which we all do!) to seek comfort and assurance not in the experience of any man, but in the Scripture. Seek after God through His Word, not the assurance of man given through story, whether it be fact or fiction.
“Don’t be so quick to judge.”
I will be as quick to judge as I am convicted by the Spirit, through Scripture, that something is false. Scripture tells us that we die once and then face the judgment. Scripture tells us that God Himself is the joy of heaven. Both of these truths are denied in Piper’s book.