In 1986 John Piper wrote Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist as a new perspective on orthodox Christian theology. A hedonist is someone who lives for pleasure, which Piper argues is true of all humans. Instead of denying and resisting our longing to be happy, he writes "we should seek to intensify it and nourish it with whatever will provide the deepest and most enduring satisfaction." But what is the most satisfying, beautiful, desirable thing that exists? It is God himself!
With continuous exposition of Scripture, Piper shows that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. The call to believe in God is a call to delight ourselves in him. Our worship of God is the joy of tasting and seeing how wonderful He is. In each chapter Piper shows how service, money, marriage, missions and all of life is transformed by delighting in God.
Ultimately the philosophy of Christian Hedonism is grounded in the sovereign pleasure of God. Psalm 115:3 says, "Our God is in the heavens; he does whatever he pleases." We were created by a happy God who works all things for the praise of his glory and who graciously calls us to enjoy him forever.
If you think books on theology are dry and dusty, be careful picking this up. You may not be ready for the shock.
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