What is God doing through the coronavirus? John Piper offers six biblical answers to that question, showing us that God is at work in this moment in history.
[Edit: The Kindle book normally retails at USD3.29 on Amazon US but is currently offered free through Crossway]
Rubbish
Probably the same thing as always, not existing.
To all people claiming hypocrisy of those not willing to accept the views of this book. I see it as if someone's views are not negatively impact others then fill your boots. I have not listned to this or read the book, and reading through the outline I won't be doing so any time soon. So I will not claim to know all claims made or not made in this book. But given the current situation I think this kind of promotion is uncalled for and opertunistic in the same way that 5G conspiracy theories are by themselves not a great concern normally but become very concerning when muddying the waters of public opinion when it comes to public heath, at a time when some people are clutching for anything remotely resembling answers.
Being preached to is a bargain these days? I got a wacky idea how about read the bible, you know the book every Christian has but never reads. Maybe then they'll realise how immoral it really is.
This is not a deal. This is someone trying to get another opportunity to preach and spread the religion through people’s misery
Jeebus.
Yes science is of no use, pray the COVID away
science is of no use
Who said that?
Whoosh
I know Wpulsar is being sarcastic
I’m just wondering where he got the idea that anyone said science is of no use
@DarthPyro: Yep, in fact many academic institutions were founded by clergy which paved the way for modern science
@brendanm: It seems not all religions were created equal.
But the point is on this particular book which doesn’t appear to contradict science (and common sense)
@FireRunner: Maybe almost nobody wholly rejects science, but a lot of people certainly reject some of it.
There's a definite correlation between people turning to essential oils instead of scientifically-backed medicine, or those who have anti-vaccination opinions, and christian beliefs. I'd say that's pretty anti-science.
@ngengerous: But it’s not because of religious teachings these people fall for essential oils and crap.
@FireRunner: Maybe not because of religious teachings, but a lot of christians are taught to be skeptical of a lot of things that could go against their beliefs - which leads to unnecessary skepticism in other areas, science being one of them. It's not so much the religion perhaps, but that the kind of people who are drawn to religion are more susceptible to rejecting the mainstream.
@ngengerous: These are the guillible people that accept anything. They probably think the earth is flat despite this never being believed by Christians during the medieval ages (contrary to popular belief). You shouldn’t generalise that all Christians fall into this category of people
@FireRunner: This definitely doesn't apply to all christians - I'm a christian myself and definitely try to steer clear of the crazy stuff, but unfortunately Christianity scoops up a lot of the gullible and easily swayed.
@ngengerous: My point exactly, these guillible people believe just about everything which means they also latch onto religion. These anti-science people are now associated with religion though religion had nothing to do with their anti-scientific beliefs. It’s a correlation rather than a causation
@FireRunner: I agree with that completely. My point originally was that a lot of science-rejecting skeptics were Christian, which reinforces that common stereotype of Christians all being science-rejecting morons - which is what the original commenter was poking fun at.
@FireRunner: There are guillible people but there are also scared Christians. It was a matter of life and death to uphold or refute science.
The persecution of Galileo for proving the Earth moves around the Sun. [In 1992,] after 350 years, Vatican said Galileo was right.
The dispute between the Church and Galileo has long stood as one of history's great emblems of conflict between reason and dogma, science and faith.
By the end of his trial [by The Inquisition], Galileo was forced to recant his own scientific findings as "abjured, cursed and detested," a renunciation that caused him great personal anguish but which saved him from being burned at the stake.
@alvian: The other side to the Galileo case was that he was demanding the reinterpretation of a Biblical text. Something like changing it from literal to perspective. The church avoided doing such thing without hard evidence. There was several valid arguments to counter his claim such as the lack of star parallax (star parallax was later observed with modern powerful telescopes).
@FireRunner: And for that Galileo deserved to burn at the stake. His cowardice saved his miserable mortal life. He should have put his faith and trust in god if he was so certain.
@alvian: It was mostly politics and character clashing rather than religion and science. The case was mishandled, I’ll give you that.
@FireRunner: I think you are brushing over this error too lightly. But let me move on.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/8547130/redir
But it’s not because of religious teachings these people fall for essential oils and crap.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/8547481/redir
These anti-science people are now associated with religion though religion had nothing to do with their anti-scientific beliefs
These were the assertions I had problem with. The modern religions have mainly abstained from imposing their beliefs on science (bar a few controversial topics, and fringe cults), but history has shown this was not always so and many people were indoctrinated to believe (and forced to believe) in many falsehoods.
@alvian: Please provide another example of a falsehood that was forced onto people. I don’t count the Galileo case since Galileo wasn’t able to address the issues with his theory
@FireRunner: Let's start at the very beginning,
A very good place to start.
When you sing you begin with do-re-mi,
When you read you begin with Ge-ne-sis.
Ge-ne-sis, Ge-ne-sis,
The first three chapters just happen to be
Ge-ne-sis, Ge-ne-sis.
Genesis Chapters one two three.
Charles Darwin was another sinner who deserved the stake.
@alvian: There’s a lot that can be said about evolution and creation. Compatibility, contradictions, evidence, assumptions and so on. I doubt we’ll come to the same conclusions. So all I’m going’s to say you can’t just write off as untrue
@FireRunner: Your asked for an example of a falsehood that was forced onto people and your reaction amply demonstrated such forcing and its lingering effect on people's thinking.
@FireRunner: So after I provided an example to your challenge, you now want me to prove there exist a false statement in Genesis Ch 1-3? Or that creationism is false? Shifting the goal post much? You want me to write a peer reviewed research paper on these topics? I haven't proved the Sun doesn't revolve around the Earth either. You want a paper on that too?
How about you proving every statement in Genesis Ch 1-3 and creationism are true instead?
I thought we were having a reasonable discussion but you turned out to be just another zealot.
@alvian: I am happy to keep the discussion reasonable.
Labelling me a zealot seems to be you drifting away from that.
My point was a reaction doesn’t prove or disprove an objective fact which I thought you were getting at in your previous comment.
Also chapters 1-3 of Genesis concern creation, if I’m not mistaken.
Im not well acquainted in philosophy but I’ve always thought the Aquinian arguments on the existence of God to be solid arguments
I’ve always thought the Aquinian arguments on the existence of God to be solid arguments
I am speechless. You want to roll back more than 700 years of philosophical discourses and discoveries and accept those old and problematic arguments as "solid"? I am done with your world, you have fun living in it. I am glad I am not a part of it and that there isn't any more an authority to force me into it. Thank you for an entertaining evening of amateur philosophy and logic.
Here are two beginner's level videos on the Aquinian arguments. Make of them what you will.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgisehuGOyY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e9v_fsZB6A
@alvian: Very well, I knew it would end in disagreement. It was quite entertaining and thanks for being reasonably civil
There's just no need for this e-book. It's the same as companies jumping to promote any social cause just to get extra exposure - this is general advice which could be applied to any disaster.
Yeah this can't be good.
This is disgusting. Trying to use a catastrophe to spread twisted propaganda.
I am not a bible expert, but I hope you can thrive among the families of those who died.
I can't believe in this day and age people are gullible enough to believe this nonsense.
stupid people are gona be stupid. duh.
What in particular is nonsense?
I agree that a lot of people believe in nonsense these days. Some people believe that a meaningless universe can produce a basis for morals. This is logically inconsistent. I'm not saying that someone who believes this has no morals (in fact, sometimes atheists have better morals than Christians). I'm saying that some people fight for what is right and wrong, and yet their worldview has no foundation for such ideas.
A free steaming pile of shit is still a steaming pile of shit. Downvoting due to spreading of misinformation.
Opportunistic rambling of a self-serving person. Place trust in your health professionals, reject misinformation.
1000 clicksthrus with 179 upvotes, that's got to be a new low on the ratios for this.
The year is 2020:
We’ve photographed a black hole;
We’ve discovered that the universe is almost limitless;
We’ve got electric cars;
We can map genomes; and,
We believe in a sky daddy that hates masturbation
I think both sides have run out of comment negs for today
Ran out on the first page
Time to make fresh accounts and neg what you don't believe in.
Yo goober, where's the bargain?
Like many book "bargains" on this website, the bargain is that you don't have to pay for the physical book, but you can download the digital copy free. Seems like many people appreciated the bargain, even if you didn't.
in a time where misinformation should be weeded out more than ever - why is this garbage even allowed … ?
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
- Matthew 7:15
Is it just me or most the neg comments are simply anti-Christian hate speeches (which are against the rules) rather than well argued points
Not just you.
Not a deal in the slightest.
No bargain. Only BS
What junk. Not worth paying for, not worth the time on a free read/listen, Not a deal unless you're trying to evangelise your religion via Ozbargain.
where was god in the matter of Patient 31?
In the same place (everywhere - God is omnipresent) that he is for all of COVID-19, I guess?
If the church had paid more attention to their Bible, rather than less, they might have seen that gathering together with such a risk of spreading the virus is not loving others at all.
Thanks OP. Through all of this, good things will come. I just pray for those lost souls in this world and hope they can find salvation before it's all too late. God Bless! 1 Cor 15:1-4
You know you can ignore things that you do not like right?
I don't like people dying as a result of misinformation caused by religious beliefs. By your logic, I should just close my eyes and let it happen?
Please share some "misinformation" from John Piper's book that will cause people to die as a result of reading it.
Relax mate. I haven't even read it and am not taking sides. So there is no "my logic" to begin with.
@axlcalvin - I don't have a problem with your logic. I wish more people would take your advice!
I'd just like to understand where @Eon-Rider is coming from with his statement: "people dying as a result of misinformation caused by religious beliefs". I can't see this in the book offered.
This is just religious marketing, I don't see why this a deal.
AWW HELL NO
A bargain is a deal where you save money right? if you believe this rubbish and get coronavirus and die - don't spend another cent for the rest of your life! WINNING!
Does the book actually give any advice? From the description it’s more of an explanation of the present situation with respect to God.
spreading of misinformation which conflicts with the reality of the situation. misinformation is not a deal.
Could you provide an example of your claim. So far I hear a lot of “anti-science”, “misinformation” and “dangerous advice”. Nobody has put forth any evidence that this book promotes such things.
Thanks OP.
Haters will hate. Will share it across many people at my church.
But a couple of facts.
Everybody has the freedom of choosing what they want to believe, no freedom = no love. For Love to Exist, there must be freedom.
We live in a country that has been founded by Christian beliefs, that's why we celebrate Christmas and Easter.
It's 2020 and not other year for everyone, because God came in human form known as Jesus, and time had to be reset to 0. No one can change this.
All Science points to a God, i.e. Big Bang Scientific Theory follows after God said Let there be light, so the universe responded with a big bang.
The world uses a 7 days week, because God created the world in 6 days and rested on the 7 day. and this is a good thing, who doesn't enjoy a good sunday rest?
If you want more proof than ever, just look into the history of Israel, how they came to be a nation.
Ultimately it comes to this, Science explains how and what, but not Why. We know how we came to be, but we don't know why we're here. But God through
his words tell us why we are here.
So it's a free choice, either you believe that the universe came from randomness, and everything is random including everything that is happening in the world.
which shouldn't surprise you at all, since we're all a product of randomness. But if everything is random, science couldn't exist.
or
We were all created by a God for a purpose. With natural laws in place, gravity, maths, history.
We live in a country that has been founded by Christian beliefs, that's why we celebrate Christmas and Easter.
except both are pagan
pagan as much as you want them to be or not. and It's been always that case…
I celebrate Easter, the holiday of the goddess Eostre, the goddess of spring and fertility!
Hence the easter (Eostre) bunny and eggs, both rabbits and eggs are symbolic of fertility and birth.
Is this a joke?
What has happened to today's society? Where most beliefs are either rejected or mocked without question.
But then again, Christians should welcome the hate & criticism it gets since it says “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. …For your reward is great in heaven”(Matthew 5:10-12)
People become upset when religious personalities intrude upon subject areas in which they are unqualified to speak. Although this book isn't advocating belief in Christ as the solution to the pandemic, its title "Coronavirus and Christ" and tagline "God is at work in this moment in history" did not help clarify the misconceptions.
I don't think it's "most beliefs". It's just this one!
I get that believers will be passionate about what they believe in, but I find it interesting that unbelievers are even more passionate about something they don't believe in.
John Piper is one of the most biblically-based, practical teachers I know. He's constantly interested in making some of the hardest things said in the bible practical in world changing ways.
He is the person that taught me to really enjoy God.
God has absolutely nothing to do with Coronaviris.
Though you could say religion spreads like a virus.
I do find it interesting the anti-religious comments get negged more than the pro-religious comments. It seems that a decent number of them are very fragile and sensitive.
I find it interesting that the deal only seems to have been neg'd by some who are very passionate about the subject.
According to Christians, God kills sinners. I'm buckling up for the remaining biblical plagues:
water turning to blood, frogs, lice, flies, livestock pestilence, boils, hail, locusts, darkness and the killing of firstborn children.
In your face, firstborn children!
a fictitious books seems like an innocuous things to be negged to the ground. There are far worse things on this site that should be negged to the ground instead being praised. I personally wont read this. At the same time im not going to + or - this. It seems like ignorance and stupidity is at a all time high since the lockdown. Chill people just calm down.
If people believed "A Handmaid's Tale" was an instruction manual on morality, I'd neg "bargains" for it too!
Who is people? seems like you're cooking up an arbitrary collective and projecting your views on them when these 'people' may or may not exist? As far as im aware The Handmaids tale was a fictitious book…… Chill down.
But … so is bible
@duchy: Another if a = bad then b must also be bad statement. Have you lost the ability to read? scroll back to the top of this post/listing and read what it says:
"What is God doing through the coronavirus? John Piper offers six biblical answers to that question, showing us that God is at work in this moment in history".
It clearly stated that John Piper OFFERS six biblical answer to the current event. In other words, its his opinion. Nowhere in the post/listing did it say its about the bible? And this posting is about his book. Not the bible…
Lets see.
Noah and the ark with two of every animal….Busted
Jonah living in a whale….Busted.
Someone parting raging waters so the good people could escape the bad people….Busted.
Also someone carrying heavy stone rocks down a mountain…with the Ten Commandants carved on them….Busted
A woman turning around to look at Sin City was instantly blinded….Busted
Some fellow turning a meager lot of food into huge amount and feeding the masses….Busted.
A virgin birth….Busted
In your opinion. Evidence of these "bustings"?
How can you say any of them are "busted"? All are possible, but they can't be proven or dis-proven.
I suppose you believe in Santa and the Easter bunny.
I believe the historical figure of St. Nicholas existed. But Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny are in a different category. Those stories were invented to be fiction. Whereas, the Bible was written as a historical record. The facts that can be checked seem to align pretty well with history.
@WalletFullOfMoths: The funniest thing I have so far this year was a Priest standing outside a hospital in Italy splashing holy water on the walls. Think the water may have been a bit off as it didn't work.
I feel sorry for you. I don't need any false God to be happy with life.
Can you explain why a murderer, drug dealing scumbag Carl Williams was given a full Catholic Mass.
Would God welcome him with opem arms?
@Snake 4: Haha - quite amusing and illogical, some of those religious traditions! I think the priest should read his Bible more - none of those strange practices are in the New Testament (which supersedes the Old Testament since the time of Jesus Christ).
I agree, if it is all false, then we should be pitied. The Bible is quite honest about this (1 Corinthians 15:19).
I'm not familiar with the story about Carl Williams, but doesn't matter what the Catholic church thinks about him. What matters is what the Bible says God thinks. The Bible is quite clear that we should receive justice for our illegal actions on earth. But of course, some people get away without being caught. The Bible says there will be ultimate justice after we die though.
Which brings me to an interesting question - it seems you are very concerned about justice. Most humans are through history. Even criminals are concerned about justice (e.g. they take revenge on other gangs), but they often don't want to experience justice for their own crimes. How does your worldview hope to resolve the terrible crimes against humans that have gone unpunished?
You believe that is possible to put two of every animal onto a boat, and repopulate the world's animals from this? How can a thinking person who has the slightest knowledge of the size of the animal kingdom, or the requirements of keeping and breeding animals possibly believe this?
One would think that the 350,000 species of beetles alone would be more than enough of a challenge for Noah. Is it more likely that this event actually occurred, or that the bible is a work of fiction?
![[eBook, Audiobook] Free - Coronavirus and Christ by John Piper @ Crossway](https://files.ozbargain.com.au/n/56/529656.jpg?h=b35b125f)
These free eBook deals are getting worse.