Desiring God and Christian Hedonism: awakening an immanent joy

ABSTRACT

In the following rhetorical analysis, the contemporary evangelical philosophy called Christian Hedonism is examined. This philosophy was initiated by John Piper during the eighties through the now classic text Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist. Using rhetorical conceptions of immanence and transcendence, the artefact demonstrates a desire to transcend the contemporary bounds of evangelicalism through the immanent substance of joy. By challenging Kantian philosophy, which rejects emotions, Piper awakens interlocutors to an eligible process of transcendence within the then metaphysical dialectic of conservative evangelicalism. Through immanence, incongruity emerges allowing, most significantly, for suffering to become synonymous with joy thus giving rhetorical scholars further insight into the rhetorical inner workings of this modern day Christian philosophy.

KEYWORDS:

• Evangelicalism
• transcendence
• Christian rhetoric
• hedonism

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

G. Brandon Knight

G. Brandon Knight is an Assistant Professor of Speech Communication and Director of Forensics at William Carey University. Brandon hails from Collins, Mississippi where he met and fell in love with his wife and best friend, Ashley. Together, they have three daughters and one boy: Cadence, Emery, Eden, and Jude. In addition to his work at Carey, Knight received his Ph.D. in Communication and Rhetorical studies at the University of Southern Mississippi in 2019. His previous degrees consist of a B.A. in Communication Studies from Southern Miss and an M.DIV with an emphasis in Biblical Studies from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. In terms of academic publications, his research is featured in the Journal of Communication and Religion, Management Communication Quarterly, the Journal of Christian Teaching Practice (in Communication Studies), and even has an upcoming article to be published in the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion.