

Ask Pastor John
Desiring God
John Piper answering tough theological and pastoral questions.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 12, 2016 • 8min
Transgenderism: Hopes, Tensions, and Biological Roadblocks
“Until we find our rest in Christ, we will be trying to invent ourselves in ways that will only end in tears.” Rob Smith on the hopes, tensions, and roadblocks of the transgender movement.

Aug 11, 2016 • 8min
Is Technology Outpacing Our Ethics?
“Transgender surgery often contradicts the Hippocratic principle of ‘Do no harm,’” says theologian and ethicist Rob Smith in today’s episode. “You are now perhaps mutilating a perfectly healthy body to try and address a psychological problem.”

Aug 10, 2016 • 13min
What Gives Us the Right to Label Transgender Impulses as Wrong?
“Christians should get as good a grasp on questions about transgender, whether or not we have transgender friends,” says theologian and ethicist Rob Smith. “Because when a person hurts themselves, it hurts others.”

Aug 9, 2016 • 9min
What Causes Gender Dysphoria?
“God has given us distinct body and soul, but they exist in psychosomatic unity,” says theologian and ethicist Rob Smith. “The two are knit together (Psalm 139:13).” So what does this mean in the transgender debate?

Aug 8, 2016 • 12min
Why Did the Transgender Revolution Catch Us by Surprise?
“Gender dysphoria ought to evoke our compassion,” says Rob Smith, our guest this week on the podcast. “It is a horrific affliction to bear.” Smith is a theologian and ethicist at Sydney Missionary and Bible College in Australia, and for him, gender dysphoria hits home.

Aug 6, 2016 • 13min
John Piper’s Funeral Prayer for a Family of Five
What John Piper prayed at the funeral of Jamison and Kathryne Pals, 29, and their three children, 3-year-old Ezra, 23-month-old Violet, and 2-month-old Calvin.

Aug 5, 2016 • 28min
Exodus: Understanding One of the Bible’s Major Themes
“Here is the greatest redemptive event in the Old Testament to which subsequent revelation points to again and again and again,” says Don Carson. It’s worth understanding well.

Aug 4, 2016 • 10min
Paying Pastors, Church Buildings, and Weekly Sermons?
Any given Sunday — thinking biblically about pastor salaries, buildings, and the place of preaching.

Aug 3, 2016 • 4min
Three Steps to Stop Wasting Your Life
If you trust God, renounce self-reliance, and bring him into every life situation, he will make your paths straight.

Aug 2, 2016 • 8min
If the Bible Has Been Added To, Can We Trust It?
The same criteria we use to discern which passages don’t belong in the Bible are the same criteria we use to discern which passages do belong.


