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Review Of John Piper's Bloodlines: Race, Cross, And The Christian

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In an age of racial strife and confusion, it is pivotal to have a clear understanding of race and how it relates to Christians. And no one does this better than John Piper’s book, Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian. Piper grew up in Greenville, South Carolina where the issues of race have deeply affected him to this day. He grew up a racist, the people around him were racist, for the most part, but his mother was the sole reason that he decided to change his attitude towards racism. Also, Piper lived in Germany for three years where he saw the lasting impact the Nazis had and how they wanted to build the “master race.” He taught at Bethel College but took a pastoral job at Bethlehem Baptist Church. He lives in the Phillips neighborhood which is the most diverse part of Minneapolis. He also adopted a young African American girl with his wife. With all this said, it is easy to see how John Piper is the best man to write a book on race and Christianity. …show more content…

He explains that change can seem overwhelming and even threatening at times, which is why he wants Christians to have deep roots and dive in deeper into the grace of the gospel. Piper’s thesis is to show that the bloodlines of race do not matter when compared to the deep bloodline of Christ (227). He points out a pivotal problem that humans are alienated from God, and in doing so, are alienated from each other (227). A key way of looking at this is remembering that when people fail to love God, they fail to love others which causes disharmony, pride, and

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