90 Minutes In Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life
Author:
Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Religion & Spirituality
Book Type: Paperback
Author:
Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Religion & Spirituality
Book Type: Paperback
I had never heard of Don Piper or his story until a co-worker mentioned him. I have since learned that Don Piper's story is quite well-know and the 90 Minutes in Heaven was actually on the best-seller list. As I said, this was all unbeknownst to me and I considered it an advantage in objectively reviewing the book. However, I also must confess that upon hearing that Piper's story was that he died and went to heaven and then came back to earth, I was skeptical. So I did read this book from a skeptical viewpoint. With that being said, there are two main surprises that I encountered in reading this book. First, I was surprised how powerful Piper's testimony is. I am referring to the testimony of his accident and subsequent recovery process, not including his trip to heaven. Piper's accident was an extremely bad one and his lengthy recovery was no doubt difficult. To hear of Piper's physical and emotional pains and how he overcame them is definitely inspiring. I was also moved by the awesome testimony of Piper's wife's faithfulness. She sacrificed much for her husband. Also to hear of all the people who helped the Piper family out during Don's recovery was moving. On this level I enjoyed this book very much.
The second surprise that I encountered was that the title of the book, 90 Minutes in Heaven, is very misleading. Piper spends one chapter out of 18 describing his time in heaven. I expected the trip to heaven to make up the bulk of the book. Instead as I mentioned the book is mostly about Piper's recovery from his horrible accident. Therefore due to the irrelevance of the title, I can only surmise as to why the book was titled as it is. I have concluded that this was either a publisher or author's decision to generate more interest in the book. For example, which do you think people would be more apt to pick up off the shelf, a book that is marketed as âa true story of life and deathâ (cover's actual byline) or a book whose selling point is âa man was in a bad car accident and he recoveredâ.
I must say that my first critique of the book is that it did not deal with the subject of Piper's trip to heaven like I anticipated. However, since this is what the book's focus was aimed at, I will share my thoughts on it. As I mentioned, I was skeptical of Piper's claim to visit heaven when I first heard of it. After reading this book, unfortunately I cannot say that I have been swayed much in my opinion. On page 47, Piper says that when he was being loaded on the ambulance he remembers thinking, âSomething terrible has happened here, and I think it's happened to me.â This statement confuses me because Piper admits that he did not know what was happening. Did he know that he had died? If not, then how did he know that he had experience heaven? Couldn't it have been a dream or hallucination? On page 57 Piper says, âSometimes I'd wake up and see people standing in front of my bed and would wonder, Am I really here or am I just imagining this?â Here Piper freely admits that in the state he was in, he wasn't sure where the line was between reality and imagination. Finally on page 78 Piper states, âI never doubted or questioned whether my trip to heaven had been real. That never troubled me. Everything had been so vivid and real. I couldn't possibly deny it.â An experience seeming very vivid and realistic is not qualifying for its reality. Many dreams and hallucinations seem very vivid and real. Instead, any questionable Christian experience should be measured by the scriptures. The author never attempts to do this. Actually Piper's description of heaven was extremely disappointing in that it was overly man-centered. His experience focused more on his friends and family and personal pleasure than Christ. The scriptures describe heaven as a place where Christ will be exalted for all eternity. In fact this is one of my biggest problems with this book. There is hardly any mention of scripture to back up any of Piper's claims. Also he doesn't feel the need to quote any scripture when testifying of his recovery. There are passages from the bible at the beginning of every chapter, but these are almost all taken out of their correct context and used instead to lead into each of Piper's stories.
My next complaint is that on page 33 Piper says, âI get frustrated describing what heaven was like, because I can't begin to put into words what it looked like, sounded like, and felt like.â Then why write this book? But Piper does later give several reasons why he felt it was important to write this book. One reason Piper gives is that his story is encouraging to people. Piper relays a story of the first time he told anyone about his experience of dying and going to heaven. The first person Piper tells is his close friend David Gentiles. Gentiles proceeds to tell Piper that Piper is supposed to share his story. On page 126 Gentiles says âIs it possible that God took you to heaven and brought you back for you to share what happened to you? Don't you realize what a powerful encouragement you can be to others?â I struggle understanding how the fact that Piper claims he went to heaven is an encouragement. Heaven is real whether he went or not, whether he shares his story or not. This is like the Passion of the Christ film. Many people commented after seeing the movie, ânow I realize what Christ did for me!â If you never realized what Christ did for you before, what did your faith consist of? If you have to have Piper tell you his story to know that heaven really exists, what does your faith consist of? Gentiles does not stop there. Gentiles makes Piper promises that Piper will tell the story. Gentiles tells Piper to make a covenant between them. The following is found on page 127. Piper: âWhat kind of covenant.â Gentiles: âPick two people you trust. Just tell them a little of your experience and gauge their response.â He went on to explain that if they thought I was crazy or that I had hallucinated, then I would never have to speak about it again. âBut if they rejoice with you and if they urge you to tell them more, I want you to take this as a signâa sign that God wants you to talk about those ninety minutes you spend in heavenâ This is terrible reasoning to do anything, let alone something that you feel could possibly be the will of the Father. What may be even more disturbing about this âcovenantâ between Gentiles and Piper is that both men are ministers of the Gospel! They do not have any excuse for the poor theology exhibited by this conversation.
Another reason that Piper gives for sharing his testimony and story of heaven is found on page 128. Piper says, âI'm writing about what happened because my story seems to mean so much to people for many different reasons. For example, when I speak to any large crowd, at least one person will be present who has recently lost a loved on and needs assurance of that person's destination.â How would Piper's experience assure anyone of anyone else's destination? Piper claims to have gone to heaven and while there, he saw many people he knew. This in no way assures that someone else went to heaven. Actually I am reminded of Luke 16:19-31 and the story of Lazarus and the rich man.
19 "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' 25 "But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.' 27 "He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' 29 "Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.' 30 " 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' 31 "He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead."
I believe that this passage, especially verse 31, actually contradicts Piper's âministry of assurance.â
Next, Piper says that another reason he feels compelled to tell the story is that he wants âas many people as possibly to go to heaven.â Of course no one would argue that there is anything wrong with this type of thinking. It is great that Piper, or any believer for that matter, would be led to share their faith, however I feel that Piper misses an important theological truth in his reasoning. On pages130-131 Piper relays a story in which he concludes, âWe're willing to save someone in a visible crisis, but a lot of folks are in spiritual crisis and we don't say a word about how they can get out of it.â I interpret this as being Arminian in thought and therefore, not biblical. The comparison that a person would save another person physically if they could, so why don't we try to save people eternally is a poor example because we cannot save people in an eternal sense. Another place where Piper draws on Arminian/Palagian thought can be found on page196 where he says âGoing to heaven that January morning wasn't my choice. The only choice in all of this is that one day I turned to Jesus Christ and accepted him as my Savior.â Again, this is not a scripturally sound statement and as a minister, I hold Piper accountable for comments such as these.
In conclusion, I found 90 Minutes in Heaven to be unscriptural at worst and misleading at best. I did thoroughly enjoy Piper's testimony of his overcoming tragedy and maintaining his faith in the face of unimaginable adversity. However even this became redundant at times, as nearly every chapter mentioned repeatedly how badly Piper hurt and how depressed he had become. Of course Piper would draw this all together with his chosen title by stating continually that he missed heaven and it was a better place than he was in. I would have liked to see the book focus more upon the testimony of Piper overcoming through God's grace and less of Piper's longing for heaven.
The second surprise that I encountered was that the title of the book, 90 Minutes in Heaven, is very misleading. Piper spends one chapter out of 18 describing his time in heaven. I expected the trip to heaven to make up the bulk of the book. Instead as I mentioned the book is mostly about Piper's recovery from his horrible accident. Therefore due to the irrelevance of the title, I can only surmise as to why the book was titled as it is. I have concluded that this was either a publisher or author's decision to generate more interest in the book. For example, which do you think people would be more apt to pick up off the shelf, a book that is marketed as âa true story of life and deathâ (cover's actual byline) or a book whose selling point is âa man was in a bad car accident and he recoveredâ.
I must say that my first critique of the book is that it did not deal with the subject of Piper's trip to heaven like I anticipated. However, since this is what the book's focus was aimed at, I will share my thoughts on it. As I mentioned, I was skeptical of Piper's claim to visit heaven when I first heard of it. After reading this book, unfortunately I cannot say that I have been swayed much in my opinion. On page 47, Piper says that when he was being loaded on the ambulance he remembers thinking, âSomething terrible has happened here, and I think it's happened to me.â This statement confuses me because Piper admits that he did not know what was happening. Did he know that he had died? If not, then how did he know that he had experience heaven? Couldn't it have been a dream or hallucination? On page 57 Piper says, âSometimes I'd wake up and see people standing in front of my bed and would wonder, Am I really here or am I just imagining this?â Here Piper freely admits that in the state he was in, he wasn't sure where the line was between reality and imagination. Finally on page 78 Piper states, âI never doubted or questioned whether my trip to heaven had been real. That never troubled me. Everything had been so vivid and real. I couldn't possibly deny it.â An experience seeming very vivid and realistic is not qualifying for its reality. Many dreams and hallucinations seem very vivid and real. Instead, any questionable Christian experience should be measured by the scriptures. The author never attempts to do this. Actually Piper's description of heaven was extremely disappointing in that it was overly man-centered. His experience focused more on his friends and family and personal pleasure than Christ. The scriptures describe heaven as a place where Christ will be exalted for all eternity. In fact this is one of my biggest problems with this book. There is hardly any mention of scripture to back up any of Piper's claims. Also he doesn't feel the need to quote any scripture when testifying of his recovery. There are passages from the bible at the beginning of every chapter, but these are almost all taken out of their correct context and used instead to lead into each of Piper's stories.
My next complaint is that on page 33 Piper says, âI get frustrated describing what heaven was like, because I can't begin to put into words what it looked like, sounded like, and felt like.â Then why write this book? But Piper does later give several reasons why he felt it was important to write this book. One reason Piper gives is that his story is encouraging to people. Piper relays a story of the first time he told anyone about his experience of dying and going to heaven. The first person Piper tells is his close friend David Gentiles. Gentiles proceeds to tell Piper that Piper is supposed to share his story. On page 126 Gentiles says âIs it possible that God took you to heaven and brought you back for you to share what happened to you? Don't you realize what a powerful encouragement you can be to others?â I struggle understanding how the fact that Piper claims he went to heaven is an encouragement. Heaven is real whether he went or not, whether he shares his story or not. This is like the Passion of the Christ film. Many people commented after seeing the movie, ânow I realize what Christ did for me!â If you never realized what Christ did for you before, what did your faith consist of? If you have to have Piper tell you his story to know that heaven really exists, what does your faith consist of? Gentiles does not stop there. Gentiles makes Piper promises that Piper will tell the story. Gentiles tells Piper to make a covenant between them. The following is found on page 127. Piper: âWhat kind of covenant.â Gentiles: âPick two people you trust. Just tell them a little of your experience and gauge their response.â He went on to explain that if they thought I was crazy or that I had hallucinated, then I would never have to speak about it again. âBut if they rejoice with you and if they urge you to tell them more, I want you to take this as a signâa sign that God wants you to talk about those ninety minutes you spend in heavenâ This is terrible reasoning to do anything, let alone something that you feel could possibly be the will of the Father. What may be even more disturbing about this âcovenantâ between Gentiles and Piper is that both men are ministers of the Gospel! They do not have any excuse for the poor theology exhibited by this conversation.
Another reason that Piper gives for sharing his testimony and story of heaven is found on page 128. Piper says, âI'm writing about what happened because my story seems to mean so much to people for many different reasons. For example, when I speak to any large crowd, at least one person will be present who has recently lost a loved on and needs assurance of that person's destination.â How would Piper's experience assure anyone of anyone else's destination? Piper claims to have gone to heaven and while there, he saw many people he knew. This in no way assures that someone else went to heaven. Actually I am reminded of Luke 16:19-31 and the story of Lazarus and the rich man.
19 "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' 25 "But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.' 27 "He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' 29 "Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.' 30 " 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' 31 "He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead."
I believe that this passage, especially verse 31, actually contradicts Piper's âministry of assurance.â
Next, Piper says that another reason he feels compelled to tell the story is that he wants âas many people as possibly to go to heaven.â Of course no one would argue that there is anything wrong with this type of thinking. It is great that Piper, or any believer for that matter, would be led to share their faith, however I feel that Piper misses an important theological truth in his reasoning. On pages130-131 Piper relays a story in which he concludes, âWe're willing to save someone in a visible crisis, but a lot of folks are in spiritual crisis and we don't say a word about how they can get out of it.â I interpret this as being Arminian in thought and therefore, not biblical. The comparison that a person would save another person physically if they could, so why don't we try to save people eternally is a poor example because we cannot save people in an eternal sense. Another place where Piper draws on Arminian/Palagian thought can be found on page196 where he says âGoing to heaven that January morning wasn't my choice. The only choice in all of this is that one day I turned to Jesus Christ and accepted him as my Savior.â Again, this is not a scripturally sound statement and as a minister, I hold Piper accountable for comments such as these.
In conclusion, I found 90 Minutes in Heaven to be unscriptural at worst and misleading at best. I did thoroughly enjoy Piper's testimony of his overcoming tragedy and maintaining his faith in the face of unimaginable adversity. However even this became redundant at times, as nearly every chapter mentioned repeatedly how badly Piper hurt and how depressed he had become. Of course Piper would draw this all together with his chosen title by stating continually that he missed heaven and it was a better place than he was in. I would have liked to see the book focus more upon the testimony of Piper overcoming through God's grace and less of Piper's longing for heaven.
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