“...we should all fortify ourselves against the dark hours of depression by cultivating a deep distrust of the certainties of despair. Despair is relentless in the certainties of its pessimism. But we have seen again and again, from our own experience and others', that absolute statements of hopelessness that we make in the dark are notoriously unreliable. Our dark certainties are not sureties.”

American Reformed Baptist theologian and retired pastor

John Stephen Piper is an American Reformed Baptist theologian and retired pastor. He is known for his work in New Testament studies and for his long ministry in Minneapolis. He taught biblical studies at Bethel University from 1974 to 1980, then served for 33 years as pastor for preaching and vision at Bethlehem Baptist Church. He is also chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and his writing and teaching are shaped by theology and Scripture.