The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life In God
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Manufacturer: HarperOne
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Description
A renowned teacher and writer of the acclaimed The Spirit of the Disciplines, Dallas Willard, one of today's most brilliant Christian thinkers now offers a timely and challenging call back to the true meaning of Christian discipleship. In The Divine Conspiracy, Willard gracefully weaves biblical teaching, popular culture, science, scholarship, and spiritual practice into a tour de force that shows the necessity of profound changes in how we view our lives and faith. In an era when many Christians consider Jesus a beloved but remote savior, Willard argues compellingly for the relevance of God to every aspect of our existence. Masterfully capturing the central insights of Christ's teachings in a fresh way for today's seekers, he helps us to explore a revolutionary way to experience God--by knowing Him as an essential part of the here and now, rather than only as a part of the hereafter.
"The most telling thing about the contemporary Christian," Willard writes, "is that he or she has no compelling sense that understanding of and conformity with the clear teachings of Christ is of any vital importance to [their] life, and certainly not that it is in any way essential . . . Such obedience is regarded as just out of the question or impossible." Christians, he says, for the most part consider the primary function of Christianity to be admittance to heaven. But, as Willard clearly shows, a faith that guarantees a satisfactory afterlife, yet has absolutely no impact on life in the here and now, is nothing more than "consumer Christianity" and "bumper-sticker faith."
Willard refutes this "fire escape" mentality by exploring the true nature of the teachings of Jesus, who intended that His followers become His disciples, and taught that we have access now to the life we are only too eager to relegate to the hereafter. The author calls us into a more authentic faith and offers a practical plan by which we can become Christ-like. He challenges us to step aside from the politics and pieties of contemporary Christian practice and inspires us to reject the all too common lukewarm faith of our times by embracing the true meaning of Christian discipleship.
A Powerful, Thought-Provoking
Guide to Living the Life
Jesus Intends for Us
"[A]ctual discipleship or apprenticeship to Jesus is, in our day, no longer thought of as in any way essential to faith in him. It is regarded as a costly option, a spiritual luxury, or possibly even as an evasion. Why bother with discipleship, it is widely thought, or, for that matter, with a conversational relationship with God? Let us get on with what we have to do."
"This book, then, presents discipleship to Jesus as the very heart of the gospel. The eternal life that begins with confidence in Jesus is a life in His present kingdom, now on earth and available to all. So the message of and about him is specifically a gospel for our life now, not just for dying. It is about living now as his apprentice in kingdom living, not just as a consumer of his merits. Our future, however far we look, is a natural extension of the faith by which we live now and the life in which we now participate."
-- from The Divine Conspiracy
Dallas Willard, an acclaimed theologian and professor of philosophy at the University of Southern California, fulfills the longing of many Christians who want to live as true disciples of Christ rather than distant dabblers. Likewise, he scoffs at consumer Christians who are simply banking on admittance to heaven as their payoff for attending church. Or worse still, those who use Christianity to advance their political agendas rather than their spiritual ones. But this is not a scolding book. Rather, Willard devotes his efforts to discussing specific and inspiring ways to develop a discipleship to Jesus--not as an act of sacrifice or even one of spiritual luxury--instead, as everyday people committed to the teachings of Christ. "The really good news for Christians is that Jesus is now taking students in the master class of life," writes Willard. "So the message of and about him is specifically a gospel for our life now, not just for dying. It is about living now as his apprentices in kingdom living, not just as consumers of his merits." --Gail Hudson
Reviews
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-08-20
Summary: "Unbeatable service!"
I highly recommend this seller. Their price was the cheapest I could find, the product was brand new as they claimed, and it was delievered days after I ordered it! Great seller!!!
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-05-07
Summary: "Encouragement to my soul..."
Willard masterfully walks the reader through the Sermon on the Mount and many other key teachings of Jesus on the Kingdom of God and discipleship. This book truly inspired me to walk deeper with Jesus. If some of this thinking started spreading through the church, I wonder if we'd find ourselves in amidst a spiritual revival. You'll want to dive into the teachings of Jesus and live them out with everything you have once finishing this book.
Warning: The book started off slow for my taste, but after sticking with it, by the second chapter I was hooked.
Rating: 1 / 5
Date: 2010-05-06
Summary: "Yet another popular book for Christians to read at the beach..."
I will say up front that I did not like this book. The reason is that I found it unconvincing in terms of approach, content and biblical support. Dallas Willard tries to convey the impression that he intends to be "neutral", neither on the Christian left nor on the Christian right; as if his then is the only voice of reason among two extremes (see pg. 44-49). He seems to be implying that he (and he alone?) is finally going to answer questions that the "extremists" are unable or unwilling to tackle. Well, that's the general outline.... but even so, the main body of his presentation seems not to have a beginning nor an end, it's just goes on forever in a very unorganized fashion - sort of a rambling discussion where he seems not to be concerned at all about building up a case for his viewpoints as much as just simply blurting them out in a rather haphazard manner - in short he wanders around seemingly without a road map. Perhaps editing would have been helpful; but it is strange that a college professor with forty years of experience with grading term papers on content and organization really would himself produce such a non-linear and somewhat muddled manuscript.
I think the main problem is that Willard just doesn't have anything important to say. I waded through page after page of rambling commentary that seemed at times to be disconnected in terms of a common theme from what he just wrote in the preceding sections. And at times the discussion was so detached from a solid biblical support, in spite of verses sprinkled here and there as an afterthought, that I felt like I could have been reading one of those popular secular-based Oprah self-help books without realizing it.
While some reviewers have compared Willard to C.S. Lewis, I think this could only be out of ignorance. Lewis actually had a destination point in mind and used a logical progression to reach it, Willard does nothing of the kind. Some reviewers seem endeared to this sort of "sloppiness" thinking it is a virtue in that it makes Willard "more accessible" - I think it just makes him "sloppy" and as a result unconvincing, at least to the astute reader looking for more than just a loose collection of homespun homilies.
It would have helped greatly if Willard had been more adapt at basic exegesis - his various viewpoints were never really convincingly tied back to the Bible itself. I often found myself thinking, "that's not how I view those verses". Willard is not unpacking scripture here, rather he is unpacking his own personal opinions and then finding suitable scripture to footnote after the fact. Some people are comfortable with that approach - I am not. And even then Willard often used a sort of loose paraphrase of scripture to fit his purpose, not unlike something you might find in the "unreliable for serious study" approach of the Living Bible. In many cases I thought the result was misleading and often completely off the mark. Overall, I found his "exegesis" unconvincing.
Let's look at Willard's exegesis of Romans 8:6 (pg. 82). Here Paul is extending his discussion points from the preceding verses in Romans 8:1-5. Paul is pointing out the dichotomy between those in the flesh versus those in the spirit. Paul is saying you are one or the other, without God you are of the flesh and the flesh does fleshly things, etc. In the same way those of the spirit do things according to the spirit. Paul then goes on to make the logical statement in verse 6 that your mind will be set on the things that correspond to your nature (i.e. flesh versus spirit) - such an outcome is inevitable. But, Willard misconstrues this single verse without considering the context of what Paul just said prior to that one verse. Willard resorts to a sort of "freehand" translation(?) not found in any modern translation to insert the phrase "to fill your mind with..." which then has the intended effect of misleading the reader to conclude that "choice" is what Paul is talking about - that you have a "choice" about what you choose to "fill your mind with...". Perhaps you might think I am nitpicking, but even if we do have "choice" that concept is NOT found in this particular verse - far from it. It might be somewhere else in the Bible, but, strictly speaking it is not found in Romans 8:6. If anything this verse is telling us the exact opposite - we do not have "choice" outside of our nature. And Paul actually goes on in the verses after verse 6 to plainly say this.... I think this is a clear case where Willard has made a generalized statement again and then looked around for a verse to support it as an afterthought - oops! Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? Regardless of what one may think of people like John McArthur (see pg. 44-49), McArthur would never, ever be caught flat footed with a weak exegesis like this in his writings.
In another example, Willard flatly states that Acts 11:5-9 has been mistranslated in the NASB (pg. 70-71) without really discussing why he thinks so. He simply says that the same Greek word has been translated three different ways "by the NASB, and by most others". But, his statement is not really true... in each of the three cases cited the same word "heaven" is indeed used in the NASB if you simply look at the footnotes where it clearly says "or heaven" - this simply indicates that there is more than one way of translating the Greek word in question - and presumably "heaven" is the word Willard wants to see each time in the main body of the text. I am sure that the NASB correctly translated that Greek word in accordance with the unique construct of each of the individual sentences, but to fully satisfy all concerned the NASAB also provided the astute reader with footnotes to more fully unpack that Greek word - it's more information that most people will need but, it is all there if you just look at the footnotes, Mr. Willard! All three times the word "heaven" is there... if you only would look for it! In addition, the NKJV, which presumably would be included in Willard's comment about "...most others", translates the Greek word in question all three times as the same word - "heaven". So, the NKJV, which has got to be among the top three or four translations out there, contradicts Willard's generalized contention as well, but Willard never bothers to tell you any of this! I call this "sloppy", unacceptable bad writing, especially for a college professor. Even so, this is actually not a big deal for me and I suppose I could give Willard a pass on this; but if Willard is not careful in small things, such as a reasonable careful exegetical approach to unpacking bible verses, then how can I trust him in bigger things? And yes, there are much bigger things that are theologically unsupported in this book... such as comments that might be construed as being in support of "Open Theism" - check out Willard's comments about whether God can change his mind or not and see what you think (see pp. 244-246). Willard says he often asks his students if they believe what they wrote in term papers, I think he should rather be asking if they can prove what they wrote!
I found it mildly amusing to read Willard's comment in his introduction about how the Bible is "God's gift to the church, not to the scholars"... huh? Mr. Willard, who is going to interpret the original Greek and Hebrew and properly translate into English for us? Is it not the scholars? Who is going to tell us about the culture that Paul and the Gospel writers were speaking to? Is it not the scholars? Who is going to dig into the nuances of obscure Greek words and mannerisms that are totally alien to the 21st Century audience? Is it not the scholars? Who is going to write the commentaries essential to unpacking the scriptures to an audience largely unschooled in biblical studies? Is it not the scholars? --- But, here is my main point, "Who is going to challenge Dallas Willard's exegesis throughout this book??? Is it not the scholars? --- No wonder Willard resorts to homemade, paraphrased verses instead of solid translations from respected sources.... Sure, the scholars might just get in the way of Willard's personal ideas - what does that tell you?
Not surprisingly, as I read through Willard's discussion, I often found myself wondering why he held to certain questionable concepts and totally ignored alternate positions that might actually be in the majority. For example, he spends a huge amount of time trying to convince us that God exists in time and space around us and not off somewhere in a distant place called "heaven". Surely this is not a viewpoint without room for dissent? Even if God and Heaven were very distant from the Earth (which is certainly hinted at in Daniel 10:13 where an Angel sent from God, presumably from a distant heaven, was "withheld" from reaching Daniel on the Earth and again in Revelation 21:10 where heaven is clearly portrayed as separate from the Earth and not an invisible kingdom all around us), it hardly matters. After all, God in his sovereign power can do anything he wants whenever and however he wants regardless of where he actually "lives" - right? That whole discussion just seemed pointless to me. And if you think about it, it really has no bearing whatsoever on sanctification per se. Confusing? Yes.
On a practical basis this book did little for me. From my perspective it was just a rehash of poorly supported theological viewpoints that largely stem from a "be a good person" perspective that rather conveniently seems to ignore the role of the Holy Spirit in such matters. As a result, the entire book has a sort of secular-based "good works is all you need" liberal social ideology flavor to it. This book is fine for that, if that is what you like... This is hardly a deep thinking book; the problem of evil, for example, is never discussed at all - in other words, what if Willard's approach to sanctification as outlined in this book just doesn't work for you? He never addresses that at all... seemly because if you follow everything Willard suggests here you would never be in the position of having to ask those types of difficult questions.... yeah, right!
I guess I just never latched onto exactly where Willard was trying to go - and perhaps he didn't know either? Some reviewers talk about reading this book and then "getting it" for the first time ever... that should be one of the first warning signs as people generally resort to those types of fuzzy blanket statements when they are at a loss for words - they are inadvertently telling you that they really do not understand "it" well enough to say something more precise. After all, if you can't clearly explain it to someone else, then you probably don't understand it yourself! In any case, there is no "magic bullet" for the lifetime process of sanctification. If you really want to "get it" you ought to be reading a decent 300 page commentary on one of the Gospels or one of Paul's letters instead - at least then you will be well grounded in what the Bible actually says instead of having to rely on Willard's muddled interpretation. Best of luck to you!
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-03-31
Summary: "Curriculum for Christlikeness - outstanding primer for discipleship"
Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998)
This a masterpiece volume on discipleship that pulls apart the politics and piety of contemporary Christian practice. It critiques the either/or dichotomy of a `gospel of sin-management' versus a `social justice' alternative, and appeals for a focus on God's Kingdom and right living; `by ravishing them with a vision of life in the kingdom of the heavens in the fellowship of Jesus.' (p.334) For those dissatisfied with culturally-captive Christianity that is lukewarm and distant, Willard offers practical steps to reengage with Christ in the midst of life and work, including right use of money, worship, church, emotions and sexuality and who to seek approval from (Jesus of course rather than people). He introduces a `curriculum for Christlikeness' focused not on the trite `what would Jesus do' but learning to live our life as if Jesus were us. One of the beauties of the book is that it is written by an insightful thinker but not a professional theologian. He interacts with biblical scholarship (e.g. offering a masterful exploration of the Sermon on the Mount and its focus on heart matters), but is not ashamed to be `nuts' for Jesus. He explores theological themes like omnipresence (that God is everywhere), but does so with pages that breath with the excitement of the awesomeness of creation and God's cherishing and joy towards people. This is a significant and influential book on discipleship and spiritual formation and well worth thoughtfully digesting and applying.
Originally reviewed in `The Emerging Church: Spirituality and Worship Reading Guide.' Zadok Papers S159 (Autumn 2008).
Rating: 3 / 5
Date: 2010-02-08
Summary: "Maestro Willard"
The Divine Conspiracy is a treasure trove for the spiritual wanderer. Its primary goal is to give practical advice to a Christian seeking to live in the Kingdom of God now. Front and center, Dallas Willard walks the reader through the Sermon on the Mount in a way that makes it come alive. By examining this singular sermon, and in particular the Beatitudes, Willard posits a fresh comprehensive thinking about Christ's commands. Between saving grace and good works, Willard presents a vivid picture of what God intends for our lives here on earth. The author's treatment is entirely original and breathtaking in scope and while grounded in Scripture, radical and fearless in its conclusions. The conclusion of this tomb is that the more we live in the Kingdom of God, and less in this corrupted world, the clearer we understand the Sermon of the Mount to be a vision of how our lives will be. Out of the deluge of Christian books for one to choose, I ardently recommend this book.
Please visit my website, Delight In Him, for more.