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


From Library Journal
Willard (philosophy, Univ. of Southern California) considers popular Christian belief to be missing out on the essence and origin of its true meaning. Since "consumer Christianity" mistakes the logo for the logos, today's brand-name Christians have jumped on a bandwagon that has run off without its true leader. The imitation of Christ has lost its central importance in Christianity, according to Willard. He examines reasons why this is so and sets out a detailed plan for reawakening such commitment, which requires a genuine willingness to die to self in contrast with mere consumption of Jesus' merits as an insurance against death. Willard's passionate insights are thoroughly argued, though not all may agree with his curriculum for changing people's beliefs. Most suitable for pastoral collections.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
It would be hard to overstate the intellectual depth of this audio and its relevance to genuine seekers of the Christian faith. The author is a well-known teacher who understands the limitations of popular Christianity--the kind that people talk about but never put into action. Willard gives an eloquent reading of the difference between critical moral thinking and the discernment of moral truths. With a wise kind of warmth, he calls our attention to the pitfalls of intellectual and psychological approaches to God, and invites us to find the spiritual integrity we need to live Christ's teachings. This difficult path doesn't allow self-deception, boasting, or escape from what the true believer must do. T.W. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


Christian Century
"This book belongs in the tradition of the great devotional classics. . . . The comprehensiveness of his study, its accessibility, its fervor, its freshness of phrasing, and its command of Scripture should prompt Christians to give this book serious attention. And it's a book that will help seekers better understand why Jesus continues to elicit the loyalty and commitment of people the world over."


Christianity Today
"..IN SEARCH OF GUIDANCE and SPIRIT OF THE DISCIPLINES...These books along with the work of Richard Foster and other kindred souls, have already sparked a modest renewal movement ...But as good as they are, they do not prepare the reader for the power of Willard's new book. With THE DIVINE CONSPIRACY, , Willard joins the line of Thmas a Kempis, Luther, Fenelon, Brother Lawrence of teh Resrrection, Zinzendorf, Wesley, Frank Laubach, Dorothy Day, and other master apprentices of Jesus. ... What distinguishes THE DIVINE CONSPIRACY from many works in this gnre is an extraordinary combination of simplicity and depth. ... If you read only one book in 1999, make it this one."


Book 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 "My hope is to gain a fresh hearing for Jesus, especially among those who believe they already understand him. Very few people today find Jesus interesting as a person or of vital relevance to the course of their actual lives. He is not generally regarded as a real life personality who deals with real-life issues, but is thought to be concerned with some feathery realm other than the one we must deal with, and must deal with now.""[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


From the Back Cover
"I am struck by many things in The Divine Conspiracy... First, I am struck by the comprehensive nature of this book...It provides me with a conceptual philosophy for understanding the meaning and purpose of human existence...The breadth of the issues covered is astonishing: from the soul's redemption and justification to discipleship and our growth in grace to death and the state of our existence in heaven... Second, I am struck by the accessibility of this book. I'm fully aware that the issues discussed here are of immense importance, yet it is all so understandable, so readable, so applicable... Third, I am struck by the depth of this book. Willard is a master at capturing the central insight of Jesus' teachings. Perhaps this is because he takes Jesus seriously as an intelligent, fully competent Teacher. He writes, 'Jesus is not just bright, he is brilliant.'... My fourth and final observation...I am struck by the warmth of this book. Rarely have I found an author with so penetrating an intellect combined with so generous a spirit. Clearly he has descended with the mind into the heart and from this place he touches us, both mind and heart."--From the foreword by Richard J. Foster, author of Celebration of Discipline


About the Author
Theologian and scholar Dallas Willardhas long been an eloquent voice for the relevance of God in our daily lives. His groundbreaking books In Search of Guidance and The Spirit of the Disciplines forever changed the way thousands of Christians experience their faith. He is a professor at the University of Southern California's School of Philosophy and has held visiting appointments at UCLA and the University of Colorado. He lives in southern California.


Excerpted from The Divine Conspiracy : Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God by Dallas Willard, Richard J. Foster. Copyright © 1998. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
Entering the Eternal KindOf Life NowGod's care for humanity was so great that he sent his unique Son among us, so that those who count on him might not lead a futile and failing existence, but have the undying life of God Himself. JOHN 3:16Jesus' good news, then, was that the Kingdom of God had come, and that he, Jesus, was its herald and expounder to men. More than that, in some special, mysterious way, he was the Kingdom. MALCOLM MUGGERIDGE,JESUS: THE MAN WHO LIVESLife in the DarkRecently a pilot was practicing high--speed maneuvers in a jet fighter. She turned the controls for what she thought was a steep ascent--and flew straight into the ground. She was unaware that she had been flying upside down. This is a parable of human existence in our times--not exactly that everyone is crashing, though there is enough of that--but most of us as individuals, and world society as a whole, live at high-speed, and often with no clue to whether we are flying upside down or right-side up. Indeed, we are haunted by a strong suspicion that there may be no difference--or at least that it is unknown or irrelevant. Rumors from the Intellectual HeightsThat suspicion now has the force of unspoken dogma in the highest centers of Western learning. Of course, one has to assume in practice that there is a right-side up, just to get on with life. But it is equally assumed that right-side up is not a subject of knowledge.Derek Bok was president of Harvard University for many years, and in his "President's Report" for 1986-1987 he referred to some well-known moral failures in financial circles and the political life of the nation. He wondered out loud what universities might do to strengthen moral character in their graduates. "Religious institutions," he continued, "no longer seem as able as they once were to impart basic values to the young. In these circumstances, universities, including Harvard, need to think hard about what they can do in the face of what many perceive as a widespread decline in ethical standards."' Bok points out that in other days "the instructors aim was . . . to foster a belief in commonly accepted moral values" (p. 10). Now all is changed: "Today's course in applied ethics does not seek to convey a set of moral truths but tries to encourage the student to think carefully about complex moral issues." One senses that the governing assumption of his discussion is that these two objectives are mutually exclusive. "The principle aim of the course," Bok continues, "is not to impart 'right answers' but to make the students more perceptive in detecting ethical problems when they arise, better acquainted with the best moral thought that has accumulated through the ages, and more equipped to reason about the ethical issues they will face" (p. 10). Later he quotes Carol Gilligan to the effect that "moral development in the college years thus centers on the shift from moral ideology to ethical responsibility" (p. 30). One should not miss the point that Bok puts "right answers" in queer quotes, and that Gilligan holds what one has before college to be "ideology"--that is, irrational beliefs and attitudes. They are faithfully expressing the accepted intellectual viewpoint on the common moral beliefs that guide ordinary human existence. Finally, in coming to the conclusion of his report, President Bok remarks, "Despite the importance of moral development to the individual student and the society, one cannot say that higher education has demonstrated a deep concern for the problem . . . Especially in large universities, the subject is not treated as a serious responsibility worthy of sustained discussion and determined action by the faculty and administration" (p. 31). But the failure of will on the part of educators that Bok courageously points out is inevitable. Had he strolled across Harvard Yard to Emerson Hall and consulted with some of the most influential thinkers in our nation, he would have discovered that there now is no recognized moral knowledge upon which projects of fostering moral development could be based. There is now not a single moral conclusion about behavior or character traits that a teacher could base a student's grade on-not even those most dear to educators, concerning fairness and diversity if you lowered a student's grade just for saying on a test that discrimination is morally acceptable, for example, the student could contest that grade to the administration. And if that position on the moral acceptability of discrimination were the only point at issue, the student would win. The teacher would be reminded that we are not here to impose our views on students, "however misguided the student might be." And if the administration of the university did not reach that decision, a court of law soon would. Of course, if a student seriously wrote on a test that 7 times 5 equals 32, or that Columbus discovered America in 1520, we would be permitted to "impose our views" in these cases. It would not matter by what route the student came to such conclusions because these cases concern matters that--quibbles aside--are regarded as known. That is what marks the difference. Why Be Surprised?But if indeed there is now no body of moral knowledge in our culture, then a number of things highly positioned people express surprise about are not surprising at all. Robert Coles, professor of psychiatry and medical humanities at Harvard and a well-known researcher and commentator on matters social and moral, published a piece in the Chronicle of Higher Education on "The Disparity Between Intellect and Character."' The piece is about "the task of connecting intellect to character." This task, he adds, "is daunting." His essay was occasioned by an encounter with one of his students over the moral insensitivity--is it hard for him to say "immoral behavior"?--of other students, some of the best and brightest at Harvard.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

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.

FROM THE CRITICS

Christianity Today

..IN SEARCH OF GUIDANCE and SPIRIT OF THE DISCIPLINES...These books along with the work of Richard Foster and other kindred souls, have already sparked a modest renewal movement ...But as good as they are, they do not prepare the reader for the power of Willard's new book. With THE DIVINE CONSPIRACY, , Willard joins the line of Thmas a Kempis, Luther, Fenelon, Brother Lawrence of teh Resrrection, Zinzendorf, Wesley, Frank Laubach, Dorothy Day, and other master apprentices of Jesus. ... What distinguishes THE DIVINE CONSPIRACY from many works in this gnre is an extraordinary combination of simplicity and depth. ... If you read only one book in 1999, make it this one.

Christian Century

This book belongs in the tradition of the great devotional classics . . . The comprehensiveness of his study, its accessibility, its fervor, its freshness of phrasing, and its command of Scripture should prompt Christians to give this book serious attention. And it's a book that will help seekers better understand why Jesus continues to elicit the loyalty and commitment of people the world over.

Christianity Today

In Search of Guidance and Spirit of the Disciplines . . . these books along with the work of Richard Foster and other kindred souls, have already sparked a modest renewal movement . . . But as good as they are, they do not prepare the reader for the power of Willard's new book. With The Divine Conspiracy, Willard joins the line of Thomas à Kempis, Luther, Fenelon, Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, Zinzendorf, Wesley, Frank Laubach, Dorothy Day, and other master apprentices of Jesus . . . What distinguishes The Divine Conspiracy from many works in this genre is an extraordinary combination of simplicity and depth . . .

Library Journal