The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard
"The Divine Conspiracy" by Dallas Willard explores the notion that human beings inherently seek lives of deep significance, a desire rooted in their spiritual nature. Willard critiques modern society for its skepticism, reductionist views of reality, and the superficial admiration of absurdity and cuteness, arguing that these elements hinder genuine fulfillment. He points to Jesus as a transformative figure whose teachings, particularly in the Sermon on the Mount, provide a framework for understanding what constitutes a truly good life and person. Willard emphasizes that the Gospel transcends mere sin management and social ethics, proposing that it encompasses both eternal life and a dynamic present relationship with God. He presents a vision of spiritual reality, asserting that God's presence is intimately close rather than distant, enabling a profound connection and transformation in individuals. Furthermore, Willard reinterprets the Beatitudes to illustrate the inclusivity of God's kingdom, suggesting that those marginalized or struggling can find richness in spirit through their relationship with God. Ultimately, this work invites readers to consider a holistic approach to discipleship centered on love, trust, and the transformation of character in alignment with God's will.
On this Page
The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard
First published: San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1998
Genre(s): Nonfiction
Subgenre(s): Biblical studies; exegesis; handbook for living; theology
Core issue(s):The Beatitudes; daily living; discipleship; faith; Jesus Christ; sanctification
Overview
According to Dallas Willard, part of our nature as human beings is to want to live lives that have deep significance, which is a reflection of our God-given creative impulse. Modern society contains several hindrances to experiencing this type of significance: skepticism about the possibility of moral knowledge, scorn for the profound, and the belief that the only two elements of reality are particles and progress. That is, reality is ultimately physical, and all that matters socially is that we make progress, whatever that may be. Absurdity and cuteness are admired in society. For Willard, they are fine to laugh and even think about, but absurdity and cuteness fail to lead us into lives of satisfaction and significance. Jesus, however, possesses enduring relevance because he relates to human beings in ways that produce wholeness.
The Church also erects barriers to human flourishing, especially in its espousal of what Willard calls the gospels of sin management. Christians of a conservative theological persuasion hold that Christianity is about only forgiveness of sins and eternal life after death. This is problematic, because it seems impossible to trust Jesus to provide eternal life in the hereafter but not trust him for new life, an eternal kind of life, in the here and now. For the more theologically liberal, the Gospel is not about securing life after death in heaven with God, but rather the focus is on social ethics. In recent times, the idea is that the good news is that Jesus died to promote liberation, equality, and community and that this was his message.
In Willard’s view, the true good news communicated through the Scriptures and displayed in the life of Jesus is that we can have our lives and characters transformed now, as we seek to live under God’s rule. Both privatized forgiveness of sins as well as the social Gospel have failed to produce deep and lasting transformation of either individual human lives or of our lives together. The Gospel is about eternal life and life in the present, and it does have social implications, but according to Willard, the kingdom of Christ is not essentially a social or political kingdom. Rather, his kingdom is about extending God’s rule in human hearts in a way that pervades the entire universe.
Because there is more to reality than particles and progress, Willard describes the nature of spiritual reality. God is spiritual, and people are spiritual beings who live in a spiritual reality. Spiritual reality is not physical. It is not perceivable by the physical senses. The spiritual is powerful, however. It works via the mind and will. The spiritual also has to do with thought, and people, unlike any merely physical object, by their nature think. Finally, the spiritual as it exists in people is concerned with value and valuing. We are favorably disposed to some things and not so favorably disposed to others.
Willard argues that Jesus is truly the smartest man in the world; therefore, he explores Christ’s teachings in the Sermon on the Mount as an intellectually sound and practically viable approach to life. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is concerned with two questions of perennial interest to human beings: What kind of life is truly good? and Who is truly a good person? In response to the first question, Willard says Jesus would answer the kind of life led by a person who accepts God, is intimately related to God, and works with God to further his kingdom. Regarding the second question, Jesus would answer that the truly good person is the one who actively promotes the good of all.
Willard goes on to discuss the need to escape the deceptions of both wealth and a good reputation. For him, pursuit of these things will not lead to a good life, nor is such a pursuit conducive to becoming a good person. He also discusses individual and corporate prayer. He marshals biblical support that was meaningful in his own spiritual journey in favor of the claim that prayer is at its most basic level a request and that God does respond to prayer. God may grant or refuse requests made to him in prayer, based on what is good. Next, Willard examines life as a student of Jesus and offers a practical curriculum for becoming like Christ. The primary objectives of such a curriculum should not be mere external behavior nor profession of precisely and perfectly correct doctrine. Rather, the main objectives in the pursuit of Christ-like character should be to develop a love of God and deep trust in God’s goodness and to undergo a transformation of body and soul such that one’s automatic responses are in line with the rules of God’s kingdom. Finally, Willard concludes the book with a description of what human existence will be like in an eternity with God.
Christian Themes
In the chapter entitled “What Jesus Knew: Our God-Bathed World,” Willard discusses the belief that God is present in the air that surrounds our bodies. He argues that the biblical phrase “the first heaven” refers to this. Therefore, God does not inhabit the heavens in a distant sense, but rather God is present in the space that surrounds our bodies. The significance of this lies in the fact that when we conceive of God and heaven as existing in some far-off place or even beyond outer space, God and his kingdom seem remote and distant, which is damaging to our spiritual lives. However, a proper understanding of the experience of people as recorded in the Old and New Testaments reveals a God who is present in the space around our bodies and with whom we can enter into an intimate, powerful, and loving relationship.
A second key issue dealt with in The Divine Conspiracy is Willard’s understanding of the Beatitudes. The prominent understanding of the Beatitudes is that they are prescriptions for how human beings should live. For example, humans should be poor in spirit, meek, and persecuted for the sake of righteousness. Willard’s view is that the point of the Beatitudes is that God’s kingdom is available to all people, right now, through Jesus. The descriptions given in the Beatitudes are of the people who were present during Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and he was describing the inclusiveness of God’s kingdom.
Willard argues that Christians should not seek to be meek or poor in spirit but rather should seek out the meek and poor in spirit so that they too can understand the availability of God and his kingdom. Once rightly related to God, the poor in spirit become indescribably rich in spirit because they are blessed by God.
Finally, there are many other Christian issues dealt with by Willard in ways that are new to the modern mind but not to the biblical record or to Christian history. Part of the value of this book is the biblical and historical case Willard makes for his views not only on God’s presence and the availability of God’s kingdom but also on the true content of the Gospel, the nature of life together among followers of Christ, and the aim of the Christian life as one of union with God and automatic response in line with the rules of God’s kingdom.
Sources for Further Study
Foster, Richard. Celebration of Discipline. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1998. Contains a description of many of the classical spiritual disciplines, as well as several practical applications for each of them.
Moreland, J. P., and Klaus Issler. The Lost Virtue of Happiness. Colorado Springs, Colo.: Navpress, 2006. Discusses how the worldview assumptions of modern culture undermine the Christian pursuit of true happiness and offers practical guidance in how to experience such happiness in life.
Van Der Wheele, Steven. Review of The Divine Conspiracy. The Christian Century 116, no. 20 (July 14-21, 1999): 719-721. Praises Willard’s work for its command of Scripture, comprehensiveness, and accessibility.
Willard, Dallas. Hearing God. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1999. Focuses on developing a conversational relationship with God. Useful as a guide for practical spirituality but includes theoretical content as well.
Willard, Dallas. Renovation of the Heart. Colorado Springs, Colo.: Navpress, 2002. Contains a discussion of human nature and how true discipleship to Jesus affects the character of human beings.
Willard, Dallas. The Spirit of the Disciplines. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1988. A biblical, theological, and philosophical case for practicing the classical spiritual disciplines, such as solitude, fasting, and silence.