Dallas
Willard
Dallas Willard —Promoting Contemplative Prayer and Mysticism Through Spiritual Formation
An interesting interview with John Ortberg and Dallas Willard:
“Tough Questions” with Dallas Willard . . . and His Contemplative Propensities
Dallas Willard: Bible Study and prayer not as important to the Christian life as silence and solitude:
"Indeed, solitude and silence are powerful means to grace. Bible study, prayer and church attendance, among the most commonly prescribed activities in Christian circles, generally have little effect for soul transformation, as is obvious to any observer. If all the people doing them were transformed to health and righteousness by it, the world would be vastly changed. Their failure to bring about the change is precisely because the body and soul are so exhausted, fragmented and conflicted that the prescribed activities cannot be appropriately engaged, and by and large degenerate into legalistic and ineffectual rituals. Lengthy solitude and silence, including rest, can make them very powerful." (Dallas Willard, "Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation and the Restoration of the Soul," Journal of Psychology and Theology, Spring 1998, Vol. 26, #1, pp. 101-109. Also available in The Great Omission, San Francisco: HarperCollins, 2006
Dallas Willard Participating
in the
Ancient Wisdom
Conference
"WAY"
of Jesus or Jesus as "THE WAY"
David Sheldon Discusses the
Ancient Wisdom Conference
"The conference page purports that
"Two thousand years ago, Christian spirituality was new to the
world. This was a time before churches as we know them." In other
words, this conference is returning us to our ancient "spiritual"
roots. (These roots, as articulated, are really mysticism and not
truly Christian.)" Read
more...
Dallas Willard is a proponent of contemplative spirituality. Here are a few facts to show this:
1. Dallas Willard Helps Launch the Renovare Spiritual Formation Study Bible. The Renovare Study Bible Released at Renovare's With-God Conference in April of 2005
2. Willard has written the foreword to Ruth Haley Barton's book, Invitation to Solitude and Silence.
3. Willard recommends several contemplative authors including Richard Foster, Henri Nouwen, Jan Johnson, and Evelyn Underhill.
4. See connections, endorsements chart below.
Dallas
Willard Gives Advice to Someone Who Rejects the Gospel |
The following is an excerpt of an article written by Dallas Willard, in which he hypothetically responds to a college girl who was raised a Christian but has now rejected the Christian faith and believes all paths lead to God ...
"What
Paul is clearly saying is that if anyone is worthy of being
saved, they will be saved. At that point many Christians get
very anxious, saying that absolutely no one is worthy of being
saved. The implication of that is that a person can be almost
totally good, but miss the message about Jesus, and be sent
to hell. What kind of a God would do that? I am not going
to stand in the way of anyone whom God wants to save. I am
not going to say "he can't save them." I am happy for God
to save anyone he wants in any way he can. It is possible
for someone who does not know Jesus to be saved."—Dallas
Willard, Apologetics in Action
LTRP Note: Some have expressed concern that Lighthouse Trails has not posted the statement Dallas Willard made after the above statement, in which he says that anyone who is going to be saved is going to be saved by Jesus. While we do provide a link so people can read his entire article, we believe Willard has been very misleading in saying that it is possible for someone who does not know Jesus to be saved. We must keep in mind the context of Willard's statement, in which he is talking about the works of man in relation to salvation. And given his adherence to spiritual formation, this completely aligns with the view that man ( born again or not) can become Christ-like (and worthy of salvation according to Foster and Willard) by doing certain disciplines. It is in that context Willard makes that statement; he wasn’t referring to those who had never heard the gospel.
In addition, it is the role of Christians to preach the gospel, calling out for people to repent and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. His instructions are very clear. And the apostle Paul always pointed to Jesus Christ and man’s absolute need to turn to Him in order to be saved and written in the Book of Life. If such a statement was right to say, then Jesus or the disciples would have said it. On Dallas Willard's website, he recommends mystics who have panentheistic and universalistic affinities. His seemingly ambiguous statements and his recommendations resonate, and they should not be ignored.
How ironic that in Willard's article, he was addressing it to a college girl who had been a Christian and had turned away from and rejected the gospel, saying that all paths lead to God. This was Willard's answer to her.
"As far as the content of what I try to present is concerned it focuses on the gospel of the kingdom of God and becoming a disciple of Jesus in the kingdom of God. SO it doesn't merely have an emphasis on the forgiveness of sins and assurance of heaven as you are apt to find in most evangelical circles. I think that is vital but it is not the whole story."—from Kingdom Living, Dallas Willard
Dallas
Willard - His Associations |
Dallas Willard's Recommended Reading List
on Contemplative Prayer and Spiritual Disciplines
The List Includes:
Richard Foster
Evelyn Underhill
Brother Lawrence
Henri Nouwen
Madam Guyon
Jan Johnson
Ignatius
Agnes Sanford
Teresa of Avila
George Fox
Other Connections, Endorsements, etc.
The
Divine Conspiracy |
Back
Matter |
|
Invitation
to Silence and Solitude |
Willard
wrote Foreword |
|
Spirit
of the Disciplines |
Back
Cover |
|
Spirit
of the Disciplines |
Back
Cover |
|
Spirit
of the Disciplines |
Thomas
Merton, Agnes Sanford, George Fox |
Willard
quotes favorably |
Spirit
of the Disciplines |
numerous
quotes favorably |
|
Hearing
God Through the Year |
co-author |
|
The
Post Evangelical (Youth Specialties) |
Willard
wrote foreword |
|
Evangelical
Alliance of Northern Ireland |
Speaks
at their 2004 conference |
|
Allelon |
Sits on the Allelon Board |
"Dallas Willard understands Quaker thinking about as well as anybody," Foster acknowledged. "I had him do a study once on George Fox and his insights just blew me away." An Interview with Richard Foster
Where
did Dallas Willard's class lead this man?
Take a look:
Disciplines, Mystics, and the Contemplative Life
by Mike Perschon
What is Dallas Willard Connected With?
Interview
with Renovare
Pro-contemplative
Speaker
at Renovare
Pro-contemplative
Relevant
Magazine
Pro-contemplative
Board
Member of Allelon
(what is Allelon
A young man takes a class by Dallas Willard, and he is introduced to contemplative prayer.
"I bumped into the classic spiritual disciplines while taking a course called "Dynamics of Christian Life" in my second year of Bible school. One of our textbooks was The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard. The course and textbook only touched on the actual disciplines, but the concept captivated me. The following spring, I found a copy of Richard Foster's spiritual classic Celebration of Discipline in a used bookstore. Opening it and discovering each discipline detailed chapter by chapter, I felt a profound sense of joy and excitement. I'd found a real treasure."
What Does The Message Do With Homosexuality?
Eugene
Peterson has deleted
the word homosexuality
or homosexuals.
Unlike the KJV, which also does not use those words, The Message
changes the meaning of scriptures by inferring that it is not homosexuality
that is wrong but rather relationships that are not committed and
intimate. more ...
