# Knowing Christ Today (Dallas Willard)



## RamistThomist (Oct 26, 2018)

Willard, Dallas. _Knowing Christ Today: The Importance of Spiritual Knowledge_.

Thesis: A life of steadfast discipleship to Jesus Christ can be supported only upon assured knowledge of how things are, of the realities in terms of which that life is lived (Willard 7). Correct knowledge gives us secure access to reality.

_Interplay between faith and knowledge_

What is it to possess knowledge? “We have knowledge of something when we are representing it….as it actually is, on an appropriate basis of thought and experience” (15).

Faith is contrasted with sight, not true knowledge. Faith is always exercised “in an environment of knowledge and is inseparable from it” (20).

_Exactly How We Perish for Lack of Knowledge_

Sub-thesis: People perish for lack of knowledge because only knowledge permits assured access to reality” (39). While some are saying that “worldview” talk is now dated, it is still inevitable. Willard calls it a “biological necessity for human beings, because we act, whether consciously or not, with reference to a whole (a ‘world’)” (43).

One way we perish is by idolatry. It is a mistake about reality, in that we assign powers to an object that it does not have. The rest of this chapter is a summary of Renovation of the Heart and The Divine Conspiracy.

_Can We Know That God Exists?_

Willard gives a simplified version of the Kalam Cosmological argument.

(1) The universe had a beginning (evidence from Big Bang, background radiation, impossibility of traversing an actual infinite, etc.)

(2) It was either (p) produced by nothing or by (q) something that is not physical.

(3) P is false; therefore, q (2; Disjunctive syllogism)

(4) The causal closure principle of the universe is false since it cannot explain the cause of the physical universe (see [1]).

(5) There must be a first member in the causal series.

(6) This cause must have a will since he/it willed to create.

(7) Therefore, the causal system is not merely causal.

_The Miraculous, and Christ’s Presence in the World_

What is a “natural law?” True, there are regularities in nature, yet these regularities are constantly interrupted even by humans. Willard notes that “common regularities in nature all depend upon certain conditions that lie deeper in reality, and if those conditions are modified, then the regularities are interrupted” (125). A miracle is when the ultimate conditioner modifies the conditions. Therefore, it is not a violation of natural law, whatever that means.

_Knowledge of Christ in the Spiritual Life_

Here Willard summarizes his work on spiritual disciplines. We are cultivating a “constant receptivity” to the presence of Jesus (156). This list is not exhaustive. We do so by:

(1) solitude and silence.

(2) Fellowship

(3) Prayer

(4) Giving

_Knowledge of Christ and Christian Pluralism_

What would a Christian pluralism look like? Willard defines it as “a pluralism based upon the generosity and justice of the God revealed in Christ” (170). This raises a problem: if by knowledge of Christ we have secured access to reality, then it seems that others are wrong. Willard heads off that line of reasoning by noting we shouldn’t confuse belief with behavior. I can believe you are wrong and still be a decent human being.

In any case, there is a logical exclusivity about knowledge in general. Pluralism as an ideal is false and unworkable, since various religious traditions make exclusive claims. What is valuable in pluralism, however, is having a proper and friendly attitude towards the so-called “Other.”

A Christian take on true pluralism (!) would imply something like the following:

(1) Agape love for everyone.

(2) God will treat everyone justly.

(3) Willard is *not* saying people from other religions *will* be saved apart from Christ.

(4) Yet, God probably won’t cackle maniacally as he watches people on the barbeque pit.

My only real concern is Willard’s exegesis of “no other name.” He says it is in the context of meaning “no other access to God’s kingdom power--resulting in the previous miracle--except through Jesus’ name.” I certainly believe that is a true proposition. I just don’t see how it changes the original meaning.

This book is a good snapshot on Christian epistemology. It is, however, not a text on epistemology. Willard shows the importance of Christianity as a knowledge-tradition and that we have access to it. But he doesn’t deal with the basic problems of epistemology. This book isn’t as good as Renovation of the Heart, but it is better than Divine Conspiracy. It’s on par with Hearing God.

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## Jeri Tanner (Oct 26, 2018)

“...cultivating a “constant receptivity” to the presence of Jesus (156). This list is not exhaustive. We do so by:

(1) solitude and silence.”

and...

“Hearing God...”

Thanks Jacob. I don’t know all about Dallas Willard, but this area of his teaching I find problematic (unscriptural) and has actually caused or contributed to a lot of confusion among Christians. It’s the matter of “how do we hear from God and by what means does he guide us in decisions we make; in what way does he oversee the decisions and details of our lives.” Willard promotes listening for ‘direct’ communication from God in some of his materials, don’t know if he does so in this book. I know you likely have a different take on this topic but that’s my 2 cents on that topic.


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## RamistThomist (Oct 26, 2018)

Jeri Tanner said:


> “...cultivating a “constant receptivity” to the presence of Jesus (156). This list is not exhaustive. We do so by:
> 
> (1) solitude and silence.”
> 
> ...



Well, solitude and silence should be embraced. I can only imagine what silence sounds like (this isn't a discipline I have the luxury of having. LOL).

Willard goes into very clear detail on what he means by "listening to God." He isn't saying you will hear audible voices from heaven. They could be 'hunches' to go pray, only to find out that a missionary's life was in danger later on.

In any case, "word of God" can mean at least four different things:

The “Word” can be:

a)eternally set in the heavens (Ps. 119:89).
b) the Logoi in the order of nature (Ps. 19:1-4).
c) Sown in the ministry of Christ (Mt. 13). In case, the word would simply be "preaching" and not full canons of Scripture. 
d) That which prevailed in Acts (12:24)

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## C. M. Sheffield (Oct 26, 2018)

Dallas Willard was a known mystic. I had to read his book a spiritual disciplines in Bible College. He may have some good things to say, but I would not recommend his teaching or books.


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## RamistThomist (Oct 26, 2018)

C. M. Sheffield said:


> Dallas Willard was a known mystic. I had to read his book a spiritual disciplines in Bible College. He may have some good things to say, but I would not recommend his teaching or books.



To each his own. I've criticized aspects of his thought, but I've also read all of his non-posthumous books and I am not too messed up.

I am also reading him on the philosophical and epistemological angle. The battle for universals and true knowledge is just too important.

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## ZackF (Oct 26, 2018)

I'd like to read him someday but I'm just booked. I appreciate your summaries. I've thought of Willard as kind of a Protestant Von Balthasar.


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## RamistThomist (Oct 27, 2018)

ZackF said:


> I'd like to read him someday but I'm just booked. I appreciate your summaries. I've thought of Willard as kind of a Protestant Von Balthasar.



That's a good way to put it. Part of our difficulty in looking at Willard is that his target audience was happy clappy slappy evangelicals who shunned discipleship. So a lot of his stuff isn't immediately relevant to us.

But he was JP Moreland's mentor and Moreland said Willard knew more about the history of ethics than anyone else.


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## RamistThomist (Oct 27, 2018)

Here is JP Moreland speaking at Dallas's funeral. He describes what it was like to study under Dallas. 

Fun fact: Willard was also Greg Bahnsen's PhD adviser.

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