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Summary: "The Divine Conspiracy" changed my life!
Review: Dr. Dallas Willard has peered into the glorious canyon of the heart and mind of God - and in his book he tells us not what he has read about, but what he has personally seen. Thus, this book was not written by a scribe but by a prophet. It smacks of another dimension that is all around us, also known as the kingdom of the heavens. We learn we're made for this "other" world, that our souls long for it, and that we're never at rest until we're fully oriented in this invisible, but real, dimension. This explains why most people live lives of "quiet desperation". The whole point of the book is that humans were made for a superiour hidden reality and that Jesus uniquely stands as both the Gatekeeper and Guide because, as a fact, only Jesus has experienced this hidden country. In his role as Sacrificial Lamb he lets us in the Gate, but in his role as Master Teacher, he is our Guide to living life - here and now. We learn that for years we've ignored Jesus' role as our Life Teacher. Is it any wonder we don't really know how to live? Is it any wonder our world is so messed up? And, in Jesus' absense as Life Teacher, we had to learn from someone - our blind world - on how to live, its principles, its habits, its lifestyle...and we have paid dearly. Dr. Willard eloquently pleads that we start learning how to truly live and that only Jesus has demonstrated standing in history to teach us. Fortunately, Jesus is still taking students, also known as disciples. We learn the call to make disciples in the Great Commission is in essence simply an invitation to learn how to live right - how to live in God's invisible country which is already here - and which is our true home. After reading it for the third time (something I've never done before), I realized how homesick I am (my own life of 'quiet desperation' - though I have good family and job, etc.) for my true home, the one which I was given a soul for -- yet the home I've been ignorant of even though I've been "located" in my home all the time...I was just blind to it as a reality. THIS is why Jesus said to "repent": as to WHAT constitutes ultimate reality: is it this world as we know it through our five senses or is it a multidimensional world, a kingdom of heavens as Jesus called it, and its corresponding rule and power. Jesus knew, then and now, that humans died to God and his kingdom in the Fall. Humans have been shut off from understanding and entering into this ultimate reality. For those who've had enough of a world that is dead to God - a world humans were never designed for, then the Divine Conspiracy can help shed the scales...maybe for the first time. Thanks be to God that His Son Jesus is still calling...calling us to himself, calling us home today. This is a call that can be fulfilled before we physically die too. This was precisely Jesus' intent. This is truly Good News. Thank you Dr. Willard for sharing with us what you've seen.
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Summary: Don't just read it. Read it twice!
Review: I've read many books more than once, intent on gleaning once again their fruit. This is the only book I have ever finished and begun all over again that very day.Long have I struggled with so many of the topics Dallas Willard articulates in a style akin to C.S. Lewis'. I didn't come away with answers merely given me, but with a ressurected desire to find out from the One who will surely lead me to them as I endeavor my apprenticeship to Him. It was pure joy to read. The closest I've ever come to saturating myself in a lecture hall and soaking up a fireside chat with an esteemed elder all rolled into one. If you want to know, to really know, what discipleship to Him can look like--if you've pined for it, fought against it, labored after it, failed miserably, triumphed mightily, and want it more and more to deepen its roots into your being, then get the book. Just get it.
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Summary: Okay, but nothing special
Review: I too bought this on the basis of the over-hyped reviews by the author's fan club. The message is certainly one that deserves to be heard and heeded, but neither the content nor the writing style is anything extraordinary. The book is worth reading, but I'm adding my $0.02 worth just as a caution to those who may think on the basis of some of the other reviews that it contains life-changing pearls of wisdom that aren't found in 100 other books.
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Summary: Good book but overhyped
Review: I purchased and read the book based on the outstanding comments by other reviewers. I was disappointed because it did not live up to the hype. The book is basically an academic discourse on the sermon on the mount mixed with philosophical insights. It has some enlightening content but some of Willard's new scriptural interpretations are off the mark. In short, the book is big on information but falls short on edification.
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Summary: The most important book wriiten on xn discipleship, period!
Review: I had the priveledge of meeting Dallas in 1984 and can say without hesitation that after 3 years of bible college and a masters degree in theology it was the first time I had heard the "Good News" of Jesus Christ. In this book, Dallas articulates for all who would really take themselves and the message of Jesus seriously, the "what it is" and the how do you really do it". As he masterfully develops the real message of Jesus,"what is the kingdom of God and what must I do to enter in", you begin to realize that the cross is only the starting point in our life with God...and that life begins here and now. You will never look at your Christianity the same way!
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Summary: The Book of the Century
Review: Since I have had the pleasure to meet Dr. Willard myself, I must tell everyone that he is a tower of humility in a position that we normally find a person filled with arrogance. This book reminds us that we should never place a gospel about Jesus before the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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Summary: Willard cuts through religious speak to Jesus' easy yoke!
Review: The easy yoke, OH! That's what You meant! Duh! What can you say when you have been a "Christian" since you were thirteen, studied at one of the country's best "evangelical" universities, challenge and question everything along the way and wake-up at 42 realizing how little you really UNDERSTAND (but you've got a lot of the "right" answers)? Willard so gently, yet so precisely, retools thinking about things muddled by years of warring, doctrinal-headed Christianity. Bible passages that made no sense, particularly words spoken by Jesus, now do--Jesus was a really brilliant guy. Here, Jesus rises afresh. And that Jesus compels me to come, follow Him in ways I either ignorantly missed these years, never heard, or wasn't ready for, likely all three. From one poor hungry beggar to another, this is the Good News, food for the savagely hungry soul. Eat. Enjoy. Live.
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Summary: A wonderful book filled with wisdom for our Christian walk.
Review: My husband and I are privileged to call Dr. Wiliard our friend and our mentor. Through difficult times in our lives, he has offered wise counsel and now the world is likewise blessed to read his thoughtful and challenging books. If it is your heart's desire to walk in a loving relationship with Jesus and with others, read The Divine Conspiracy. You will learn anew the mystery of the Kingdom of God and the joy of living in that Kingdom here and now. When I came to realize through Dr. Willard's teaching that Jesus is ever present in my life, it changed my attitude toward myself and toward others. To know the man personally is to know his warmth and humanity and humility. He walks with the Lord in precisely the way he invites all believers to walk with Him. Read this book!
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Summary: Willard gives the fruit of his life of discipleship
Review: This is, it is no exaggeration to say, the single most important book of expository Christian devotion and commentary since WWII. This book is not just to be read, but read, savored, re-read, meditated upon, and then read again. It is a life's companion, and the height of Christian literary accomplishment. The money you spend on this book will be the best money you have ever spent. Ever. Don't miss it!!
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Summary: THE SILVER BULLET BOOK
Review: During my apologetics class, professor J.P. Moreland said that we (his students) MUST check out this book. Richard Foster (author of _Celebration of Discipline_ and _Prayer_) calls it "the book I have been searching for all my life" (makes it sound like the "silver bullet book"). I found Divine Conspiracy to definitely live up to this hype. The title refers to God's conspiracy to undermine evil with good. Among other things, Willard discusses the fundamental problem of nondiscipleship in the church, what it looks like to be Christlike (with an excellent exposition of the beatitudes and sermon on the mount), what it looks like to be a disciple of Christ, how to become disciples of Jesus and how to make disciples of Jesus. Prior to reading the book, I thought I was well on my way towards becoming a mature disciple of Christ, but after reading it I've discovered that I'm nowhere close to where I thought I was. I realized that I have a real l! ! ong ways to go to becoming the kind of person who routinely automatically blesses those who curse, cheat, or stink-eye me or to grow so secure that I don't seek to find faults and weaknesses with people. I also have gained tremendous new insight into how I can more effectively make disciples and how local churches coud do the same. The Divine Conspiracy is a comprehensive, practical, meaty, challenging, and extremely helpful book which I pray will be widely read.
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