Emerging Church
What’s up with Dallas Willard
As of late, my concern has been about Dallas Willard, his written and preached theology, and how it is infiltrating into the minds of people I love.
See his recommended reading list: do you see anything wrong with what’s listed?
Or…how about his view of salvation? Concerning ‘very good Buddhists’ and their destiny… and explaining Romans 2:6-10:
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. But anyone who is going to be saved is going to be saved by Jesus: “There is no other name given under heaven by which men can be saved.”
(From Apologetics in Action, emphasis mine)
And somebody please explain to me why he is on “a quiet quest to subvert nominal Christianity“!?!
What else? In the same September 2006 issue of Christianity Today (which is about how Calvinism/Reformed theology is making a comeback in the church)… I am very disappointed that the president of Calvin Theological Seminary has agreed with Willard that sanctification is NOT by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone:
It’s important to see that this program of renewal has nothing to do with “works righteousness” as the Reformers used that term. In the wonderful world of Willard’s theology of Christian living, justification is still entirely by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. But sanctification is another story. Mortification of the old self and vivification of the new one take not only God’s gift, but also our effort. No theologian should try to get us off the hook here. Patience, for example, is not only a fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5; it’s also our calling in Colossians 3. And nobody ever became patient without the daily exercise of self-control, especially in the left lane behind a poky driver.
This synergistic theology makes me sick–apparently God’s grace wasn’t enough to really set us free and empower us to live a life of holiness that glorifies Him… it seems Willard believes we really need to put our effort into it! That’s just apostasy.
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. The issue is whole life, other issues are subordinate to that. After all Jesus said, “I came that you might have life to the full,” which is more than life beyond death.
I think what Willard means is that sanctification is more important than justification… that forgiveness of sin and the assurance of eternal life is subordinate to the issue of the “whole life”. ~sighs~ Anybody agree with this guy??!
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2 comments for “What’s up with Dallas Willard”
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Agree entirely!
I guess that I would say that if you are going to make such inducements as “apostasy”, then your blog should warrant your assertion, and with quite a bit of scripture.
It also appears that you have been very selective in your quotes from Willard. I’d like to know if you have read an entire book of his.
I’m not saying that you are wrong but that, if you are going to make such comprehensive statements, you should have comprehensive backing for your thoughts.
Peace to you,
Aaron