The Divine Conspiracy:
Rediscovering Our Hidden Life In
God by Dallas Willard
Richard Foster's Brilliant Mentor And Friend, Dallas!
Dallas Willard, an acclaimed theologian and professor of philosophy at the
University of Southern California, fulfills the longing of many Christians
who want to live as true disciples of Christ rather than distant dabblers.
Likewise, he scoffs at consumer Christians who are simply banking on
admittance to heaven as their payoff for attending church. Or worse still,
those who use Christianity to advance their political agendas rather than
their spiritual ones. But this is not a scolding book. Rather, Willard
devotes his efforts to discussing specific and inspiring ways to develop a
discipleship to Jesus--not as an act of sacrifice or even one of spiritual
luxury--instead, as everyday people committed to the teachings of Christ.
The really good news for Christians is that Jesus is now taking students in
the master class of life, writes Willard. So the message of and about him
is specifically a gospel for our life now, not just for dying. It is about living

now as his apprentices in kingdom living, not just as consumers of his
merits. --Gail Hudson
Personal Review: The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our
Hidden Life In God by Dallas Willard
Dallas Willard presents here a classic work, which has already become a
major resource for understanding the meaning of the Kingdom of God in
the contemporary world. Willard's writing is readable and conversational,
yet rich. The flow of his work carries the reader along through detailed and
incisive logic and understandable practical of the principles revealed. This
large work focuses primarily on the Beatitudes of Jesus' "Sermon on the
Mount."
Willard's title arises from his thesis that Jesus presents God as doing
something radical and unexpected in the world. The common muddle of
popular religion and superficial reading of the Gospels has obscured and
muddled, even reversed the meaning of the Good News of the Kingdom as
Jesus presented it.
Willard shows here how the whole activity of God in history, as portrayed in
the Old Testament and New Testament, is consistent, and these
beatitudes express that consistent intention of the Conspiracy. The
modern naturalist, materialist mindset has no category for the non-material
realm, which leads to a simple dismissal of God, or a puzzling difficulty in
making sense of the concept of God and his relation to the world.
A common magical concept of God that is all many people are left with.
Willard attempts to reclaim and clarify the New Testament concept of a
living God active in the world in practical ways. So Willard's analysis is
practical at every point.
Willard declares that the thrust and focus of the "Beatitudes" of Jesus are
virtually the opposite of how they have generally been interpreted over the
years in popular tradition. Willard then backs up every detail of this claim
and its implications through artful exegesis of the passages and related
texts in the New Testament. He presents enthralling analysis confirming
every detail and captivating life and drama applying the implications.
This can be considered from several views. Initially we can consider this a
Bible study, the topic of which is the Beatitudes. These statements of
"blessing" are found in Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount" (the popular name
from the setting of these teachings in Matthew's Gospel) or the "Sermon
on the Plain" (the name often used in scholarship for the setting of the
version in Luke's Gospel).
Willard contends that the reason these "Beatitudes" tend to be so ignored
or dismissed is that they have been notoriously misread. They seem
unconnected to real life, too fanciful and idealistic to have real application
to everyday life. Basically, the problem is that the popular concept

generally holds that the groups mentioned as "blessed" are receive the
Kingdom of God as a reward for being this way. Or alternatively, this is the
character or quality expected of those who coming into the Kingdom of
God.
Willard makes sense of them, consistently and meaningfully, by showing
us that these statements focus on groups in society TO WHOM the Good
News of the Gospel has come. The "poor in spirit," for instance, are
"blessed" because they have such good reason to welcome the Kingdom
of God, the personal Rule of God over their lives, because the Rule of God
promises vindication and justice. for the exploited and downtrodden.
Willard's work can also be thus considered Theology. And he is
philosophically adept, skilled in logical analysis and critical comparison.
But this is not "theology" in the sense of dry, academic, medieval
abstraction. This is dynamic, powerful, life-changing interpretation of
Divine Power in human contemporary life.
Willard makes amazing connections at every point with current and
common life examples, showing how the intent and meaning of these
declarations of the Rule of God among us present a Good News that can
restore and integrate our lives.
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