Most of us have as adults picked up a view of God. Even if we don't believe in God, we have a view of the God we don't believe in. Dallas Willard sets out to unsettle our view of God by insisting that he's about as joyous as anyone can be. In this episode Michael Stewart Robb sits down with Dallas's friend Trevor Hudson, a teacher and author who didn't react benignly to this section of The Divine Conspiracy when he first read it. That reaction was actually common, says Dallas. We also talk about whether there might be more to say about God's heart regarding human suffering, more than just, "He's full of joy." BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute

Do you think that following Jesus should make a difference in the real world? That's what churches on the theological left think as well and in this episode Michael Stewart Robb adds to Dallas Willard's very short history of the gospel on the left. Basically there are two major groups and if you live in Europe you'll be able to find both. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute

Dallas Willard's own view of salvation can sometimes get lost in his criticism of the gospel on the right. But a lot of it can be discerned in his phenomenological exegesis of Abraham who is not only the paradigm for faith but also for salvation. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute

Despite what it seems there is a great deal of unity among the theological right, often called evangelicals, Dallas Willard, in this section, wants to call the right's view of salvation into question. Merit, forgiveness, heaven are important issues but are they THE ISSUE? Michael Stewart breaks it down from Ohio, the land of lawn mowers. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute

After his critiques of the reigning gospels of left and right, Dallas Willard attempts to put things back together, to put faith back together with life. Jos Douma, a seasoned pastor from the Netherlands, has been ministering along very similar lines as Dallas. Michael Stewart Robb and Jos discuss the role of preaching in finding Christlikeness, as well as the role of silence and meditation. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute

Does anyone still hear a gospel of heaven still being preached in churches on the right? Dallas Willard still did in his day but by the time The Divine Conspiracy came out, many "evangelical" churches were shifting to another way of presenting faith in Jesus. This makes this particular section of Dallas's book a little dated. What do churches now preach? Is it another gospel of sin management? BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute

There was a day when pastors and the people listening to them dove deep into the details of salvation. Possibly we've lost that today but we've also lost the ability to understand why "those who profess Christian commitment consistently show little or no behavioral and psychological difference from those who do not." Dalles uses the early 90's "lordship salvation debate" featuring John MacArthur and Charles Ryrie as an illustration of what's wrong. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute

Michael Stewart Robb has been learning more about the iconic American preacher of the 20th century, Billy Graham, and how he gathered together, around the globe, people with common theological interests. But then there is Dallas with his criticism of a sin management gospel centered around believing a theory of the atonement and going to heaven when you die. Isn't that what Billy Graham preached? BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute

Left. Liberal. What do these words mean? What do they mean in the church? Why does Dallas Willard call the gospel of the left a gospel of sin management? This time Michael Stewart Robb is joined by Mary Poplin, Professor of Education at Claremont in California and author of Finding Calcutta and Is Reality Secular? They won't answer all these questions but they will have a good conversation about education, the poor, the sexual revolution, the left and Dallas Willard. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute

In American history the Fundamentalist/Modernist controversy of the earth 20th century explains a lot. In this episode on Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy Michael Stewart Robb talks about how the right and the left of today's church share many common characteristics. They both, as Willard says, teach a gospel of sin management. But they also share in a typically American way of seeking good in the world. And in the end everybody is messed up and failure is normal. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute