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| The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life In God | 
 enlarge | Author: Dallas Willard
Publisher: HarperOne
Category: Book
List Price: $23.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (137 reviews)
Sales Rank: 7682
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 448
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.7 x 5.8 x 1.6
ISBN: 0060693339
Dewey Decimal Number: 248.4
EAN: 9780060693336
ASIN: 0060693339
Publication Date: April 15, 1998
Release Date: March 24, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Incredible... June 15, 2008
Wonderful! Incredible look at our part in the process in spiritual formation. Helpful and faithful look at not only the scriptures but our part in them.
 Great content - hard to read February 15, 2008
Great content. You can read the begging and the end and skip the middle and still get his main points. It is very, very, very wordy.
 Evaluation of The Divine Conspiracy, in Relation to Spirituality and Identity February 11, 2008
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
Introduction
The following is not a complete synopsis of the book, The Divine Conspiracy, by Dallas Willard. To summarize the entire text a much longer document would be necessary, and would merely exist as an abridged version of the work. Instead, the following pages address several compelling points--and general topics--from each of the ten chapters, and serve to connect issues in The Divine Conspiracy to both spiritual development and Christian identity.
Chapter One
The Divine Conspiracy begins by stating that America is in a current state of moral calamity. Top quality American institutions of education, which were once founded to promote Christian morality, have regressed to the extreme of moral relativism where a philosophy major can--and often will--succeed in his or her education without the slightest amount of moral application. An example is given of two Harvard University students, one female and one male. The female in the vignette was of high moral character. She was enrolled as a philosophy major and from what she learned was able to integrate righteous principles into her everyday life. A "C" marked student she was also of lower economic status and would subsidize her tuition by cleaning the living spaces of other students. Character two in the vignette, the man, was a classmate of the first who earned strait "A" marks. This person was of extreme moral depravity and would often proposition the female for sex when she would come to clean his apartment. The woman was distraught with the idea of this man earning straight "A" marks in courses of philosophy while obviously not integrating any of the ideals into his personal life.
This story is not the exception of occurrences but of the standard in modern education. While spirituality and moral identity are absolutely irrelevant for one's academic success--even in disciplines such as philosophy and theology--genius is defined as "the ability to scrutinize the obvious." The ability to critique and question, not the ability to apply, is the necessity for success.
Another example is given in the text about a pilot in flight who decides to make a severe accent into the sky, but instead plummets his plane into the ground. While thinking that he was ascending he was really descending and knew not of his disorientation until it was too late. The current state of morality is in many ways analogous; i.e. what is trivial is perceived to be profound, while what is profound is perceived to be stupid, trivial, or boring. The text lists several instances. The first reads, "All I ever needed to know I leaned in kindergarten." This slogan, while unhelpful to the human condition and useless in the development of identity or spiritual growth is perceived by the morally dead to be of profundity. Its antithesis--actually of worth--is stated in text, "I don't know what I need to know and must now devote my full attention and strength to finding out." This second slogan is of extreme profundity. So much so that it could be used as a person's statement of purpose for spiritual growth and personal improvement. However, it is this second phrase, not the first, which is subjected to diatribes of ridicule.
Chapter Two
The second chapter is titled, Gospels of Sin Management, and begins with the idea that the main point of the Gospel, which deals with our personal discipleship to Christ Jesus, is often replaced by two benevolent but erroneous purposes. They are one, the assurance of an eternal life in heaven, and two, the humanitarian cause of making the world a better place.
In of themselves neither of these statement are unrighteous, for both of these false tenets should be incorporated into a Christ centered life. Yes, God does assure an eternal life with Him, and the world is improved a posteriori when people come to know Christ, but these causes are not a proper center of purpose.
Willard claims the first reason for this mistake of purpose is the method in which the gospel is being taught within the church. He states that poor behavior among the saved is not in spite of what is being taught, but is a direct consequence of what is being taught! He then describes the ideals of an extreme theological right and left. The theological right has--much like the Pharisees--transformed faith into an intellectual system of beliefs comparable to a barcode. The theological left is of the humanitarian paradigm and transforms faith into a mission of fighting oppression, reforming social structures, and promoting human equality. While mislead in cause, neither makes any strictly false claims. The problem exists in that both miss the true purpose of discipleship, the transformation of the human heart, the development of Christian identity, and the facilitation of spiritual growth. When Christian spiritual growth and obedience to Jesus is the center, both the right and left ideals are fulfilled for one becomes a firm observer of the rules/sin management, and one will follow Christ's guidance that promotes humanitarian works.
Chapters Three and Four
The third chapter explains in depth the truth of God's present kingdom. During the Sermon on the Mount Christ speaks about who is blessed and who will receive the kingdom of God. First, it is to be understood that with the beatitudes Christ was referring to the spiritually weak (and those suffering for their belief in Jesus), the poor, the outcast, those living in sin, those grief stricken, those not from a lineage of godliness, the deformed, etc. He was referring to "second-class citizens" who thought they were "too far gone" to be saved (nearly everyone but the spiritually apathetic). Second, Christ was saying such people will have healing, be comforted, will inherit the Kingdom of God. Christ could see that it was the spiritually turmoiled prostitute, not the hardened heart Pharisee, who had a better chance for a Christian identity and spiritual growth. When Christ said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit," he was not saying that they occupied blessing because of their condition but regardless of their condition they are invited into the kingdom of God, to be blessed.
Regarding the inheritance of the Kingdom of God. Christ understood and proclaimed that the kingdom was at hand. He realized that God exists and acts in the very space around us and that we are capable of intimate interactions with Him. Christ was proclaiming the reality of the spiritual world and its never faltering ability to nourish the human spirit. Being that the spirit is superior to the flesh, Christ was also saying the wisest thing we can do is become his disciple. Being a disciple to Christ means a lifelong process of spiritual reform. It is a change of identity in mind, spirit, and body.
One way of perceiving if one truly believes in God's kingdom is his or her attitude toward death. Through Christ we are promised an eternal life. The text reads, "we are never-ceasing spiritual beings with an eternal destiny in the full world of God." The text then documents a statement by Mickey Mantle--who after a lifetime of alcohol abuse was experiencing several chronic illnesses--where he said that he would have taken care of himself if he knew he was going to live as long as he had. If Mr. Mantle's sentiment of taking care of himself physically is wisdom, then how much more wise is to take care of ourselves spiritually by being an obedient follower of Christ, who promises us not a long, but and eternal life with him?
Chapter four, in part, concerns Jesus' teachings and how they were revolutionary--even contradictory--for the times. Amazingly, despite their intrinsic benefit to mankind, most of his teachings are still revolutionary in modern years. For example, when a rich man approaches Jesus, who is an observer of God's law and wishes to acquire a blessing from Christ, Christ instead challenges the man to Give all he has to the poor, and follow Him. That would be his blessing. This was both incredibly radical two centuries ago and today for being wealthy is perceived as a blessing. Nevertheless, Christ teaches that it is easier for a camel to walk through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. Christ warns that wealth is a stumbling block in the spiritual development of many (Mark 10:17-31).
Another example of Christ's radical teaching is when Christ's own mother and brothers (possibly brothers and sisters) came to see him. Christ was within a house and his relatives were unable to reach him but asked a person attending to tell Jesus of their presence. From the world's perspective (2000 years ago and now) Christ's immediate family should have precedence over those not of blood relation, but Christ speaks differently and teaches that through the eyes of God everyone residing with Him is his mother and brothers (Matt 12:46-50).
It was radical for Christ to teach these things. It was radical for Jesus to bless the beatitudes, as it was radical for Christ to keep company with tax collectors, the demon possessed, prostitutes, and the diseased. Christ was concerned with the identity and spiritual development of these people. He provided healings and earthly blessings, but did so not as an ends but a means to show the kingdom was at hand to provide Good things if people were to turn to God.
Chapter Five
Subtitled, The Righteousness of the Kingdom Heart: Beyond the Goodness of the Scribes and Pharisees, this chapter discusses what is necessary, according to Christ, to enter the kingdom of God. Willard states the instructions Jesus gave for entering the kingdom are often ignored, and describes their importance is as necessary as instruction for how to enter a house, or a car, or an office. Christ's instructions are not suggestions such as you can enter the kingdom by doing this (with the logical possibility that Christ's instruction is that of sufficiency but not one of necessity). Instead, Christ is very clear about the necessity of his instructions and phrases his terms as, "You will not enter the kingdom of heaven unless..." these unless terms include being born from above (becoming a new creation of God), becoming like children (becoming dependant on God), and have righteousness that exceeds that of the Pharisees (realizing that holiness is a being, not an action). Willard describes these necessary criteria to be all inward--as opposed to outward--transformations. However, due to this inner reformation--the text points out--a five-step evolution of outward holiness will occur, each step preparing the individual to take the next.
Step one--(completely inward) deals with a state of well-being and blessedness from God.
Step two--a relinquishing of ones anger--or worse--contempt, and a genuine valuing of one's common man
Step three--is when we begin to love and help those who hurt us, as Christ commands.
Step four--We operate with a sincere heart and no longer attempt to control, manipulate, or judge others
Step five--We obtain the ability to rely on others and ask others to fill our needs.
Seeing how these steps must be taken in order is not difficult. One cannot lay aside ones contempt until he or she has a feeling of inner wellness. Likewise, one cannot love those who hate him or her, unless one has set aside her or his contempt for that person. One cannot refrain from manipulating a person unless that person is valued and loved by the would-be manipulator, and the steps continue.
Willard spends a great deal of time on the issue of anger and states in text that anger is now an encouraged practice! Specifically, "...influential people tell us today that we must be angry, that it is necessary to be angry to oppose social evil." On a more micro level, a Christian couple in counseling was once instructed by their counselor that they should not discipline their child while in a state of anger. The couple was taken aback by this request and stated, "You mean we should just punish him in cold blood?" Truly in modern day society righteousness becomes wrongly entwined with anger.
Beyond anger lies contempt. Contempt is what anger leads up to. It is the next stage of evil. The text explains:
In anger I want to hurt you. In contempt, I don't care whether you are hurt or not. Or at least so I say. You are not worth consideration one way or the other. We can be angry at someone without denying their worth. But contempt makes it easier for us to hurt them or see them further degraded.
Concerning the issue of Christian spirituality, it is not sin to become angry. Anger is a feeling that seizes one beyond one's control. At such a point a person occupies the choice whether to nurture the anger, or not. If nurtured anger evolves into contempt (described above), and with contempt often comes the practice of degrading another through name-calling or ridicule. Contempt is not the last step in the hierarchy of anger but a slippery slope to malice. With malice one desires to harm another, or obtain vengeance.
Chapter Six
Titled, Investing in the Heavens: Escaping the Deceptions of Reputation and Wealth, chapter six begins by describing religious respectability as a trap. Willard quotes Matthew 23:5-11, which describes Jesus' disapproval at the ways people of importance enjoy their special attention. Even concerning the religious today the passage well describes our current "self-esteem" culture. A legitimate point is brought up--in the text--that Matthew 23 says not to call one, or seek to be called, doctor, or teacher, or father, or leader, or professor. This scripture is not spoken on Sunday morning, nor is it taken seriously into our hearts or minds.
According to Jesus, our Christian identity should be one that does not desire honorable seats at tables, or honorable titles that distinguish us from common men. Christ was King of Kings, and our God and he came not to be served or honored, but to serve and die. For us then too seek honor when the only person who deserved honor did not seek it is contradictory to all which is Christ.
Who do you desire to hear when you pray, God or man? If a person wishes for man to hear him or her more than God, then that person desires an identity that is not of the Kingdom of God. He or she is concerned with an earthly reputation over a dialog with the almighty. Jesus saw this as a temptation in man's heart. It is feasible that a person could begin prayer with wishing to commune with God but then be tempted to reap a worldly benefit for the prayer, and divert motive to having people notice his/her prayerfulness. It is for this reason that Christ proclaims that when you pray, pray in secret so that man cannot hear you but only your father in heaven can hear you. Matthew 6:5 describes Christ calling the religious leaders of his time "the hypocrites" for they seem by onlookers to be devout to God while they only wish to make an impression on people. It is very possible that the ill motive of prayer was not always so, but was a regression brought upon by the temptation of pride and honor amongst one's fellow man.
Chapter seven
Called, The Community of Prayerful Love, chapter seven warns the reader not to blame, condemn, or judge. Truly at times it seems both beneficial and benevolent to blame and judge as a means of reforming our fellow man into something more Godlike. However, according to Willard, Jesus clearly states that doing so is not the way of the kingdom. Agape love, the love that God the father has for us, is given three tenets in text:
1)Not condemning or blaming those around us.
2)Not forcing "wonderful things" upon them.
3)Just asking for what we want from them--and from God.
Judging is such a normal part of human interaction, doing without the process seems almost like we would be forsaking the practice of giving fellow men and woman good guidance (states Willard). Though Willard believes when we condemn someone we are communicating that he or she is, in some irredeemable way, bad and rejected. That person is therefore sentenced to exclusion.
In respect to Christian spirituality and identity, this idea is one of the few (of Willard's) that must be rejected. The biblical instruction of judging is not, "do not judge" as Willard claims but, "Judge not les ye be judged," meaning that one may judge, but may not be hypocritical about judging. Specifically, if one is going to be in a position to judge, then that person should be also in a position to be judged. Also, Christ said to first remove the timber from your own eye (sin form you life), and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye (judge the sin in your brother's life) (Lk). This passage also deals with judging in the same way. One who is going to judge should also judge oneself and be found, for the most part, lacking sin.
Christian counselors in particular are put in a position where they must judge others. If there were sin in the life of a client that the client was not aware of (or in denial of), or if a practice was damaging a client spiritually, the counselor occupies a duty to judge and confront that aspect of the individual's life. If done appropriately under the terms of Christian love, the person will not feel that he or she is being rejected by Christ, or by Christ's body, but that only his or her sin is being rejected. To not judge would be to allow all sin in the body, and to display a lack of love.
Chapter Eight
Titled, On Being a Disciple, or Student, of Jesus, Chapter eight describes what it is to be a disciple of Jesus, and then continues to describe the duties of Christian ministers and apprentices of Jesus. Willard calls this "church work" and lists the gospel's directions to emulate what Jesus did. The first of these directions is "proclaiming."
Proclaiming is announcing God's historical truth in the sense of the coming and purpose of Jesus. It is teaching others about the Kingdom of Heaven with the emphasis that it is right here and right now. This proclaiming is also an open invitation to be adopted into the Family of God, to be a child of God, and to have close communion with God the Father. Proclaiming also includes speaking of what must be done to be saved, to be a disciple of Christ, and to receive eternal life.
The second phase of Christ's work is "manifesting." With manifesting special acts of love are done to emphasize the truth of God's presence and reign. First executed only by Christ Jesus, and later by the saints, manifestations of God's power were often seen in supernatural and miraculous ways, from raising the dead to miraculous healings.
The third direction is "teaching." Though some informing occurs in the first phase, "proclaiming," the teaching of Christ described here is more involved with Christ's parables, or when Christ was trying to discuss the nature of God. It is to be noted that teaching is not only the last but the most advanced of the three phases, so much that when the disciples were first sent forth, they were sent forth to proclaim and to show the manifestation of God, but were not yet ready to teach.
These points were selected from this chapter because of their great importance in the development of a Christian identity. In developing the identity Christ most desires us to have, it is wise to understand the plan Christ set aside for the first twelve. Also, to have an identity in Christ is to do work in Christ, and it would be incongruent to have the correct identity in Christ, but to work with inappropriate methods.
Chapter Nine
Titled, A Curriculum for Christlikeness, this chapter addresses the need for the process of "sanctification," in which we begin to become like Jesus in nature and behavior, and begins by giving a practical curriculum for this process. The text reads that there are three ways in which we constantly see God before us, these are:
1)We see Him in the magnificence of his creation
2)We see Him in his faithful interaction with human history
3)We see Him through our personal experiences with Him
Having a life based in Christ centeredness is called in text, having a life "on the rock," and is described as a life that is rich and unshakable, a life free from loneliness, fear, and anxiety; A life filled with peace and joy where one has no need for praise from men, no feelings of anger, envy, lust, or covetousness, and a life where you will naturally bless those who hate you.
This is the second time in his writing that Willard misses the point. Being of Christ like identity and spirituality is not to live in a condition where one is immune to lust, or anger, or envy. It is false to say that if one follows Christ properly he/she will not only be without sin (which one wont) but one shall become unaffected by his/her fallen sinful nature.
Growing in Christ like identity is to understand that one needs Christ's grace to fill the spaces where one falls short of His holiness, for though all should strive to be Christ like none will ever emulate his likeness and achieve salvation by their own merits. The apostle Paul knew this well and spoke of how sin in his life sin, living in him, kept him from doing what he wanted to do, but made him do what he did not want to do (Rom). He noted that when he did what he did not want to do it was not of his will, but of the will of sin living in him that controlled his actions. Hence, God's grace is still needed, and our sinful nature is still present even when we follow a curriculum of Christlikeness.
Chapter Ten
The final chapter of The Divine Conspiracy titled, The Restoration of All Things, describes the nature of our eternal life. According to Willard, knowledge of heaven is of great importance. He states:
To live strongly and creatively in the kingdom of the heavens, we need to have firmly fixed in our minds what our future is to be like...In this way our future can be incorporated into our life now and our life now incorporated into our future.
Though many hold the position that we cannot know what our eternal life is going to be like, it is described as a "limitlessly enhanced life" in which we are "more intensely alive," and where we are "in perfect fulfillment and yet [we are] also [in] endless activity and newness." Upon death we will lose nothing but our physical and spiritual limitations. We do not lose our personal sense of who we are. Our experiences in life will not be fundamentally different than they are now for, "The life we live now have as the persons we not are will continue, and continue in the universe in which we now exist (Sic)."
How can the knowledge of our eternal life be of benefit in the formation of spirituality and identity? For one, with knowledge that we are immortal should come a feeling of permanence, and a loss of any anxiety regarding death. Also, the paradigm through which the world is viewed should be more contrasting of who has eternal life, and who is headed toward eternal death--a paradigm that is congruent with that of Christ's. Also, since the next (eternal) life is one of complete spiritual significance, the knowledge may promote an individual to pay special attention to spiritual work, for it is the spirit, not the flesh (debatable perhaps), which will live eternally. If one believes moths destroy and thieves steal everything but our Christian spirit (Matt), with what would one be more concerned, items or identity?
Conclusion
Stated in the introduction, this document--in its length--is only capable of pulling selected examples and general principles from each chapter of The Divine Conspiracy. Still, this document was not designed to be an insufficient summary of the book, but a guide to begin to view The Divine Conspiracy text in relation to Christian spirituality and identity (a major objective of Dallas Willard's endeavor). Though much of this document agrees with Willard's perspectives and ideas, some does not, and the parts of this document that protest Willard's ideas also are related to the issue of Christian spirituality and identity.
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 A Humanist Reply December 22, 2007
5 out of 22 found this review helpful
In The Divine Conspiracy, Dallas Willard attempts to reveal the essential truth of Christianity, but his attempt is hopelessly burdened by dull prose and predictable content. Professor Willard deserves at best a gentleman's "C" for his effort.
Willard, a Christian apologist and philosopher, writes in the mode of C.S. Lewis, and his language is equally ponderous, though far less insightful. Were this book simply a scholarly tome, perhaps he might be forgiven for the book's dullness. But a clue that it was intended for a wider audience is found on page 66, where Willard follows a citation from Adam Clarke with this odd comment:
"It would be surprising if you [the reader] found this easy reading ... Perhaps you even began to think the words are just meaningless."
Not only does that remark demean Clarke, it condescends to the reader. If Willard imagines anyone will find his stolid writing more accessible and more comprehensible than Clarke's eloquent prose, he proves that though he may be an expert on religion, he is no expert on style.
In writing, as in religion, it is an unfortunate truth that a man cannot see what he cannot see. What Willard apparently cannot see is that a writer must have more than an absolute grasp of his material; he must have an equally absolute grasp of his craft if his words are to carry his thoughts and ideas with musicality. Alas, Willard's words are as sounding brass.
As for content, The Divine Conspiracy contains the usual denouncement of the liberal left for "secular humanism" and "moral relativism", but in an attempt at objectivity, it also delivers a backhand to the religious right for its emphasis on form rather than function, and on personal reward rather than personal sacrifice. Willard's arguments against the left are old news, but criticism of the religious right by a traditional Christian conservative is welcome and long overdue.
Willard holds one group in particular responsible for society's moral failures: Intellectuals. But not all intellectuals, mind you, since having spent all of his adult life in academia, he can ill-afford to be too dismissive of intellectuals. No, the intellectuals he decries are those pointy-headed, effete Eastern Intellectuals who ply their nefarious trade at liberal institutions such as Harvard.
"Indeed, in the current world of accepted knowledge, one can't even know the truth of a moral theory or principle, much less a specific rule."
To which I reply, speak for yourself, Professor Willard.
I hold no brief for the intellectual elitism that has rendered a Harvard education a bad joke among the ignorati here in America's Heartland. But surely Willard can't mean what his argument suggests, that our troubles are largely the result of the "valueless" ideas of intellectuals.
This anti-intellectual bias may expose something dark in Willard's own psyche. For example, there is a strange passage in the book in which he describes the demeaning behavior of some Harvard students toward a classmate who has to clean dorm rooms to pay for her schooling. He rightly criticizes these students reprehensible behavior, but he wrongly attributes that behavior to their religious and philosophical studies.
What values, pray tell, did these students bring with them to these universities? And from whence or from whom did they derive those values? Have these brilliant idiots never seen the inside of a church or heard The Word that would compel them to do the right thing? Surely some of the blame for their immorality must fall on their parents and preachers. But wait - isn't that exactly the kind of avoidance of personal responsibility traditionalists rant against?
One senses that Willard may be guilty of a bit of envy and anger toward those he perceives as persons of privilege. Or maybe he sees himself as emulating Jesus, who had a problem with the "Harvard grads" who ruled his faith, the priests who were the intellectual elite of that place and time. Then again, Willard is himself among the intellectual religious elite of this place and time, and that may well be the problem he fails to grasp even as he expresses it:
"The problem, we may be sure, lies very deep within the ideas that automatically govern our thinking about who we are, as Christians and as human beings, and about the relevance of Jesus to our cosmos and our lives."
Willard fails to see his own thinking is automatically governed by the same old traditionalist dogma. Thus he casts aside centuries of progressive philosophical thought and insists morality can only be based on religion, and by implication, the Christian religion, and in particular, his vision of Christian truth. Only by grasping his vision of the Kingdom of God can a person be truly fulfilled.
Such a view creates a gaping hole of cosmic proportions, since it leaves every apparently moral and self-actualized person from Jefferson to Lincoln to Gandhi outside God's grace. It seems that no matter what intellectual leaps of faith thinking people make, traditional Christians will always insist that it's "my way or the highway". Or as they would have it, "my way is the high way".
On the other hand, history is clear that "the high way" has provided an excuse for some of the most immoral and atrocious behavior in the long and sordid history of mankind - as The Crusades, The Inquisition, Witch-hunts, Slavery, and The Holocaust all too horribly attest.
Given that history, traditional Christians should be far more concerned with fundamentalists, especially the fervent fatalist end-timers who believe it is their bounden duty to lend God a hand and bring on Armageddon. This particularly odious form of "christianity" seems utterly at odds with the teachings of the Prophet of Peace, and it ought to be of grave concern to traditional Christians.
Either that or they must somehow convince themselves that Jesus really didn't mean all that stuff about turning the other cheek, forgiving our enemies, and putting away the sword.
The Kingdom of God & Kingdom Hearts December 18, 2007
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
First, let me appease all those heresy hunters out there...Dallas Willard's THE DIVINE CONSPIRACY (Christianity Today's "Book of the Year" for 1999) is not heresy. "The Gospel" according to Willard is "the good news of the presence and availability of life in the kingdom, now and forever, through reliance on Jesus the Anointed" (49). I came to Willard's book with the preconceived notion that it would be about the Kingdom of God, and it was...sort of. Willard discusses the Kingdom of God "the range of God's effective will," or in simpler words, "where what he wants done is done" (25). He didn't, however, spend much time looking at 1) Christ as King in this Kingdom, 2) the intracies of this Kingdom (besides those related to people's hearts), or 3) the greater purposes of this Kingdom in the world (besides those related to people's hearts).
Regardless, I was excited to read about the Kingdom of God in all its aspects. The problem was that the book is hazy in its focus, which might explain why I have so many friends who have started this book without finishing it. Willard fails to spell out a clear roadmap that he plans to follow, a roadmap that would allow his readers to categorize and handle each of his arguments that are jam-packed with truth. This lack of clear path is made more frustrating by the fact everything is on the same topic -- all on the same topic without a clear sense of direction.
Another confusing aspect of the book is the degree to which he handles the Kingdom of God. Although he claims that "his kingdom is not something confined to their hearts or to the 'inner' world of human consciousness" (26), he spends the entire book discussing the Kingdom of God only as it pertains to the reformation of the heart. Through lengthy studies on the Sermon on the Mount and the Lord's Prayer, he explains how the Kingdom "at hand" is waiting to invade the core desires of people's hearts. And it is. The Kingdom begins its invasion of Earth and its fallen structures via the reborn human heart, but it doesn't stop there and the Biblical scriptures detail all sorts of ways that the Kingdom of God is meant to spread the reach of God's effective will. Willard does not examine what the Kingdom of God looks like as it affects the social and political realms, two areas (in addition to the heart) that, even he agrees (25), God permits his effective will to be absent.
That said, any discussion of the Kingdom of God is timely and rare in the church world today. In my first 20 years of church involvement, I do not remember a single sermon, Bible study, or discussion on God's Kingdom and its crucial role in the world and Jesus' earthly ministry. And the Kingdom is the topic that Jesus talks about most! THE DIVINE CONSPIRACY offers an in-depth look into 1) what Jesus says a Kingdom heart will look like and 2) what any disciples (students) of the Kingdom will be like. If any books from our era will make it into the Christian canon, this would be at the top of that list, and it's well worth the 400 page investment.
--- Reviewed by Jonathan Stephens
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