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The Divine Conspiracy Audiobook Summary

The Divine Conspiracy has revolutionized how we think about the true meaning of discipleship. In this classic, one of the most brilliant Christian thinkers of our times and author of the acclaimed The Spirit of Disciplines, Dallas Willard, skillfully weaves together biblical teaching, popular culture, science, scholarship, and spiritual practice, revealing what it means to “apprentice” ourselves to Jesus. Using Jesus’s Sermon of the Mount as his foundation, Willard masterfully explores life-changing ways to experience and be guided by God on a daily basis, resulting in a more authentic and dynamic faith.

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The Divine Conspiracy Audiobook Narrator

Dallas Willard is the narrator of The Divine Conspiracy audiobook that was written by Dallas Willard

Dallas Willard was a professor at the University of Southern California’s School of Philosophy until his death in 2013. His groundbreaking books The Divine Conspiracy, The Great Omission, Knowing Christ Today, Hearing God, The Spirit of the Disciplines, Renovation of the Heart, and The Divine Conspiracy Continued forever changed the way thousands of Christians experience their faith.

About the Author(s) of The Divine Conspiracy

Dallas Willard is the author of The Divine Conspiracy

The Divine Conspiracy Full Details

Narrator Dallas Willard
Length 2 hours 56 minutes
Author Dallas Willard
Category
Publisher HarperAudio
Release date October 18, 2005
ISBN 9780060886929

Subjects

The publisher of the The Divine Conspiracy is HarperAudio. includes the following subjects: The BISAC Subject Code is Christian Life, Religion, Spiritual Growth

Additional info

The publisher of the The Divine Conspiracy is HarperAudio. The imprint is HarperAudio. It is supplied by HarperAudio. The ISBN-13 is 9780060886929.

Global Availability

This book is only available in the United States.

Goodreads Reviews

Dave

January 06, 2008

If you are uncomfortable with the theology of the Fundamentalists and their emphasis on "getting into heaven is the most important thing, and the only way to get there is to believe what we believe"...and if you find that there is something lacking in the Liberal's theological conclusion that it is all about social justice...then here is a book which digs into the heart of Jesus's message and challenge to us living in the world today.We can never pass enough laws to force people to be good people--we cannot legislate morality. Our actions (both good and evil) come from what lies in our heart. How do we change our heart? That what's Jesus message was about--changing people heart's to come into harmony with the will of God (the kingdom of God).

Amanda Tranmer

July 08, 2016

Update: Even better the second time. I read it with a Calvinist's (I am personally somewhat undetermined) eyes this time, and see why Willard makes some people uncomfortable. I say it's worth getting over it, because this book is SO good. Life changing. Revelatory. I will never look at life, eternity, Jesus, Christianity the same, ever again. I won't be throwing out the baby with this one........................Not since my first experiences with C.S.Lewis have I been so impacted by a writer, Christian, theologian, philosopher. I really can't recommend this book enough. It has changed me. It has changed my mind. It has clarified and reordered things I thought I knew. It has made more sense of life than I ever expected, both on a philosophical level and, more importantly, on a real life heart and soul level. It has made me love Jesus more, want to know him more, enlivened me to his purposes, given me guidance about how to go on from the reading and actually live it. It has given me a new kind of hope.The first thing I did after finishing my Kindle copy was buy a paper copy. This is a book I expect to reference my whole life, starting with a second read right now.It isn't easy reading. Expect some grueling uphill climbs, some disorientation, some re-reading of paragraphs. I'm a fast reader and this one took me a couple of months to get through. Marinate in it. It's well worth it.

James

October 24, 2020

In The Divine Conspiracy, philosopher Dallas Willard paints a compelling picture of the Christian Life by investigating what God is doing in the world, and how humans can experience it.Willard begins by laying out some of the problems he sees in our world, and in Christianity, today. These include the erosion of "truth" and abosolutes in our culture, and the loss of the depth of the meaning of the gospel message. He then sets out to reconstruct a clear picture of what it means to be a Christian, and what that type of Christ-life should look like. To do this, he gives us a prolonged reflection on the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus' in-depth discussion of what life in his Kingdom is like. Instead of letting the Sermon be a pie-in-the-sky ideal, Willard fleshes out the deep logic behind it, and makes it something that we live. The insight of these reflections alone, and the recovery of the power of Jesus' teaching make this book worth reading. But Willard doesn't stop there.One of the basic insights that undergird Willard's discussion is that if Jesus was who he said he was, and who we say we believe he is, then he was and is brilliant. We should listen closely to what he says, and learn to follow it. This insight takes him through a careful reading of the Sermon on the Mount, and also leads him into an investigation of Christian discipleship. More than just being a Christian who "grows," discipleship is acknowledging Jesus as brilliant, and then resolving to really become his students. We seek to learn from Jesus about the true nature of reality and of our own existence, and then resolve to actually obey, to actually live as if these things were true. Disciples delve into the deep reality of God, and constantly strive to keep him before their minds. This results in a true knowledge of God that effects our entire lives. And it brings us deeper into the eternal life that we have been given, kingdom-life. And all throughout the book, Willard stresses that "eternal life" isn't merely a life that never ends, "fire insurance" against future judgment, but is instead true, abundant life in God's kingdom that starts here and now.He concludes the book by discussing the "Restoration of All Things," the final coming of the kingdom in its fullness. Truly appreciating the end means acknowledging the present in its truest reality and purpose. And Willard helps us to see that as we understand God's plans and intentions, we appreciate him more and understand our own lives more fully within God's plan.The Divine Conspiracy is one of the best books I've ever read, and one I highly recommend. When I finished reading it, I just put my bookmark back in the front and started over. There are so many deep and profound insights into what it means to live a life devoted to God. Eternal life is here already, and Willard has helped me to see and appreciate it, and helped me to pull so many threads of Christian thought together into a coherent and compelling vision of life in God, kingdom-life, a life as a devoted disciple of Jesus Christ.

Barnabas

April 22, 2017

Reading this book is a labor of love. Or maybe just a labor. I really struggled with Willard's writing style, but there is no denying the wisdom, richness, and depth in these pages. Some passages were worthy of reading 3 or 5 times repeatedly to soak in them. The scope is expansive and it's a true classic. Just be patient and prepared to grind through parts.

Kris

December 03, 2008

Perhaps the most formative book of my adult life. I remember the first time I read this how unimpressed I was. But some kind of switch was flipped and the second, third, fourth.....it became my handbook. No one in our day has more important things to say than Dallas Willard concerning discipleship and spiritual formation. I see him as my grandfather, at least spiritually. His book inspired me to memorize the Sermon on the Mount. I led near twenty college students through this book over a 5 year period. Willard has such a unique, yet historically proven view of Jesus' intention of calling others to walk with him. What if Jesus wanted to actually call others to be like himself? What if there's more to being "saved" than simple forgiveness of sins and management thereof? Could God possibly be interested in who I am and eventually become? This book and its contents were truly the source of the greatest paradigm shift in my life. I recommend this book unequivocably.

Kate

September 16, 2022

11/10. probably the most valuable book i have read besides the Bible.

Nathan

May 09, 2013

Willard continues to challenge me: from ministry, to the importance of Christ's bodily (not just spiritual) resurrection. A difficult read though, and his "program for discipleship" was not among my favorite features. Overall, a thought-provoking, enlightening book.First review: I just began reading Willard's book, but already it has me thinking. Within the first paragraph, he lays out his philosophy: "Presumed familiarity has led to unfamiliarity, unfamiliarity has led to contempt, and contempt has led to profound ignorance." I hope this book continues to challenge what I think I already know about faith and life...

Naum

May 21, 2013

Some tidbits in here had me wincing as the author is laden with fundamentalist assumptions and presuppositions and/or cultural mores -- that he appears to be oblivious to, all the while evincing a wondrous text.But this is an epic work that should occupy the reading list of every Christian in America (and non-Christians interested in philosophy or spirituality). In a gracious, humble manner, Willard pokes and prods at the western religion of Christianity and expounds upon what the Jesus Gospel says about how to follow the words and deeds of Jesus. That imposing a legalistic or rule based or external checklist modality is an exercise in absurdity, as is the point of The Beatitudes spelled out by Jesus. That the Gospel more about the inward heart shaping that transforms a blessed child of a heavenly creator to manifest love for fellow brother and sister in Christ. However I am not doing this book any justice with this condensed TL;DR -- read and parse out for yourself!A lot of the material here resonated with me as it seemed in alignment with other Christian voices I have digested in recent years -- N.T. Wright *After You Believe (Virtue Reborn)*, the writings of Richard Rohr (oddly, and coming at it from a moderately different tilt), etc.…The chapters on The Beatitudes and The Lord's Prayer are alone 10X+ the value of the cost of the book.

David

July 31, 2020

This summer my fellow staff and I read this book together. Most of us have read it before. It is brilliant and definitely a modern classic. I was a bit more critical my second time through, as I’ve learned a lot since the first time and saw a few points where I thought Willard could be clearer or where he made assumptions perhaps he shouldn’t. But overall, this is a fantastic book. Further, though its been around a while now, the problems he diagnoses remain. We need to realize we can actually grow and mature, become more Christlike, and to do so we need to be intentional about spiritual discipline and practice.This is a must read. Its a feast. Its brilliant.

Emily

November 13, 2021

Masterful. One of the greatest and most meaningful books I have ever read. This will be the first read of many. Thank you, Dallas Willard.

Mitchell

May 19, 2021

Is the quote “Sometimes important things can be presented in literature or art that cannot be effectively conveyed in any other way” too long for a thigh tat? Asking for a friend.

Lisa

December 14, 2022

one of those books that took me days to read but also everyday I faithfully came back to read it which is so so rare for me. these days, I either read something in one to two sittings or never finish.really enjoyed it and I feel like my horizons have been widened, my mind expanded.the divine conspiracy has absolutely haunted me for years, the number of times it's been mentioned in other books I've read, and FINALLY I actually got to some Willard. it's been years in the making xD

Matthew

September 19, 2019

Brilliant. Dalas Willard is probably the most insightful protestant author I have ever read, and certainly the wisest to come out of his particular tradition. Willard is not trying to discover anything new, but rearticulate ancient Christian truths to an age that had lost them. He does this well, and perhaps his greatest value is the language that he uses. He neatly defines and redefines words so that we see the gospel again, free from the sentiment and tired phrases that have lost all meaning. The book works in three basic sections. In the first, he sets out the current cultural situation, both in the religious and secular world. This section has aged well, but I feel that it has likely gotten worse than it was in the late 90s when Willard wrote this book.The second, and largest, section is a detailed reading of the sermon on the mount. Willard's primary goal is to stop us thinking that the Sermon on the Mount is a new set of laws for us to follow. He succeeds in this, and I am sure to return to this part of the book again.The last section is a guide to a "curriculum for Christlikeness." This reads as an abbreviated version of his book "Renovation of the Heart." Its all good stuff. He caps off his discussion with a brief look at ehat life beyond death will look like, and its a beautiful conception of it. I have two objections to this book, and they are comparatively minor. First, Willard takes a rather free hand in translating the Greek. I don't know greek, so I cannot check his work, but his rendering of a few of the beatitudes struck me as strange. But I will give him the benifit of the doubt. Second, Willard has a habit of citing the "great Christian thinkers" of the past, rattling off Saints Athanasius, Augustine, Anselm, and Thomas Aquinus, alongside John Calvin, Martin Luther, Deitrich Bonhoffer, C.S. Lewis and George Macdonald. I do not think I will need to point out the problem with this. While all these men had a great deal in common, and I do not question their devotion to God, their fundemental theology is radically different. That being said, I think Willard manages to create a vision they would all loosely agree on, and his point is not to synthesize them, but to draw out the points where they agree. In this, he does well, but the less well read Christian might be lead to believe all those people taught the same thing, and they would be sorely dissapointed. I highly reccommend this book, especially for those protestants who are becoming burned out by a dumbed down, consumer Christianity. I plan to this book again soon.

Haiko

May 10, 2017

"My hope is to gain a fresh hearing for Jesus, especially among those who believe they already understand him." This is how Dallas Willard begins his introduction, and he certainly inspired me to take a new good look at the Jesus I claim to follow. The Divine Conspiracy is the most thorough, structured and comprehensive book I have read on Christian faith and practice. This book encases a (in my limited experience, unrivaled) wealth, breadth, and depth of theological knowledge for every follower of Jesus. However that shouldn't scare or come across as being too academic and therefore lacking in life. The author makes an important point of the passion and joy that must accompany our journey of faith, and I found the pages to be full of it. This book describes our eternal life now taking the Sermon on the Mount, mainly, among many other texts and provides rich ideas on developing a culture of discipleship in Church. Interestingly enough, in Willard's own words, "there is very little that is new, though much that is forgotten." Nearly every area of my spiritual life was somehow approached by this book and much of what it said wasn't necessarily new, just restructured and rewritten in a way that enlightened and made new sense, and left me occasionally awestruck. Willard's use of paraphrased and freely translated scripture also really helped to better understand certain biblical passages. I would give the Divine Conspiracy six stars if I could, because of how much more it is than other books I have given five stars. Richard Foster writes in the foreword "I would place the Divine Conspiracy in rare company indeed: alongside the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and John Wesley, John Calvin and Martin Luther, Teresa of Avila and Hildegard of Bingen, and perhaps even Thomas Aquinas and Augustine of Hippo" and although I have yet to read the works of these, I doubt I will disagree.

Hannah

May 16, 2020

I really don’t know if I’ve ever been as enthralled with God as reading this book has made me feel. In the introduction of this book, Willard says his hope is to “gain a fresh hearing for Jesus,” going on to describe that, “He (Jesus) is not generally regarded as a real-life personality who deals with real-life issues but is thought to be concerned with some feathery realm other than the one we must deal with.” I found Willard to be quite effective in that goal; truly, I have never experienced a more meaningful understanding of (or at least vision for) what it looks like to engage in the ordinary moments of my ordinary days in a distinctively Christ-centered way. Moreover, Willard portrays many aspects of the Christian life (praying, evangelism, the spiritual disciplines, etc.) in a way that made me feel genuinely excited to engage in them, rather than pursuing them primarily out of a sense of duty. I could see how Willard’s writing style could be unappealing to some, in that it is very dense and could seem a little scattered. I think I enjoyed and appreciated it so much because He writes in a way where He connects almost every Biblical and theological insight to something that embeds that truth in the actual world we are living in. In the foreword, Richard Foster describes Willard as possessing “so penetrating an intellect combined with so generous a spirit.” I found that endorsement to be quite true, in that he is able to discern which moments call for referencing a scientific study vs. which passages are better enhanced with the words of a well-known poet or philosopher. I loved this book and am so glad Dallas is in my life now

Benjamin Sullivan

February 27, 2022

For me, this book has been nothing short of a personal and spiritual journey. It is curious and fantastic how exactly things we experience speak to, and touch, our souls. And experience is the right word. Because if you try to explain it too much you sense that you have extinguished the flame that you hold in your heart and mind. Dallas Willard, through this book, has brought me closer to the heart of God manifested in the person of Jesus Christ. He examined in great detail perhaps the biggest struggle I have had in faith-the massive disconnect we see in American churches between faith in Jesus and discipleship to Jesus. His treatment of the Sermon on the Mount, which sits at the heart of this book, was one of the most refreshing and clarifying experiences as a student of God’s Word that I have ever had. Indeed, it has changed my life. I feel like I have an actual framework to go out and build my life upon the rock, to hear and to do. In my life, there have been only a few times I have ever been so excited, and had so much clarity, in regard to being a disciple of Jesus. I have yet to find anything in this world even remotely as compelling as the person of Jesus Christ, His gospel, and the Kingdom He proclaimed. The more I seek Yahweh, the more I come to understand He has sought, and is seeking me. And the more I forsake the American dream, the more I come to find myself living in and experiencing the Gospel dream, the eternal kind of life, the kingdom among us. For such is the power of the Divine Conspiracy.

Andy

June 06, 2016

Too much to say about this one, so a few key quotes I stuck on will have to do: "Draw any cultural or social line you wish, and God will find his way beyond it.""When we see Jesus as he is, we must turn away or else shamelessly adore him. ""The acid test for any theology is this: is the God presented one that can be loved, heart, soul, mind, and strength? If the thoughtful answer is; "not really," then we need to look elsewhere or deeper.""Kingdom obedience is kingdom abundance.""As a disciple of Jesus I am with him, by choice and by grace, learning from him how to live in the kingdom of God. This is the crucial idea. That means, we recall, how to live within the range of God's effective will, his life flowing through mine. Another way of putting this is to say that I am learning from Jesus to live my life as he would live my life if he were I.""We project upon God the sadistic tendencies that really are present in human beings. Given the anger, hatred, and contempt that pervades human society, it is not uncommon that individual human beings actually enjoy the suffering of others. One of our worst thoughts about God is that he, too, enjoys human suffering. This gives rise to the image of the Marquis de God, a divine counterpart to the Marquis de Sade, after whom sadism his named.""To handle the things of God without worship is always to falsify them."Challenging read, a ton of thought to digest, but I now get why a lot of folks whose spiritual journeys I greatly respect recommend this one.

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