In 1998 I bought Dallas Willard’s book “The Divine Conspiracy”. It blew my mind and invited me into a journey with God that is unparalleled by any other book outside the Bible. Since that first reading I have tried to reread it at least yearly. In the past week I dove into it again. Over the next few months I want to periodically post some of my interactions with the content. My hope is twofold: to introduce some of you to this magnificent book and to foster some interaction about the topics.
So here is the first post …
In the introduction to the Book Dallas states that he would like to “gain a fresh hearing for Jesus”. Why? Because most people think they know Jesus but don’t think he is an “interesting” person or “of vital relevance for their actual lives”. So – in this book Dallas wants to help those of us who placed Jesus into a predictable box. Dallas explains that,
“Jesus and his words … are essentially subversive of established arrangements and ways of thinking”.
So here are three questions:
Have we domesticated the subversion of Jesus?
If so, how?
How can we recover the subversive nature of the Gospel?
Even before we get to Jesus, to understand Jesus, we might need to think about ourselves, our society and the way we subconsciously think. This week I was reading Habermas and then the first chapter of Divine Conspiracy. Forgetting the noise of Facebook, just looking at what South Africans stick on the back of their cars opens the door to terrifying reflection. Dallas starts with the automation of life where we have become unconscious consumers, not just of stuff, but of ideas we don’t even understand… If Jesus is the answer, it helps to delve into the question…
Thanks Schalk – wise words; how do you think we can become aware of our automations?