Dallas Willard Quotes
Seven Quotes by: Dallas Willard of Valley Vineyard Christian Fellowship, Reseda, CA Everyone receives spiritual formation, just as everyone gets an education. The only question is whether it is a good one or a bad one. We need to take a conscious, intentional hand in the developmental process. We need to understand what the formation of the human spirit is, and how it can best be done as Christ would have it done. This is an indispensable aspect of developing a psychology that is adequate to human life.
Source here on the Internet. Dated: 2006.
The real issue relating to exclusiveness is whether or not the Christian actually has a relationship with God, a presence of God, which non-Christians do not have. Apart from Christian spiritual formation as described here, I believe there is little value in claiming exclusiveness for the Christian way.
Source here on the Internet. Dated: 2006.
What Paul is clearly saying is that if anyone is worthy of being saved, they will be saved. At that point many Christians get very anxious, saying that absolutely no one is worthy of being saved. The implication of that is that a person can be almost totally good, but miss the message about Jesus, and be sent to hell. What kind of a God would do that? I am not going to stand in the way of anyone whom God wants to save. I am not going to say ‘he can’t save them.’ I am happy for God to save anyone he wants in any way he can. It is possible for someone who does not know Jesus to be saved.
http://www.dwillard.org/articles/artview.asp?artID=14. Dated: January 2001
The Divine Conspiracy.
Book: by Dallas Willard entitled: The Divine Conspiracy Published: 1998.
See also Is this scriptural?
In solitude we find psychic distance, the perspective from which we can see, in the light of eternity, the created things that trap, worry, and oppress us.
Book: by Dallas Willard entitled: The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives Published: 1988.
See also Is this scriptural?
Sometimes we think of spiritual formation as formation by the Holy Spirit. Once again. That's essential. We can't evade it--formation by the Holy Spirit. But now I have to say something that may be challenging for you to think about: Spiritual formation is not all by the Holy Spirit. None without the Holy Spirit. But there's always more involved. And here again we run into the problems of passivity over against activity. Here lies the deepest challenge to the very idea obedience to Christ in our times. We have to recognize that spiritual formation in us is something that is also done to us by those around us, by ourselves, and by activities which we voluntarily undertake ...There has to be method.
Source here on the Internet. Dated: No date given.
See also Is this scriptural?
And perhaps it is that I have not devoted myself sufficiently to being alone with God, or to the taking in of his Word, so that I can actually trust Him to bless me when others are cursing me. So what I have to do is to find the ways--the method--through which I can build my confidence in God's goodness, and break the power of habit in me of cursing back. Note the wonderful words from the old hymn, "He breaks the power of cancelled sin, and sets the prisoner free." Cancelled sin still has people in bondage. To say it's cancelled doesn't mean you're done with it. And to be "done with it" requires a method that may involve counseling, certainly involves the ministry of the word, and certainly involves worship. We're pretty good with these practices, but the ones that look more "Catholic," like solitude, silence, and so on, we're not so good with those.
Source here on the Internet. Dated: No date given.
Please note: Quotes are displayed in reverse date order. Undated quotes are listed last.