The Divine Conspiracy Bible Study Participant's Guide: Jesus' Master Class for Life

In the New Testament Gospels, people marveled at how Jesus taught as someone who had authority. When I read the writings of Paul, I am impressed by his spiritual understanding and knowledge. He wrote, taught and preached as someone who had authority and knowledge that is beyond the average Christian.I see not as much, but the same understanding in the writings of C.S. Lewis, and now in the writing of Dallas Willard, a present-day philosopher and theologian who wrote The Divine Conspiracy."The Kingdom of God is at hand" is the pervasive theme of this book, with every argument, thought and example pouring into this theme. Willard explains logically that this kingdom is not something in the distance to be experienced after death only, but is a miracle to be experienced in the here and now. His explanation of "the kingdom of God is the range of his effective will, where what he wants done is done." (P. 25) It is that simple. According to Willard, we can be part of that kingdom in our everyday lives.Since reading this, I have to admit to changing some of my prayers, to asking the Father to help me to live within this kingdom. I have felt a difference.Willard's work is brilliant and his theology is right on the mark.(Keep in mind that this assessment comes from a layperson). This 400 page book took me two weeks to read because I couldn't read it like I do most books. Most books, I just zip right through. But not this one. I had to read a section or two and then take time to reflect on the words.If there was anything in this book at all that I did not like, it was that he took the liberty to paraphrase scriptures into his own words. I like for scripture to be quoted as is, in a particular book. For if everyone who wrote paraphrased scripture to suit their purpose, there would be many distortions. I followed the scriptures quoted in the first half of this book with my bible and found one citation to be incorrect on the bottom of page seventeen where he quotes a story as coming from Luke, Chapter 5; it should have read Chapter 7. Other than that, this book was perfect. In Willard's defense about the paraphrasing, he did disclose this in the his Introduction. And, he is after all, Dallas Willard. He may be qualified enough to do his own paraphrasing.The same thing that I am criticizing, I found that I liked at points. When discussing the Beatitudes on the Mount, he put some of the conditions in a description that hit home to me:"Blessed are the physically repulsive,Blessed are those who smell bad,The twisted, misshapen, deformed,The too big, too little, too loud,The bald, the fat and the old-" P. 123What contemporary can not identify with some element of this passage.After Willard discusses the God's Kingdom, he discusses how to become the disciple of Jesus with practical suggestions for entering into discipleship. He ends this book with a discussion of death.This book covered too much to be discussed in one post. Let me say that as Christians, there are certain books that we should have on hand and read annually. The first is the Holy Bible. The second is C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity. This is the third. I am sure that there are many others. But this book has the potential, when used in tandem with the Holy Bible, to change lives for the better.Amen.

The Guide used in combination with the 6-session video, as intended, contributes greatly in the process of assembling the conceptual pieces of The Divine Conspiracy. The Divine Conspiracy is an explanation of the kingdom of God and Jesus' teaching, largely from the Sermon on the Mount. By its very nature it deals with spiritual reality, which is not intuitive and needs the kind of hand-holding that the Participant's guide provides. The guide is good at making the study of The Divine Conspiracy into a tangible, life-changing experience.

I purchased this by mistake when I tried to buy Willard's book. This guide is probably fine for class usage, so it gets my 5-stars. But please note that this is not Willard's actual book, only a "master class" guidebook.

Its ok but a little thicker than it needs to be in spots. I see a lot of self gratifying apologetic aficionados use this book to make them sound smart. I've seen better books on this subject in our modern age. But it isn't bad either. Just saying.

I count this among my top books that I have ever read. Dallas Willard does a fantastic job! You would be remiss not to pick this up!

This book offered so much more than I ever expected. I have read many books on the Sermon on the Mount over my lifetime, but here is a fresh look at this marvelous text for daily living! I have read many of the chapters many times and am amazed at Willard's handling of this text. Great book!

This a very deep study of the Sermon on the Mount . It truly clarifies exactly what Christ was trying to impart to all of mankind about the neatness of the kingdom and presence off God. Amazing.

Great read so far. A great reminder that our laws do us no good unless we are responsible as a society

The most Important book I have ever studied in my life.Dallas willard has changed my life for ever. He is profound, and loves the world from the very centre of his soul.

Excellent

Although you can use the DVD without this guide is certainly helps to get the authors view of what was important and how to address it. You should read through it to decide how it fits into your group. The DVD is certainly one of the best I have ever used.

Life Changing