EPS Blog

First, Bill, I must ask, how are you and the family doing?

Dallas showed us how to live in Christ and now he has shown me how to journey from life to life through death and the present reality of the great cloud of witnesses. So, there is great joy covering and infusing the deep sense of sorrow and loss. My mind turns to a question or event that I would talk with Dallas about and he's no longer there to chat with. A problem confronts me and he’s no longer there backing me up. So, we carry on and live, as best we can in God's grace, like Jesus would if he were we, and everywhere we go we remember to “give 'em heaven” as Dallas told Larissa, my daughter, to do. We miss him and look forward to seeing him again.

Can you say what is the status of Dallas' manuscript, tentatively titled, The Disappearance of Moral Knowledge? I know many in the Christian philosophical community want to know. Is it now considered “finished”? Also, over the years, Dallas has done various talks related to “Christian apologetics,” including a few years ago for the EPS. Is there any future plan to compile Dallas’ work in this area toward a posthumous book? Is so, what might that look like?

Yes, before Dallas passed away, there were two book projects in various stages that Dallas was working on: a) The Disappearance of Moral Knowledge and b) Gentleness: Apologetics in the Manner of Jesus. The plans for publishing Disappearance and Gentleness are proceeding and I look forward to reporting on progress in the near future. There were also several other book projects where he was guiding others.

Can you be a little more specific about the status of the Disappearance manuscript?

There are two basic ways to understand the status of the Disappearance manuscript. There is the “completeness” factor and then there is the “maturity” factor. Before Dallas passed on, all of the chapters were completed. So, we have the entirety of the manuscript. But in terms of the manuscript’s maturity, all of the earlier chapters are more mature than not. But the last chapter needs some maturity. There is a team of scholars looking at this chapter as it stands now, comparing it to other versions, and seeking to reconcile it with notes from Dallas during the last time he taught on the subject at the University of Southern California in 2011. We want to ensure that nothing relevant is missing here in order to bring closure to this work.

Do you have a publisher?

Currently, there is not a publisher. We are looking for a reputable, mainstream academic publisher that will do great service to the presentation and widespread marketing and publicity of this title in academic contexts, such as in philosophy, history of ethics, and religious studies areas, and more.

Disappearance is a more academic project than not and intended to persuade fellow scholars. As a practitioner at heart, did Dallas intend to ever write a non-academic version of Disappearance?

Through his speaking and writing, Dallas had two primary types of audiences. He was attentive to both his academic and non-academic readers and listeners. I would say that his primary audience was his academic audience.  One of his intentions in writing Knowing Christ Today was to bring some of the Moral Knowledge material to a general audience. Of course, those same ideas are treated in much more depth in this current manuscript.

In light of all he’s written, do you know how Dallas viewed the stature of Disappearance? For example, did he view it as his magnum opus?

Those of you who know Dallas know that the words “magnum opus” would never leave his lips. I would say that he tended to view the Disappearance manuscript as an extremely important academic work, but I don’t think he would have said that all of his work to date culminated there. For remember his two types of audiences: academic and non-academic. Our family certainly considers his Divine Conspiracy as a magnum opus on the Christian spiritual formation side of things.

In fact, some of the earliest, rudimentary seeds for Disappearance are actually available in the Divine Conspiracy, and then you see further developments in The Great Omission and then well into Knowing Christ Today. He was ruminating, writing and speaking on themes relevant to Disappearance for probably the last ten years of his life.

Do you know what were Dallas’ hopes or aspirations for Disappearance?

He really wanted this work to penetrate into the academy and to make a difference among scholars. For 125+ years ago, it was common (even among scholars, let alone among practitioners) for moral knowledge to be seen as an actual body of knowledge intended to be integrated into life. For it gives authority to lead and guide life. But how moral knowledge is viewed today is very different.

Although it is not a widely-reported fact, Dallas was thoroughly interested in the history of the Professions and understanding their role in shaping “common goods” in society, correct?

Yes, in the last year he had turned his focus toward the “next phase” of The Divine Conspiracy and was investing time toward the professions and the common good. Another way he spoke about it was the common goods of the classic professions, “what are the common goods of the Legal Profession, Medical Profession etc., in terms of the kingdom?” It was an area of increased attention in his talks. For example, one of his last talks for The Oikonomia Network was on this topic. In his discussions with me and others, he saw the “next phase” as the bridging of the Christian “Spiritual Formation” stream in American culture and the “Faith and Work” stream. The impact of disciples in the workplace was, in Dallas' mind, the next wave of The Divine Conspiracy. As he told me, “spiritual formation that doesn’t include work, isn't spiritual formation.”

How might the work on the Professions and the Disappearance of Moral Knowledge be related?

Good question. I think they can be related as two parallel tracks. For the first track, Dallas believed that the “next wave” of The Divine Conspiracy would crash into the professions and the work of all Christians as we live out our discipleship 24x7. The second track is that many of the professions today suffer from a tangible disappearance of moral knowledge.  You see this in the many ethical issues within business that have flooded the news for years now, and in the business courses offered in college that teach ethics merely as what I prefer to call “litigation avoidance” rather than something that has an effect on actually improving the character of the students in the class. In this regard, it’s not surprising that it is essential that moral knowledge is regained as a body of knowledge in academia.

Any indication of what Dallas wanted to start writing but was never able to do so?

Nothing further started as a book idea but many areas of interest and attention. The two books mentioned above were where he was investing his thoughts and energies. He desired to have a similar impact on the Academy as he had on Spiritual Formation and he also wanted to redeem the field of Apologetics back to its original ethos.

Can you say a little more about what Dallas saw needing to be “redeemed”?

As of late, Apologetics – as both an area of study and practice – has been divested of gentleness and the life that Christ came to bring, which Peter references prior to the infamous 1 Peter 3:15 passage. Instead, Apologetics has been reduced to being like a game; an intellectual sport of sorts. It was never intended to look  like that. 1 Peter 3:15 refers to giving an answer to those that ask “why” about the kind of life we have in Christ. It is a life-based response in the character of Jesus. As a study and practice, it has lost its gentleness.

Dallas' 2014 book on apologetics with HarperOne will seek to develop this understanding further. The heart of the book is based on a series of talks on apologetics that Dallas gave many years ago, with additions from other talks over the last few years.

Now, more than ever, it seems like a good time to let people in on what has been your involvement over the years with helping to bring Dallas’ writings to the public. You and your dear wife Becky – coupled with Dallas’ Lady Jane – have been as he would say, indispensable! How have you been at work behind-the-scenes?

Dallas always had a steady family of friends helping him with his writing. He was always so gracious in acknowledging their input. The “Willard Council” was instrumental in helping balance Dallas’ teaching schedule and increase his focus on writing. The family of friends helped with feedback, editing of various kinds, suggestions and encouragement. I’m not sure there was anything “special” about what we did. We just loved him and supported him in any way we could. Dallas always had my back on everything and I had his back on whatever he was doing.  And of course, as he said on the dedication page of Hearing God, Jane has been by his side every step of the way as a “Sweet lady, Good soldier, Faithful companion on the way.”

To enable us to continue that aspect of ministering with him, Dallas gave me and Becky his blessing to establish “Dallas Willard Ministries” which, in conjunction with The Dallas Willard Center, is committed to furthering the good work of Jesus through the writings and teachings of Dallas. Information about both of these ministries is available on our websites: www.dwillard.org and www.dallaswillardcenter.com.

Many seem to think Dallas’ work was “unfinished” at the time of his death. What do you think he would say to that claim in light of what he knew and believed about one’s vocation, God’s providence, and the Kingdom of God?

I think he answered that on page 399 of The Divine Conspiracy: 
So Dallas is still working at whatever is next for him in his “eternal destiny in God’s great universe.”

The work of Dallas here among us isn’t done either, and the baton has been passed to those of us willing to carry it on. Dallas always had a unique way of seeing and explaining things.  He lived his life immersed in the Trinitarian Reality and because of that reality there was always more for us to learn from Christ through him. The Lord measured his days and Dallas’ work on earth was finished on May 8th, 2013 at 5:55AM PST, but the work of Jesus that was made manifest in and through Dallas’ teachings and writing; that work continues.

At the “Knowing Christ Today” conference sponsored by the Dallas Willard Center in February there was a great awareness that we were being commissioned to carry on the work that Dallas had showed us needed doing. We must decide to either remain by-standers and spectators to The Divine Conspiracy or active participants in the kingdom among us who intentionally engage the with-God life that is presently available.

That’s wonderful, Bill. Can you elaborate a little further on how you see the Dallas Willard Ministries nonprofit differentiating itself from the work of the Westmont Center?

The two are intended to operate as Siamese twins; you know, joined at the heart. At the heart, there is a commitment to collaboratively work together to further Dallas Willard's teaching, whether for academic or non-academic audiences. The Center will be primarily focused on the academy and the Dallas Willard Ministries nonprofit will be primarily focused on non-academic equipping.

I am reminded of Dallas' perspective about the indispensability of “pastors as teachers of the nations.”

Yes, pastors as teachers of the nations are both an “academic” and a “ministry” interest. Because “pastors” have the epistemic right and obligation to guide life on the basis of moral and spiritual knowledge of reality. So, yes, it all comes together with the pastors. And that's how Dallas saw it, even at his last conference at the Westmont Center, where he commissioned pastors to be teachers of the nations.

Bill, any final words?

Just what Dallas said to my Larissa, his Grand Daughter, in April: “Give ’em heaven!”

Amen.

Labels: 2011 apologetics conference, 2011 EPS conference, apologetics, bill heatley, dallas willard, disappearance of moral knowledge, interview, knowing christ today (book)

Aaron Preston, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Philosophy Department at Valparaiso University, writes a moving tribute to Dallas Willard, which he aptly summarizes as follows:

Dallas Willard was the most wonderful person I have ever known.  I was privileged to have him as my teacher both as an undergraduate and as a graduate student, and to have him as my mentor, friend, and - in the truest sense of the word - my pastor, the shepherd of my soul, over the last two decades.  Here is my very inadequate attempt to describe what Dallas was like in these roles.  Of course it is somewhat misleading to call these "roles".  In reality, they were all expressions of the brilliant, patient, caring, nurturing person Dallas was (and is!), a person who united great intelligence and great virtue in the substance of his own being so powerfully as to palpably manifest the goodness of God like no one else I have ever encountered.   

The full-text of Preston's reflection offers insights into Willard's own character and his ability to shape the lives of others - and not just their "spiritual life" or their "professional life" - beyond the public eye. Consider this final anecdote in Aaron Preston's reflection:

On one occasion I was suffering from a rather severe depressive episode related to my spiritual angst.  Dallas spent an hour or more praying over me after which the depression was simply and entirely gone, and it has never come back.  Life has not been a bed of roses ever since – that’s the stuff of fairy tales – but since that moment I’ve always been able to find the strength to cope with life, often by remembering his prayer and invoking it over myself again. 

... Dallas was not just my teacher and my dissertation supervisor.  He was my beloved Rabboni.  I am grateful for his life. I will miss him for the rest of mine.

Labels: aaron preston, dallas willard

Brendan Sweetman, Professor of Philosophy at Rockhurst University and contributor to Philosophia Christi, offers the below tribute to Dallas Willard. Brendan is the author of The Vision of Gabriel Marcel: Epistemology, Human Person, the Transcendent, which he also dedicated to Dallas:

Dallas Willard is one of the truly wise men I have known.  He had a remarkable influence on my whole approach to my work in philosophy.  Without the benefit of his expertise, guidance, inspiration and knowledge in my early career, I don't know where I would be.  Later on, he discussed his ideas with me, used some of my ideas in his talks, wrote letters for me and also endorsed my books.  This was all in keeping with his collaborative and generous spirit.

It is fascinating to read around the internet this week all of the tributes to him from far and wide, the vast majority of which come from people who have not met him, but who know him through his books.  The Willard family should take great comfort in that.  It is also very noteworthy that people liked him not just for his books and ideas, but also for his character and moral center.  I think this is quite a rare thing among scholars. 

I remember fondly our days at USC, where I worked on my Ph.D. with him.  He was down to earth and full of humor, had a tremendous amount of knowledge and insight, and was passionately committed to philosophy as something that really mattered.  He was among the best philosophy teachers I have known, and many times in class I was afraid to look at my watch in case I would find the class was almost over!  He was also always available to talk.  We had lunch with him many times to discuss topics from our work.  He loved hamburgers and strawberry milk shakes and a good laugh!  So we often told jokes amid our serious discussions!  Once before a talk, I and my great friend and fellow student of Dallas’s, Doug Geivett, presented him with four hats, inscribed with the names of some of his favorite philosophers: (Edmund) “Husserl”, (Thomas) “Reid”, (G.E.) “Moore”.  The fourth hat was inscribed with the name of our favorite philosopher: “Willard”!  He was taken aback, but it was obvious that he was very pleased.

So farewell to Husserl, phenomenology, Christian Philosophy, realism, logical rigor, the objectivity of knowledge and value, philosophical discussions, hamburgers and laughter!; —and, of course, “the spirit of the disciplines,” which was manifested nowhere more than in his compassionate and dedicated approach to both his undergraduate and graduate students.  As a colleague said to me this week: “Dallas was one who really made a difference.”  RIP.

Dr Brendan Sweetman,
Professor of Philosophy,
Rockhurst University,
Kansas City, Missouri.
May 14th, 2013.

Labels: brendan sweetman, dallas willard

Gregg Ten Elshof, chair of Biola's department of philosophy and director of the Center for Christian Thought, observes the following about the impact of Willard on his life and whether Dallas was a scholar for the sake of Husserlian scholarship:

In the early 90’s someone introduced me to Dallas Willard’s book The Spirit of the Disciplines. That book completely reorganized my thinking about what it meant to be a Christian. Strangely enough, it was the first time that I can remember seriously entertaining the invitation to follow Jesus – this though I’d been a Christian my whole life.  I am, and will eternally be, grateful for the opportunity to follow Jesus. So I am, and will eternally be, grateful for Dallas Willard.

For five years I was a student under Dallas’s direction at USC. Having been so deeply impacted by his written work, I was pleasantly surprised to find that he, himself, was far more compelling than anything he had written. To be with him was to draw near to the Kingdom of God. He seemed effortlessly to communicate the peace, security, love and acceptance of God by his mere presence. I found it nearly impossible to remain anxious about anything while with him. And it was my repeated experience to witness the disarming of anger, contempt, fear, and countless other inner ailments with a simple look, a gentle word, a touch.

Dallas is the best teacher I’ve ever met. His work in philosophy always penetrates to the perennial problem – that issue of central importance to the human condition – in whatever discussion he’s a part of.  During his time with us, he loved to think, write, and talk about a philosopher by the name of Edmund Husserl. He saw in Husserl a few crucial insights required to make sense of our ability to have knowledge of the world. But he didn’t allow the world of Husserl scholarship (and it is a real world unto itself) to define his research agenda. Rather, he brought the insights of Husserl to bear upon urgent questions about life, meaning, and the Kingdom of God.

The simple and relaxed confidence so palpable and contagious in his person and so visible in his writing is the result of having deeply internalized these insights by means of decades of careful, nuanced, and often erudite scholarship. For Dallas, the big ideas and their relevance for life mattered more than did anything like Husserl expertise.  As a result, his students (as I’ve experienced them anyway) are among the least likely in the field to lose the forest for the trees or to get bogged down in the technical trivia that often animates academic dialogue. He passed on the insistence on finding and addressing the urgent questions of our day.

Here is a life deeply worthy of celebration and imitation. I am grateful to God for the gift of Dallas Willard.

Gregg Ten Elshof

Labels: dallas willard, edmund husserl, gregg ten elshof, spirit of the disciplines

Dallas Willard was a magnanimous man in his vocational capacity as a professor and scholar and also in his capacity as a friend, mentor, and colleague. Greg Ganssle, a Senior Fellow at Yale University's Rivendell Institute, discerns a vision of human greatness in Willard's work and its convergence with Tolkein's Lord of the Rings. Greg writes the following:

I defended my dissertation in January of 1995. Once the dust had settled, I decided to read or re-read all of the books I had put off for so many years. On my list, of course, was another trip through Middle Earth. At the same time, I read through Dallas Willard’s The Spirit of the Disciplines in my devotional time. I was struck with the convergence between Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and The Spirit of the Disciplines. Both held forth a vision of human greatness. What does it mean to be a great person? Willard led the reader through the wise practices that enabled one to put down deep roots in character. Tolkien painted a picture of character in action.

A great person is one who can live and act with patience and confidence because he both knows who he is, and he is centered on something larger than himself. For the Christian, the center is Christ. His call to us is our anchor. Our keel is deep because we draw upon the depth of his love and work in our souls. Through the habitual drawing upon his strength, we flourish. We may look strong from the outside, but it is the strength of his might.

The vision of human greatness held forth by Willard and Tolkien shines brightly when compared with the anemic pictures of greatness in our culture. A bit in Peter Jackson’s production of the Lord of the Rings makes this clear. In the first film, the character Aragorn was made to wallow in uncertainty about whether he could or would take up the task at hand. In Tolkien’s books, Aragorn never doubted and never hesitated. Why the change? I think it is because Jackson knew that the only categories contemporary viewers have for a deep person are those of overcoming self-doubt. In order to make Aragorn deep, he had to make him struggle with self-doubt. For Tolkien, it is much deeper to be a man who is confident and unwavering about one’s identity and destiny and to be patient in realizing one’s highest aspirations. Such virtues are invisible to a culture that is living in the triumph of pop-psychological entertainment.

Dallas called us to be people who do not doubt or hesitate because we are built upon the firm foundation of the work of God. He challenged us to embody those virtues that are real and visible to God, even if they cannot be seen by those around us. He blazed a trail for all of us. He pointed us towards a distant horizon, one that many of us had only glimpsed in imaginary worlds such as Tolkien’s. That horizon is not new. But every generation needs someone who can see it more clearly and point towards it more decisively.

We are all better people because of Dallas Willard's faithfulness.

Labels: dallas willard, gregory ganssle, human greatness, j.r.r. tolkein, lord of the rings, spirit of the disciplines

Dallas Willard's academic influence permeated from within and beyond the University of Southern California. As a former trustee, his impact upon Biola University, and especially her philosophy faculty, is significant. Scott Rae, Chair of Talbot's Philosophy Department, says of Dallas:

We at Talbot, and especially in the philosophy department, are deeply saddened with the homegoing of our mentor and friend, Dallas Willard.  We want to remember his immense contribution, not only to Talbot and Biola more generally, but specifically to our philosophy program.

Dallas was a source of great encouragement to us when we began the program some 20 years ago and has remained one of our best friends and supports for our ongoing work. He mentored a number of us in our doctoral programs at USC, marked us deeply and impacted not only our professional lives but our spiritual lives as well.  He was very inspirational to us to remember the right things and set our priorities accordingly.  He modeled the kind of humility that continues to, we hope, define our community, where we take God's Kingdom very seriously, but do not take ourselves that seriously.

We will miss him greatly and will always appreciate his calm demeanor, well thought out views, the priority of the Kingdom and his love for Jesus.  We know he is better off, but I'm pretty sure we're not--his loss is incalculable.  Thanks, Dallas, for your investment in our program, faculty and students.

Scott Rae, Chair of Talbot's Philosophy Department, was at USC from 1988-1992, and his dissertation was on the "The Ethics of Commercial Surrogate Motherhood."

Labels: biola university, dallas willard, scott rae, talbot school of theology

"Dallas was a man with a deep, pervasive, penetrating intellect.  He was a Christian first and a philosopher second," observes long-time friend and former student of Willard's, J. P. Moreland in his tribute here. J.P. also said, "We have lost a five-star general in the armies of God, and the world is not what it was when he was among us.

Three days before Dallas passed on, J.P. spoke to him on the phone and reports this:
Read more of J.P.'s tribute at his website's blog.

Labels: dallas willard, jp moreland