SHAME FOR CRITICIZING DALLAS WILLARD
By Ken Silva pastor-teacher on May 3, 2008 in Dallas Willard, Richard Foster
From time to time here at Apprising Ministries I will present email exchanges from the AM Mailbag which I feel led may be of edification to our readers. This one below came from what certainly appears to be a sincere AM reader who wanted to offer criticism in a spirit consistent with one who is a Christian. As I say below I responded in kind.
However, due to the lateness of the hour I believe it is necessary that some of us speak boldly what God has placed on our hearts. My sincere hope is that just as I am the first to say that faithful Christians who write in a more gentle tone are needed, so also I pray others will come to understand there is also a place for those of us who must tear down strongholds…like contemplative Guru Dallas Willard, a close associate of Roshi Richard Foster.
Hello,
I don’t really know you or much about your blog but I just happened to come across it looking for some information on Rob Bell. I think you for your insightful article that I read.
I consider myself to be very much an orthodox Christian. I love Jesus with all my heart and want to serve him the rest of my days.
However, I just really feel that your blog is very hate-filled. I think it is important to expose people who are false teachers, please do not misunderstand me. But there is a way to do it, and there is a way not to do it. Please have a look at this write up on the Emerging and Emergent church movements. It articulates it very well and is a great peace of research. It is gentle in its approach does not speak
in a smearing tone.
Furthermore, I really have to disagree with you on Dallas Willard. I have read several of his books and I have never encountered anything that contradicts or compromises biblical teachings. Ever. Period.
Neither is Willard a “co-conspirator” of the emerging church movement. Willard is an orthodox evangelical christian who simply encourages CHristians to mature their spiritual lives with. Have a look at his testimony here. Instead of relying on the words of others, its better to see what the man has to say himself.
There is nothing wrong with being spiritual. The apostles encouraged it because they themselves where interacting with the holy spirit. God wants us to live in his spirit. This is not to say that we should ignore the Bible. The Bible feeds us with knowledge and understanding of our amazing God. We need the Bible and should be reading and seeking to understand it daily.
A healthy and mature Christian is both in the word and in the spirit daily. Willard simply encourages this. I think you ought to be ashamed of yourself for lumping him in with the emergent church movement. That is simply not the case and if you were ask Willard himself, he would agree.
Please forgive me if my words are harsh, but I write out of love for you and for our Lord. My prayer for you is to speak in a gentler language. To write objectively and to explain things in detail and without bias. What you are doing is important, but I feel that you are doing it in a way that pushes people away from seeking the truth. It is very off putting.
Thank you.
In Christ,
AM Reader
Hello AM Reader,
Thank you for contacting Apprising Ministries. The noted Christian philosopher and apologist Dr. Francis Schaeffer used to say: “Honest questions deserve honest answers.” I believe this as well and so I will respond from a position of no offense taken and no intention of causing any. Setting this upfront due to the limitations of the written language.
Below you say: “I just really feel that your blog is very hate-filled.” It is, filled with a hate for false doctrine. Part of my command as a pastor-teacher in 2 Timothy 4:2 is to correct and rebuke. It’s not personal; it goes with the turf I’m called to work. You also said: “I think it is important to expose people who are false teachers, please do not misunderstand me. But there is a way to do it, and there is a way not to do it.”
You then refer me to the type of an apologetic, so typical today, which I call “plus-minus.” By that I mean we begin with an agenda, in this case: “I am not for the Emergent Church.” So we start by listing the 3 or more “positive” things about this Emergent rebellion against the Bible followed by the 5 or more “negative” things in order to then state the foregone conclusion: “I cannot recommend the Emergent Church.” Well, I just choose to skip step one.
AM Reader, I don’t misunderstand you at all and I commend you for your sincerity. However, I am one called by Christ 20+ years ago into Comparative Religion, apologetics and evangelizing non-Christian cultists. I’ve done much independent study in these areas. The basic mission of Apprising Ministries is found here and may help:
I am involved in the unconventional tactics of Special Ops in this spiritual Vietnam we call a Truth War. And as a former high school football head coach I also look at ministry from the following perspective. On the defense of a football team we don’t all have the same function. The brother who wrote the article you linked would be more like a shut down cornerback using finesse to cover his man. I, on the other hand, am more of the middle linebacker. Both positions are necessary for the success of the team, but each is played differently.
Then you mention that his piece “is gentle in its approach does not speak in a smearing tone.” You are correct; it doesn’t. But then again, different approaches will require different methods, and in my leading from the Lord each is necessary. And what kind of tone would you say is being used in the inspired Scriptures e.g. 1 Kings 18:25-28; Matthew 23; Luke 3:7-9; John 8:41-45; Galatians 3:1-3; 5:11-12; 2 Peter 2; Jude 8-16?
Then you say: “Furthermore, I really have to disagree with you on Dallas Willard.” Not a problem (see—Philippians 3:15-16). However, a couple of my reasons for saying what I have said re. Willard is because he is promoting and practicing the following:
In addition my good friend Bob DeWaay completely dismantles Willard’s unbiblical and anti-Protestant “disciplines” in his very scholarly article below:
Further concerning Dallas Willard you say: “I think you ought to be ashamed of yourself for lumping him in with the emergent church movement. That is simply not the case and if you were ask Willard himself, he would agree.” Sorry, no shame here. I’m afraid Willard is going to have to correct his friend Emergent Swami Brian McLaren who:
cites Dallas Willard and Richard Foster, with their emphasis on spiritual disciplines, as key mentors for the emerging church. None of these thinkers has any inclination to throw out the baby of truth with the bathwater of modernity. I’m grateful to Andy for including the preceding, because many people doubt this. (Online source)
You will see that quote three quarters of the way down the page at Brian McLaren’s own website where he adds comment to the Christianity Today article “The Emergent Mystique.”
And finally, as far as the way I write in this part of my various labors in the Lord you said: “I feel that you are doing it in a way that pushes people away from seeking the truth. It is very off putting.” AM Reader, my job is “play the game,” as it were, with the skills God chose to give me; and my style is still right in line with Isaiah 6:8-10, which outlines my playing field.
May the Lord open your eyes that you might see the dark red sky this morning and recognize the time in which you live. I am afraid this is only the beginning and should the Lord tarry things are going to get mighty rough spiritually in the days ahead. You may believe me when I tell you that I sincerely wish I had better news.
For Christ’s honor I labor,
Ken Silva, pastor-teacher
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