Dallas Willard is one of the great heroes of spiritual formation. It would be hard to overstate the influence he has had on the spiritual formation movement in American Evangelicalism. So, what did Dallas Willard believe? This is the first in a series of articles highlighting the greatest insights we have gained from Dallas Willard’s books, seminars, and interviews.

This first article is an introduction to Willard’s life and work. We also provide a look ahead at the insights we will be sharing in future articles.

Dallas Willard’s Life and Work

Dallas Willard was born on September 4th, 1935 in Missouri. He developed a love of reading and learning at a young age. Willard pursued graduate school in philosophy knowing that Jesus and the great philosophers throughout history were all addressing the same fundamental questions of reality. As an ordained minister, he decided to go into academia after receiving the advice that if he stayed in the churches, the university would be closed to him; but if he stayed in the university, the churches would be open to him.

Willard was a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southern California from 1965 to 2012. He was one of the most popular teachers in the School of Philosophy. He had a passion for teaching young students and was a role model for Christians navigating the world of academia. His academic specialty was philosopher Edmund Husserl and Phenomenology. Willard learned German in order to read Husserl in the original language and translated some of his works into English for the first time.

Willard spoke and wrote about living a life with God. He taught about discipleship, spiritual practices, transformation, and prayer. His message was not compelling just because it was true, but because he delivered it with authenticity, gentleness, and humility. It was apparent that he lived out the principles that he taught. He invited others to join him on living a life with God.

Dallas Willard is a role model for using his intellect faithfully, bringing honor and glory to God. He died on May 8th, 2013 from pancreatic cancer, but his legacy continues to make a lasting impact.

To learn more about the life of Dallas Willard, read Becoming Dallas Willard by Gary Moon (https://amzn.to/3NN9n4N).

Impact of Dallas Willard

Dallas Willard has been one of the primary influences on our thinking at Faithful Intellect. There can be a perceived tension between the intellectual, academic, analytical mind and the emotional, sentimental, feeling heart. The mind pursues God through rigorous Bible study, apologetic argumentation, and historical/cultural analysis. The heart pursues God through mystical experiences, personal interactions, and new types of prayer.

You might think a Professor of Philosophy would primarily focus on the life of the mind, but the biggest impact Willard has had on us is seamlessly bridging the gap between the mind and the heart. There is a difference between knowing about God and knowing God. The Christian life is a life with God, not a life knowing about God. Willard’s life and work provides a compelling vision for what that can look like.

What did Dallas Willard believe?

There are many insights that can be drawn from Willard’s work. Here are some of the top ones that will be discussing in upcoming articles in this series. Let us know in the comments which ones you are looking forward to reading the most.

• #1 The Four Great Questions of Life (Read More)
• #2 Identity – What Is a Human Being? (Read More)
• #3 Jesus Was a Great Genius (Read More)
• #4 What are the Spiritual Disciplines For? (Read More)
• #5 What is Discipleship? (Read More)
• #6 What is Belief? (Read More)
• #7 Grace, Effort, and Earning (Read More)
• #8 Character and Eternity (Read More)