Is Dallas Willard a Christian?

On last Thursday's edition of Fighting for the Faith, I decided to do something VERY controversial, I asked the question, "Is Dallas Willard a Christian?"

I am not asking this question for controversies sake. I am asking this because what I hear coming from Williard's own mouth actually contradicts Biblical Christianity and the gospel itself.

Rather than explain it all in writing, I've decided to reproduce this controversial segment from my radio program and invite your answers to the question.

Click on the Menu button on the player above and you can embed this radio segment on your blog or website.

Comments

[Drew]

I agree with some of his eschatological ideas about the "kingdom of God," but his soteriology is pure heresy. I wonder how long he's been teaching this "deserve to be saved" stuff. It's hard for me to comment on his salvation because I think Christians can become confused over time and fall into serious error, but he's definitely in the wrong at present.

[Wout]

"Anyone who deserves to be saved will be saved"---Well that actually means that NO ONE will be saved. I'm so glad that the Biblical reality is that through no effort or merit on my part Jesus has saved me just because he has chosen to reveal himself to me, and caused me to actually have faith in him.

This fellow's deflection regarding Christ 's statement that he is THE way seems to indicate that he believes in a god, but does not believe that Jesus is God. When asked directly whether Jesus is God, he again deflected the question.

What is amazing is that becoming a Christian is so easy for us because Jesus has done everything necessary for us(all the extremely difficult stuff), because we can't do anything to save ourselves.

Regarding being sent to Hell, people always forget that we deserve Hell, not Heaven, and that Hell is the default for everyone.

It is a real shame that the questioner let this fellow get away with all this nonsense.

[Jack]

I recently downloaded Bob DeWaay’s audio and print critiques of Mr. Willard’s book The Spirit of the Disciplines and took the book out of the public library. I wasn’t impressed, although I don’t disagree with everything Mr. Willard says. Mr. Willard has nothing good to say about the Reformation, and his eschatology is classic post-millennialism: Jesus will come back only after man brings in the Kingdom of God through practicing the disciplines. If the book had been published in 1968 instead of 1988, I would have said that Mr. Willard’s views were probably the result of smoking too much weed. In the last chapter of the book Mr. Willard says that his belief may seem like a dream. Indeed, it made me think of John Lennon singing, "You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will live as one." I’ve always liked the way Dave Hunt puts it: The Bible says that Jesus will meet us in the air; if you’re expecting to meet Jesus with your feet firmly planted on planet Earth, you’ve been building the kingdom of the antichrist. Mr. Willard definitely has his feet firmly planted on planet Earth. His derisive comment on Christians’ view of the millennial reign of Jesus Christ from Jerusalem as a totalitarian dictatorship is blasphemous and offensive.

Mr. Willard’s background is as a professor of philosophy at the University of Southern California, and he argues largely on the basis of human logic and reasoning rather than from what the Scripture actually says. As for his attempt to create a distinction between "Christ" and "Christianity," this is where the currently-popular term "Christ-follower" comes in. You can be in another religion and be a "Christ-follower" without being a Christian.

[Steve Howlett, PhD]

I am very uncomfortable with your style. Selective portions of a conversation won't do. It would be better to play all of his comments and ask him, directly, what he means.

Secondly, are you in danger of being in judgment of a fellow Christian?