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55 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
KNOWING Christ Today, May 26, 2009
As I sat in my classroom at Florida State University during the Fall of 2007, beginning my first New Testament class, I was very confused. I signed up thinking that the class would delve even deeper into the words that had recently begun to transform my life, bringing me even closer to this Jesus I had just encountered. However, I very quickly felt disillusioned; the teacher of the class was speaking about Jesus in very different words than my pastor used. Her words about Christianity sounded very detached, spoken as an outsider looking in.
For some reason, most professors and leaders of academic circles seem to treat Christianity as a quaint system of myths and beliefs that should not be taken seriously by true thinkers. They believe that science and modern thought have shown Christianity to be irrelevant and untrue.
In his newly released book, "Knowing Christ Today: Why We Can Trust Spiritual Knowledge", Dallas Willard exposes these views as utterly false. He brings light to the truths and knowledge of Jesus and reveals them as imminently knowable.
Simply stated, Dallas is one of my favorite authors. Months before this book was released, I knew I would immediately devour it. Thankfully, the publisher--HarperOne--sent me an advanced copy to review.
The book, though only 256 pages, is extremely thick with content and is a very intense read. Dallas begins by fairly warning that, "...this is not a devotional book and that it will require considerable mental effort to understand."
He starts his discussion by stating some truths about the role knowledge plays in today's Christianity. He explains how our culture tends to treat religious beliefs as something other than--and often less than--firm knowledge. He notes this as a serious explanation for the divide between what Christians profess and how they act. At their core, few people have true knowledge of what they profess to believe on Sundays, and this "blind-faith" is eventually evident in the actions of their lives. Bluntly, since few Christians truly believe what Jesus said and did to be true, their lives understandably show little difference from those of unbelievers.
In a wonderfully accurate articulation of my experience in college, Dallas explains that, "So much effort has been invested by modern and contemporary thinkers in a secular interpretation of religion that religion can now be studied with no reference to God at all.... It is now simply assumed that every field of knowledge or practice is perfectly complete without any reference to God as real and relevant, and all the more so without any knowledge of God and his activities."
Dallas emphatically states that despite popular modern opinion, "There is a body of uniquely Christian knowledge, available to all who would appropriately seek it, whether Christians or not." True knowledge of God's existence, the story of the Gospel, and the working of Jesus today is available for those who honestly seek it.
Using his brilliant logic and understanding, Dallas then walks through the reasons why Christianity isn't generally recognized as the source of true reality and knowledge in the world today. He states, "If it were seriously imagined that the teachings of Christianity or other religions constituted a vital and irreplaceable knowledge of reality, there would be no more talk of the separation of church and state than there is of the separation of chemistry or economics and state." He points out that the battle pitting science against religion is in fact a false conflict. Science answers certain questions, while religious knowledge taps into deeper truths that are beyond even science. Dallas points out that, "The best physical, chemical, and other scientific knowledge will not tell us what to do and who to be". To answer the big questions of life, a deeper knowledge is needed--and thankfully is available.
Dallas then walks through classical proofs for God's existence, from the logic of Thomas Aquinas to the mysteries of today's sciences. He follows this by delving into how the knowledge offered by Jesus affects every field of life today.
It is roughly at this point in the book where I began to be slightly overwhelmed. Dallas, as a Philosophy professor at the University of Southern California, tends to drift towards the philosophical view of things instead of the practical. But, right in line with his greatness as a writer, he began his next chapter on how the true knowledge of God, as revealed through Jesus, affects the spiritual life. It is here that Dallas recalls the wisdom of his other books dealing with the spiritual disciplines. He explains that gaining true knowledge of reality--which in turn includes God and his kingdom--naturally leads to the living of a life in line with the character of Jesus.
The final chapter in the book is the one I believe to be the best and most empowering. Titled, "Pastors as Teachers of the Nations", Dallas challenges all of those who teach, lead, or pastor others to reclaim their historical role as the teachers of knowledge. What was once provided by the teachers of faith has now been monopolized by secular teachers and professors who offer a secularized take on reality and truth.
Dallas also calls us all to embrace our role as witnesses of faith. He adds that, "...witnesses are, first of all, those who know something. They don't just believe something. If you get on the "witness stand" to tell people what you believe or feel strongly about, it will be of no use....The witness knows something and makes that knowledge available to others."
As a cure to much insubstantial preaching today, Dallas encourages that, "... pastors must present the fundamental points of basic Christianity as knowledge, and as knowledge that is testable and available to anyone who truly wants to know...Pastors now are mistakenly seen, and perhaps even see themselves, as teaching what Christians are supposed to believe, not what is known and what can be known through fair inquiry."
To finish the entire discussion, Dallas closes with a sternly. He pronounces that, "Whatever your situation, there is nothing more important on earth than to dwell in the knowledge of Christ and to bring that knowledge to others."
I ended the book convinced of the necessity of knowledge. I realized that it is time for the professed disciples of Jesus to dismiss his reputation among intellectuals as, "an airhead who stands haplessly before people with PhDs." And I finished energized with a passion to seek truth, knowledge, and reality, wherever they are to be found.
This is probably the best book I have read in the past year, and I cannot recommend any better author or book for those who seek to use their whole mind in the pursuit of truth.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Inspiration for Those Seeking Truth, June 10, 2009
The title of this book, "Knowing Christ Today," sounds reminiscent of the catchy titles of the many self-help, inspirational Christian books that have been popular throughout the last decade. Titles like "Your Best Life Now" and "The Biblical Road to Blessing" characteristically provide practical life information without much theology or scholasticism. However, Willard's latest book is not lacking in intellectual credibility. This deep, yet accessible, read uses Willard's expertise in philosophy, theology, and education to emphasize the importance of knowledge within one's spiritual life.
Living in the information age, members of our society have more information on our laptops and mobile phones than all of the ancient libraries combined. Despite the amount of information we have, social critics describe a "dumbing down" of culture that is becoming more apparent everyday. Of particular importance to the Christian, "neo-Atheists" such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens argue that the irrationality of the belief in God has helped create an ignorant and "delusional" society. Willard, on the other hand, makes a compelling case that examining the ancient teachings of Jesus could be the most helpful intellectual pursuit for today's modern society.
In "Knowing Christ Today," Willard first dispels the notion that faith and intellectualism are contradictory. He does this by arguing that religion is not just a faith commitment, but a commitment of faith coupled with right knowledge. "Belief cannot reliably govern life and action except in its proper connection with knowledge and with the truth and evidence knowledge involves." For Willard, faith is the process of committing one's will to established truths, as opposed to an abandonment of rationality and intellectualism to superstition.
Willard's premise throughout the book hinges on his idea of obtaining knowledge: "We have knowledge of something when we are representing it as it actually is, on an appropriate basis of thought and experience." Once someone gains a true understanding of a greater reality, he or she will naturally be motivated to act, take direct action, establish policy, or teach about this knowledge. For an individual to achieve life's ultimate goal, they must first direct their minds to the knowledge of Christ and their hearts to Christ's love.
Willard defines Christ-like knowledge as representing the worldview that comes from Jesus' answer to five major questions: 1) What is reality? 2) Who is well-off? 3) Who is a good person? 4) How do you become a good person? and 5) How do we know which answers to the previous questions are true? In his skillful rhetoric in answering these questions, Willard articulates how Christianity provides the best worldview to understand and enjoy life.
In framing his idea of Christ-like wisdom, Willard states that a Christ-like worldview gives us an accurate understanding of the "big picture" view of life. Our general outlook on life should be based upon life's greatest reality and not just bits and pieces of the social environment in which we were reared. Since it is impossible to live life without a worldview, it is important that individuals use knowledge to "orient" themselves to the right order of living.
After establishing the scope of knowledge and its importance for our society, Willard describes how this knowledge can help us understand the major issues and conflicts faced by a 21st century culture. Taking on highly debatable topics such as how science and faith should interact and how Christians should understand other religions, the rest of the book examines how "Christ-like knowledge" can help us properly deal with life's greatest issues.
Willard clarifies that his plea to obtain Christ-like knowledge is not just for extreme fundamentalists and those lacking an understanding of the Bible. Teaching at the University of Southern California for the last forty years, he knows all too well that that "our world is full of uneducated people with higher degrees." Willard argues that many Christian intellectuals and church leaders do not have true knowledge of the beliefs to which they ascribe. Though they have given their "heart" to Jesus, they have not filled their minds with a total belief in His teachings. Without this proper belief, many Christians run off "blind faith" which usually results in taking paths similar to those of non-believers.
After noting the need to establish God's moral truths in society, Willard backs up and addresses the fundamental question of God's existence. After presenting several common philosophical arguments for the existence of God, Willard demonstrates how Christ's teachings help us to see God as a personal God. Using evidence such as consciousness and design in the universe, Willard proves these personal attributes of God are closely aligned with our own intelligence.
In a discussion of miracles and faith, Willard criticizes today's "religious scholars" as not properly understanding the knowledge that Jesus taught. In most departments of "religious studies," scholars focus on studying God outside religious experience and theology. By doing so, Willard states they are not studying religion at all. The secular, deistic, or atheistic views held by many of these scholars prevent them from understanding what Christianity truly represents.
Willard also discusses how proper knowledge can help Christians understand other religions. A Christian should recognize Christ's teaching as representative of life's ultimate reality, but it is an act of grace and mercy that we receive this knowledge. Since salvation is based upon grace and mercy that is not contingent on something we have done, we should not boast of having done something greater than other individuals of other faiths. Using careful language, Willard explains his idea of "Christian pluralism" that leaves the door open for others outside of Christianity to be "right with God."4 However, we as Christians are not the ones who should decide how wide that door is open and who will make it through.
The book concludes with a call to Christians to teach, lead, or pastor others in the knowledge of Christ. As witnesses of this timeless truth, we should demonstrate the true meanings of Jesus' teachings. These true representations of Jesus should overshadow the popular stereotypes of fundamental Christianity and those promoted by secular religious scholars. Willard concludes by stating that our ultimate goal in life should be to understand the knowledge of Christ and to share it with others.
Personally, this book has helped me understand the importance of knowledge in our information-dominated society. As a religious scholar at Yale Divinity School, I know all too well that we can be overwhelmed by facts, figures, and perspectives in which to analyze religious systems and religious figures. Though I value my experience experience from a liberal religious studies perspective, the most valuable knowledge that I have gained in the last years come directly from the Jesus' views on the major life issues found in the New Testament Gospels.
After reading this book, I am now as passionate as ever to seek the truth and knowledge found in Scripture and other religious opportunities. I encourage everyone regardless of their background with Christianity or other religions to examine how "knowing Christ" and His teachings are practical and beneficial in our modern society.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Groundbreaking, May 26, 2009
An impressively argued reclamation of the Christian faith as a reliable and trustable source of publicly accessible knowledge. Jesus, Willard reminds us, was actually intelligent and offers us testable knowledge about the way the world really is--real knowledge on par with what we learn from science and philosophy.
His treatment of knowledge versus belief explains why Christian discipleship often fails and why seeing belief as mere personal preference is futile.
The writing is generally accessible, though parts must be read slowly as the concepts are complicated.
Includes a fascinating treatment of Christian pluralism grounded in knowledge. The final chapter will give pastors and other "public" Christians much encouragement in expanding their vision of the responsibilities of their calling.
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