Sanctus Forum

There are different theories for understanding Jesus' life, especially the miracles. On one hand there is Spirit Christology which holds that Jesus did the extraordinary things he did by the power of God the Holy Spirit. On the other hand there is what Michael Stewart Robb calls Giant Christology which is the idea that Jesus doesn't really know how to do what he does he's just a big oaf with extra...

Have we really come up with anything better than Jesus' view of ultimate reality since Jesus' first taught it? There is a general cultural presumption that we have. But when you ask for details, names and citations, the crickets can be heard. In this episode Michael Stewart Robb discusses Dallas Willard's claim that Jesus knows spiritual reality (ultimate reality) better than anyone else we might...

Dallas Willard speaks of a "cultural reality" which keeps people from understanding what Jesus' spirituality is. Michael Stewart Robb refers to this cultural reality as the great indifference to Jesus which stretches across Europe. And in this episode Mike shares Dallas's idea of what's behind this great indifference and what holds it in place. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for...

It is a great challenge for followers of Jesus in Europe to believe in God. The reason for this is because, as Dallas Willard puts it, our souls are soaked in secularity. And therefore we need to work really hard to rely on God in this life. Michael Stewart Robb ponders Willard's words on how this comes about and what we can do about it in this episode. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signin...

Jesus invites us to see the world upside down in order to find peace in this world, peace amidst our circumstances whatever they may be. Dallas Willard in The Divine Conspiracy calls this "The Great Inversion" and Michael Stewart Robb explains what he means and how it is gospel to those who are down and out. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanct...

Having explained what "death" really is, Dallas Willard takes that insight and applies it to life now. The fuller consciousness that we get as we transition into God's full world is actually something which we can use to make sense of our world now. What is small and insignificant in the one context is actually very important in the other context because the other context is the one in which God i...

Since Jesus's friends never taste death, what will happen? In The Divine Conspiracy Dallas Willard gives some important teaching on that matter in part out of his work as a philosopher and in part out of his childhood as a Missouri hillbilly. Michael Stewart Robb also reads a story about a near-death experience which he found in the Missouri hills - one with a curious connection to Dallas Willard....

While it used to be common knowledge in Europe and North America that death wouldn't happen, now it is taken for granted. One is possibly unwise to not write a bucket list and pursue all the good things that death makes impossible. Dallas Willard in The Divine Conspiracy shows how Jesus pioneered wise living in light of the fact that death wasn't going to happen and Michael Stewart Robb explains w...

Our phones and laptops are portals into this world. And we get into thinking that this world is all there is. But Dallas Willard in The Divine Conspiracy writes of how for Jesus's friends this is nonsense. Michael Stewart Robb comments in this episode about thoughts of the next life have disappeared from view. Perhaps because we all have phones in front of our faces. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us be...

Look at this world of goodness and it is hard to not be filled with despair at how it decays and dies. But Dallas Willard in The Divine Conspiracy calls this the "mind of the flesh" for it does not see that "all that is good is preserved." Michael Stewart Robb explains that as "ceaselessly creative beings" we will be satisfied by nothing less than a constant participation in the good world of God...

In this special episode of Conspiracy Commentaries Michael Stewart Robb answers questions and responds to comments posted by you. Should you have a question or comment write to us at info[that "a" thing]sanctus.institute. No promises. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute

The human quandary is how to rise above "lives of quiet desperation" to something transcendent. Aldous Huxley suggested drugs. Dallas Willard suggests spirituality because we are spiritual beings who are meant to live from the spiritual. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute/​

First off what is substance? We got to get a handle on that word in order to know what Dallas Willard is talking about. At a minimum, it means that something is capable of independent existence. But it means more than that and Michael Stewart Robb tries his best to do a little philosophy with you to get to Dallas's understanding of spiritual. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for th...

The will or heart is the innermost core of a human being. With all the current talk of spiritual and spirituality, does anyone have in mind the will? Or when people talk about the will, what is that? Just matter and energy? If we are going to describe the spiritual, Dallas Willard thinks we must take serious personality and get around to talking about its center, the will. This applies to God just...

Pretty crucial to Dallas Willard's theology and whole view of the Bible is that we can know spiritual reality. God is spirit and we can know what that means. We can know positively and not just negatively. And our means of knowledge, he holds, is through knowledge of ourselves. Listen this week for a tour through you as spirit and a lot of philosophical terms that Michael Stewart Robb wants to thr...

The Divine Conspiracy is a disguised book about God. And in chapter 3 Dallas Willard has a lot to say about God's omnipresence. He seems to think that if we allow the myth of empty space to dominate our thinking, we won't understand Jesus or his gospel. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute/​

God wants to be seen, so why don't we see him? Dallas Willard in his The Divine Conspiracy answers this by pointing our wanting to see God. Do we really want to see him? But he also points to the need to develop in our ability to see. Seeing is not so straightforward as we might think. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute/​

Comparing God to humans can be dangerous business. But Dallas Willard feels confident to do it. And in this episode Michael Stewart Robb reaches Dallas's conclusion to how God is in space by exploring how you are in space. But in a century when spiritualism and pantheism are alive and well, Mike has some cautions to issue, the biggest being a reminder that Dallas really is a dualist. BE INFORMED a...

Dallas Willard's argument for God's presence in the world takes a detour through our presence in the world. Where are you? Not where is your body but where are you in relation to your body. There's a lot to talk about here and Michael Stewart Robb will need two podcasts/videos to get it talked out. Come join us for an exploration of Dallas Willard's existential phenomenology. Oh yeah! BE INFORMED...

Dallas Willard says that the one place where "our contemporary mind-set" most strongly conflicts with the life and gospel of Jesus is in its understanding of space. He probably has in mind secularity. The secular mind-set has resulted, says Willard, in two attempts to reconcile the presence of God with empty space. Neither of which solves the problem. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing...

Dallas Willard in his The Divine Conspiracy makes a lot of the distinction between "kingdom of the heavens" and "kingdom of God." Why? Michael Stewart Robb explains why the difference matters to him and why it should matter to us. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute

The lives of great people such as Sundar Singh is unthinkable and unlivable without a practical theology of God with us here and now. People throughout history have had "close encounters" with God and Dallas Willard thinks that these serve a very important role in teaching us about where we should expect God. In this episode Michael Stewart Robb explains why we shouldn't expect to live from them a...

The word for heaven might be a mistranslation in the Bible. At least that is what Dallas Willard thinks. Michael Stewart Robb explains why Willard thinks this is so important in our day. In short it has to do with where God is for us. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute/​

The 3rd chapter of The Divine Conspiracy is all about immanence. In this section Dallas Willard begins his description of how Jesus comes into the world to make God present in a new way. It is a compact argument and Michael Stewart Robb does his best to help make sense of it. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute/​

At some point Dallas Willard changed his mind on what the kingdom of God is. He eventually comes to the view in The Divine Conspiracy that "heaven is here and God is here." In this episode Michael Stewart Robb shares what he's learned about when and how he changed his mind. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute/​