Dallas Willard on Having Enough
This, as far as I can tell, is something true...
The overshadowing event of the last two centuries of Christian life has been the struggle between Orthodoxy and Modernism. In this struggle the primary issue has, as a matter of fact, not been discipleship to Christ and a transformation of soul that expresses itself in pervasive, routine obedience to his "all that I have commanded you." Instead, both sides of the controversy have focussed almost entirely upon what is to be explicitly asserted or rejected as essential Christian doctrine. In the process of battles over views of Christ the Savior, Christ the Teacher was lost on all sides.
Discipleship as an essential issue disappeared from the Churches, and, with it, there also disappeared realistic plans and programs for the transformation of the inmost self into Christlikeness. One could now be a Christian forever without actually changing in heart and life. Right profession, positive or negative, was all that was required. This has now produced generations of professing Christians which, as a whole, do not differ in character, but only in ritual, from their non-professing neighbors; and, in addition, a massive population has now arisen in America which believes in God, even self-identifies as "spiritual," but will have nothing to do with Churches--often as a matter of pride.
What is new in the current revival of interest in spiritual formation is the widespread recognition that by-passing authentic, pervasive, and thorough transformation of the inner life of the human being is not desirable, not necessary, and may be not permissible. We are seeing that the human soul hungers for transformation, for wholeness and holiness, is sick and dying without it, and that it will seek it where it may--even if it destroys itself in the process. We are seeing that the Church betrays itself and its world if it fails to make clear and accessible the path of thoroughgoing inner transformation through Christ.
-- Dallas Willard, Inquiries Concerning Spiritual Formation (thanks to Dashhouse.com for the link)
1 Comments:
I see this as possibly resulting from the transformation of the last couple of centuries in which Christians went from fear and trembling about our own personal salvation to fear and trembling about "your" personal salvation.
Christianity and modernism thus are always competing to convince the other person to their side. Our salvation is dependent on someone else being convinced by the doctrines of our salvation. We become slaves to the doctrines because they are the mantras by which we can sell the mantras to others, and the only way to know whether someone is or is not on our side.
Our satisfaction then is placed on someone else rather than on God. We avoid ourselves while making ourselves feel worthwhile.
"We are sleepwalking into disaster, going faster and faster to get to where no one wants to be." Indeed, true for the inner as well as the outer world.
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