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 powers. And then Dallas Willard has this idea that Jesus actually understood chemistry and physics ...
Dec 03, 2024•13 min•Ep. 103
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 mention. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctu...
Dec 03, 2024•11 min•Ep. 102
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 the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute/
Nov 19, 2024•8 min•Ep. 101
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 signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute/
Aug 13, 2024•12 min•Ep. 100
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://sanctus.institute/
Jul 30, 2024•12 min•Ep. 99
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 is active. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanct...
May 14, 2024•10 min•Ep. 98
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. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.instit...
May 07, 2024•10 min•Ep. 97
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 why you don't need a bucket list. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus ne...
Apr 30, 2024•9 min•Ep. 96
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 better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute
Apr 23, 2024•11 min•Ep. 95
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 - beyond death and decay. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newslette...
Dec 19, 2023•11 min•Ep. 94
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
Dec 12, 2023•16 min•Ep. 93
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/
Dec 05, 2023•11 min•Ep. 92
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 the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute/
Nov 28, 2023•11 min•Ep. 91
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 the same as to humans. And Michael Stewart Robb tries to dissect this compact section of The Divine...
Nov 21, 2023•10 min•Ep. 90
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 throw at you. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanc...
Nov 07, 2023•16 min•Ep. 89
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/
Oct 31, 2023•10 min•Ep. 88
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/
Oct 31, 2023•10 min•Ep. 87
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 and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute
Oct 03, 2023•17 min•Ep. 86
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 and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute/
Sep 26, 2023•18 min•Ep. 85
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 up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute/
Sep 19, 2023•11 min•Ep. 84
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
Aug 29, 2023•9 min•Ep. 83
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 alone. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.i...
Aug 15, 2023•8 min•Ep. 82
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/
Aug 08, 2023•6 min•Ep. 81
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/
Jul 11, 2023•10 min•Ep. 80
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/
Jun 27, 2023•11 min•Ep. 79
How did people depicted in the Bible, who had no Bible, know and relate to God? Dallas Willard's answer centers around experience and in this episode Michael Stewart Robb discusses how Dallas Willard characterizes these peoples' experience of God in some ways which are very different than we may have normally thought. It all comes together with the concept of heaven. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute/
Jun 20, 2023•11 min•Ep. 78
The challenge of Jesus' spirituality is coming to believe one thing, namely "our universe is a perfectly safe place to be." That may be a bit of an overstatement and you wouldn't want to build a whole systematic theology on it but you'd have most of Jesus' spirituality under your belt if you managed to believe it. Meaning, if you managed to internalize it. Michael Stewart Robb discusses this phrase which comes from chapter three of Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy. BE INFORMED and PRAY fo...
Jun 06, 2023•12 min•Season 4Ep. 77
It is psychologically impossible to believe a blur. But that is where modernity including postmodernity has left us with respect to God. Dallas Willard, a philosopher in his day job, saw that in the churches he entered. Thus it will be hard to believe in a God of joy, if we barely know what God is. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute/
Apr 18, 2023•11 min•Season 4Ep. 76
Joy should characterize the life of Jesus's students. It doesn't so often because we don't know God like Jesus does. And here to help us learn theology from Jesus is Dallas Willard. Michael Stewart Robb discusses the third chapter of Willard's The Divine Conspiracy. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better by signing up for the Sanctus newsletter: https://sanctus.institute
Apr 11, 2023•10 min•Season 4Ep. 75
Michael Stewart Robb is thinking about joy today. How did Jesus have it? Supposedly it was a part of his belief system. That this was a world where one could be joyous because joy is the only reasonable response. It's not about being happy. You can be happy one hour and sad the next. Happy is a feeling it is best not to worry about it. But joy should be pursued if you don't have it like Jesus. And here to help Mike is Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy. BE INFORMED and PRAY for us better b...
Apr 04, 2023•9 min•Season 4Ep. 74
