What book would you recommend? “That’s interesting, I’d like to know something about spirituality. Can you recommend something for me to read that would be helpful?”
Introduction
This essay is framed in the context of Christianity. Spirituality must be viewed from our own lived experience and our weltanschauung[1] and it would be disingenuous to not be authentically Christian and denominationally Methodist in answering the question. In the Methodist tradition there are individual and communal practices; works of piety and works of mercy which make up the spiritual disciplines and the working out of them in the world. Individually a person might consider reading the Bible, meditating, and studying the scriptures, prayer, fasting, regularly attending worship, healthy living, and sharing faith with others. Communally it might be regularly sharing in the sacraments, being in an accountability group, and studying the Bible together.
An evaluation of the book Renovation of the Heart by Dallas Willard and the characteristics of Willard’s writing will be analysed. The first task will be to attempt a working definition of contemporary spiritual writing. The schools of spirituality within the Christian context will be explored and in the context of Willard’s writing, i.e. who did he read? The genre and theme of the book will be discussed, the potential for spiritual growth by reading this book will be examined in conclusion.
Definitions of Contemporary Spiritual Writing
In the secular world contemporary might mean anything in the last five or ten years. In Christian Spirituality it can mean anything written after The Enlightenment. Christianity is divided into before Christ’s birth and after Christ’s birth (B.C and A.D.). Church history is similar divided into sections: The Apostolic Age, early apostles Paul, Mary Magdalen, Philip, Peter and Photini among others, the Desert Fathers and Mothers like Anthony. The early Middle Ages where the Councils provided the church doctrinal language and monasteries began to be formed. The Middle Ages where the western concept of church came to the fore with the Crusades and writers like Thomas Aquinas, and the rise of monasticism in Western Europe. The Reformation & Age of Enlightenment where the second greatest schism occurred and some European thinkers began to operate outside of Christianity. Anything after the Enlightenment might be considered modern and indeed contemporary. However further distinction can be made as contemporary also is considered to be what are topics of the day. For example thirty years ago much less would be written about mindfulness than is currently written, exponentially[2]. Contemporary can therefore mean writing that is of the moment. The increase in interest in Buddhism, and other Eastern practices and the decrease in interest of church attendance play into the concept of contemporary. Spirituality is defined by Willard as
“…Such people would have the effect of concretely redefining Christian spirituality for our times. They would show us an individual and corporate human existence lived freely and intelligently from a hand-in-hand, conversational walk with God. That is the biblical ideal for human life.”[3]
For Willard, spirituality was integral to spiritual formation. A process where the Holy Spirit guides a person in being reformed after an encounter with the Holy one. He defines it thus, “as the Spirit-driven process of forming the inner world of the human self in such a way that it becomes like the inner being of Christ himself. In other words: discipleship to Jesus[4].” Willard defined it again, “It is, rather, a relationship of our embodied selves to God that has the natural and irrepressible effect of making us alive to the Kingdom of God—here and now in the material world.” Gustavo Gutierrez explains, “Spirituality, in the strict and profound sense of the word, is the dominion of the Spirit.”[5] And further defines spiritual formation as, “the attitude of opening up to God, the ready disposition of one who hopes for everything from the Lord,”[6]
A working definition of contemporary spiritual writing is created from these thoughts from Willard, Gutierrez and church history thus: writing that speaks into the current age and brings something of the Holy Spirit forming people and people being open to being formed by the Holy Spirit to be in relationship with the Godhead of Father, Son and Spirit.
Schools of Spirituality
The schools of spirituality will be taken as Benedictine, Ignatian, and Eastern Orthodox for the purposes of this essay. It is not an exhaustive list but is broad.
Dallas Willard was a philosopher and theologian who wrote extensively and lived expansively through the spiritual disciplines. As a member of Renovare[7] along with Richard Foster and others they advocated for and lived in a certain way.[8] He was born into the Southern Baptist tradition of the United States of America. Not on the face of it, an obvious choice to explain a route of spirituality. Dallas when ordained as a Baptist Minister was called to leave full-time ministry and return to academic life. “Varun Soni, … [said of Dallas] “He was the ultimate scholar-practitioner. He bridged the divide between philosophy and theology and showed us all how to bring together our spiritual and scholarly lives in a meaningful way.”[9] The philosophical side to his academia led him to read extensively from the early church and many of the habits of spiritual disciplines can be found there.
From the Benedictine tradition there is found in his writing a love of scripture, not merely to study but to inhabit the word of God. Willard on the practice of meditating on the word, Lectio Divina states, “This activity must not be hurried. Quiet, deeply meditative absorption of the words, receptive of images that fill out the realities they refer to, is sure to bring us to proper orientation before God.”[10] Again he states it in his title of one book, “Hearing God in Scripture,[11]” and indeed it is biblical to meditate on the word of God[12] Willard gives testimony to the change that is wrought in a heart from this practice, “As a pastor, teacher, and counselor I have repeatedly seen the transformation of inner and outer life that comes simply from memorization and meditation upon Scripture.”[13] In the chosen book he gives spiritual autobiographic testimony in saying, “In time, by God’s grace I became substantially—not totally—delivered, through meditation on Scripture, general studies, solitude, prayer, service to others, and just “experience,” along with the movements of grace in my heart and soul.”[14]
Willard has woven in the chosen book ancient practices and modern language making it accessible to the contemporary audience. He concurs with Gutierrez about drinking from the deep wells, in fact he is concurring with all those who have done so throughout Christian history from the Desert Parents, the monastic movement, individuals who have discovered for themselves the rich tapestry of the Bible and the walk in spirituality. Willard argues that it is not just experiences of theophany that define a person’s journey of spirituality but the disciplines that he draws out from each School of Spirituality. He reasons,
“the resources for spiritual formation extend far beyond the human. They come from the interactive presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those who place their confidence in Christ. They also come from the spiritual treasures – people, events, traditions, teachings—stored in the body of Christ’s people on earth, past and present.”
Willard argues to look at the lives lived by the great witness to spirituality through the ages first and then read their works. He might have been foretelling of the constant fall from grace some of the “big” Christian leaders of the current age.[15] When asked to suggest a book for someone interested in their journey of spirituality Willard chose an 18th century author, James Gilchrist Lawson who wrote a bibliographic monograph entitled, “Deeper Experiences of Famous Christians.” He says, “Look at the details of how they lived their lives and then sensibly adapt those details to your life.[16]” For me, it brings to mind the metaphor, ‘we stand on the shoulders of giants.”
Central to the book is the need for a person to stand before Jesus Christ and ask for forgiveness, and continue in that confessing and reconciling cycle as no one is perfect. The Hebrew word shub (שׁוּב) and the Greek word metanoia (μετάνοια) both meaning change, change of whole being, turning away from sin and turning towards God in the case of shub. Metanoia means to change or renew the mind. The Ignatian school has the ‘Examen’ where a person reflects on their day from a spiritual point of view. The Eastern Orthodox school equally has the Jesus Prayer[17], ‘Lord Jesus have mercy on me a sinner’ which is pulled from Scripture and the person of the Godhead changed from Father to Son.[18] The Methodist tradition has accountability groups where each person is ‘examined’ called band meetings.[19] For Willard this is key, both as individuals before God and together in accountability groups[20]. He is contemptuous of how the works of Benedict, Thomas a Kempis and Ignatius Loyola have been used in the past. This is where the need for the definition of contemporary spiritual writing needs to have ‘speaking into the current age.’ Willard is coming from the Southern Baptist tradition that does not see Roman Catholics as Christian. When reading, there needs to be an awareness of those assumptions of Protestantism, in order to get a full flavour of the ancient writings through his lens. For example,
“Thus some of the most profound treatments of discipleship to Jesus, such as The Rule of Saint Benedict, The Imitation of Christ, and The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius, presuppose a special class of Christians for whom they are not written.”
Conversely for himself, the way he lived his life was authentic to his teachings, he held doctrine lightly and was able through this to reach a wide cross section of faiths and secular bodies.
“He often told people who were pursuing truth about life that, …’to do honest inquiry in any area [of thought] and meet people of different persuasions on the field of common inquiry and not based on assumptions that must be protected at all costs .’[21]
Genre and Theme
Renovation of the Heart is much more autobiographical than Willard’s previous writing. In his previous books which are cited in this essay there were teaching points from his life, but not the baring of soul that is present in this volume. Lives that are lived in the secular sense lurch from disaster to disaster, as Willard says, “A carefully cultivated heart will, assisted by the grace of God, foresee, forestall, or transform most of the painful situations before which others stand like helpless children saying “Why?” When a person begins a journey of exploring spirituality it could be argued that the tools used do not matter. Funk at the end of their text, ‘Tools Matter,’ says, “Eventually we discover with freedom and love. That tools don’t matter after all! Our heart’s desire abides.[22]” However for most humans a form of rules are needed to start them off. This then, is in the genre of expanded spiritual autobiography where there is story but also teaching points. Willard has more teaching points than exploring the vulnerability of leadership and unlike Allender[23] or Augustine[24] does not point to particular personal sins and there is no need for the oversharing that often happens in the contemporary spiritual autobiography genre[25] and indeed life with humans.
Shub and Metanoia (שׁוּב and μετάνοια) are central to the book’s theme. The heart needs to be a renovation project, a project that lasts a lifetime but the sheer joy of living life with Jesus far outweighs the need to be tooled up for the journey. There is human effort but most of the work is done internally by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Willard states, “Spiritual formation for the Christian basically refers to the Spirit-driven process of forming the inner world of the human self in such a way that it becomes like the inner being of Christ himself.” St. Paul when talking to the church in Rome talks of μεταμορφουσθαι (metanoia: repentance) Willard agrees here when saying, “The ultimate freedom we have as human beings is the power to select what we will allow or require our minds to dwell upon.” However early Christian writers and the Desert Fathers and Mothers concerned themselves with not just the mind but the whole person and it is this that Willard taps into. Willard states,
“Without the gentle though rigorous process of inner transformation, initiated and sustained by the graceful presence of God in our world and in our soul, the change of personality and life clearly announced and spelled out in the Bible, and explained and illustrated throughout Christian history, is impossible.”[26]
Conclusion (Potential for Spiritual Growth)
My Address
Saturday December 3rd, 2022
Dear Lorelei,
I was so pleased to get your missive; I too miss you and our long conversations in The Black Lion by the fire. This Covid thing is too much. One day in 2023 may we both be in good health and cheer that we can meet and discuss the minutiae of life once more.
I could go on about family and the like as usual but my attention was piqued by your sentences: “That’s interesting, I’d like to know something about spirituality. Can you recommend something for me to read that would be helpful?” I have a vast library of books so it has taken me some time to whittle it down to one.
Let me give you a bit of the process. I dismissed the scientific books of Johnson even though he was born in Belfast[27] for you because I know that would put you off. His slim volume on the science of meditation, ‘Silent Music’ is profound, I read it in one sitting in preparation for my dissertation. I also kept away from McColman’s tome[28] because although there are nuggets of wisdom and it touches on similar threads to the chosen book, it is a long read and the language does take some getting used to. With us both being all-in-all [29]Christians I did not include in the short list any Buddhist, new age, Wicca, Jewish or Muslim writers. Genre was my first hurdle – again I dismissed the stream of consciousness journalling genre, hagiographic and/or true reflections of ancient Christian lives and modern ones too. For the purposes of the question and knowing your background, reading about someone in a funk with existential questioning would put you off learning a bit more about spirituality. The genres on my short list were: a spiritual autobiographical book, a how-to book or a mixture of the two. Sister Meg[30] (Mary Margaret Funk) and Brenda Buckwell[31] were on the list along with Richard Foster[32] and Dallas Willard, among others. Eventually I chose Dallas Willard’s Renovation of the Heart because his background is fundamental and yet he transports into an intersection of faiths, philosophies and a lived out life and this book encompasses all of that. The language he uses is accessible, and there is potential for spiritual growth through reading it, there certainly was for me.
When Willard was interviewed about his book he said,
“We don’t save our soul and leave our emotions and our feelings and our body and all the rest of it out. That’s just a way of talking that emphasizes the soul is so fundamental that we can, in some cases, treat it as the whole person because it actually is the thing that integrates all of these aspects of the self and makes them work together. Now, I don’t think we can find a passage in the Bible that says that. We have to read and study how it addresses the soul, and we then see that it is the deepest, most vital part of the human self.”[33]
Much of the language in Willard’s books can be found in ancient writings. He was well read in the mystic tradition as well as the ‘Rules of Life’ from Benedict to Brother Lawrence and others. In researching his books which dovetail Roman Catholic writers, mindfulness and meditation practitioners from many traditions it was noted that all the contemporary spirituality writers are all drawing water from the same well. Willard says,
“Generally speaking we don’t want to hear from the soul. We want it to just do its job. Unfortunately, in a broken world, it also is broken, and we’re going to hear from it because many of the ordinary miseries and extraordinary glories of human life are expressions of the state of the soul.”[34]
My dear Lorelei, it is my prayer that you engage with this book and that you can see in your life those moments of triumph over adversity, those obstacles of relationships and I will be reading your spiritual autobiography one day.
Lorelei, if you do decide to connect with this book I would recommend journalling as you reach each teaching moment. One of my biggest regrets is I did not journal through the pinnacle of my transformation. Journalling also helps with discernment because the Holy Spirit will speak through the author’s writing but also directly, comforting and challenging. This was a Mission Possible for me, I wonder can I offer a Mission Possible for you? After reading this book, discern which book to read next. Try using my techniques above, discarding those that would not be helpful, genres that do not speak to you. You could try an ancient chapter and then return to the contemporary world. Read the blurb on the back of the books and the endorsements, begin to work out who the endorsees are, what relationship do they have with the author. Next read the bibliography or reference list – who did they read to create this book? Glance at the notes: is there more information within the footnotes? Finally read two or three sample paragraphs from the beginning, middle and end, asking is this language accessible? Do I understand? Will I grow by reading this? For me, when I began reading about Spirituality I had no filters I devoured anything, I was like the deer who pants[35] for the water but sometimes I found myself at Marah[36], drinking brackish water. That is why I turn to the Living Water first to discern what to read next.
Do let me know if I can assist in any way on your spiritual formation path. Write soon and tell me what you thought of Willard’s book and the book you chose, I am on tenterhooks.
With every blessing on your ongoing ministry in the home,
Love
Suzie
Bibliography
Allender, Dan B. Leading With A Limp. Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBrook Press, 2006.
Anonymous. The Way Of A Pilgrim. Translated by Nina A. Toumanova. New York: Dover Publications, 2008 https://www.scribd.com/read/271511034/The-Way-of-a-Pilgrim#a_search-menu_584543.
Augustine of Hippo. The Confessions: Book II. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/110102.htm
Buckwell, Brenda K. The Advent Of God’s Word. Woodstock, VT: SkyLight Paths Publishing, 2015.
Dallas Willard Ministries. “About.” https://dwillard.org/about
Foster, Richard. Celebration Of Discipline. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2008.
Funk, Mary Margaret. Tools Matter: Beginning The Spiritual Journey. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2013.
Gallagher, Timothy M. The Examen Prayer: Ignatian Wisdom for Our Lives Today. New York, NY: Crossroad Publishing Co., 2006.
Gutierrez, Gustavo. A Theology Of Liberation. Translated by Caridad Inda and John Eagleson New York: Orbis, 1973.
________. We Drink From Our Own Wells: The Spiritual Journey Of A People Translated by Matthew J. O’Connell. London: SCM Press, 2005. https://www.scribd.com/read/375692503/We-Drink-from-Our-Own-Wells-The-Spiritual-Experience-of-a-People#a_search-menu_445562
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Johnson, William. Silent Music: The Science Of Meditation. Glasgow: Fontana, 1976.
Nelson, Thomas. KJV Gift and Award Bible. London: Harper Collins 2017.
McColman, Carl. The Big Book Of Christian Mysticism: The Essential Guide To Contemplative Spirituality. Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing, 2010).
Maas, Robin and Gabriel O’Donnell, O.P. (eds.). Spiritual Traditions For The Contemporary Church. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1990.
Murray, Paul. The New Wine of Dominican Spirituality: A Drink Called Happiness. London/New York, NY: Burns & Oates, 2006.
Raab, Christian, OSB, and Harry Hagan, OSB. (eds). The Tradition Of Catholic Prayer, By The Monks Of Saint Meinrad. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2007.
Renovare “About” https://renovare.org/about/overview
Renovare. “Renovation of the Heart: An Interview with Dallas Willard.” https://renovare.org/articles/interview-dallas-willard-renovation-of-the-heart
The Mechanics of Faith “John Wesley and The Holy Club’s 22 Questions” https://www.hopefaithprayer.com/john-wesley-holy-club-questions/
Willard Dallas. The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life In God. London: Harper Collins, 1997. https://www.scribd.com/read/163595170/The-Divine-Conspiracy-Rediscovering-Our-Hidden-Life-In-God.
________. The Spirit Of Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives. London: Harper Collins, 1999. https://www.scribd.com/read/163629544/The-Spirit-of-the-Disciplines-Understanding-How-God-Changes-Lives#a_search-menu_90869.
________. Hearing God: Developing A Conversational Relationship With God. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2012. https://www.scribd.com/read/540207100/Hearing-God-Developing-a-Conversational-Relationship-with-God#a_search-menu_101236
________. Renovation Of The Heart: Putting On The Character Of Christ. London: SPCK, 2021. https://www.scribd.com/read/530608923/Renovation-of-the-Heart-20th-Anniversary-Edition-Putting-on-the-character-of-Christ
[1] can be defined as a particular philosophy or view of life; the world view of an individual or group. the origin is German, from Welt ‘world’ + Anschauung ‘perception’.
[3] Dallas Willard, Hearing God: Developing A Conversational Relationship With God (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2012), 340. https://www.scribd.com/read/540207100/Hearing-God-Developing-a-Conversational-Relationship-with-God#a_search-menu_101236 accessed 19/11/2022 at 05:33.
[4] Dallas Willard, Renovation Of The Heart: Putting On The Character Of Christ (London: SPCK, 2021), 8. https://www.scribd.com/read/530608923/Renovation-of-the-Heart-20th-Anniversary-Edition-Putting-on-the-character-of-Christ# accessed 01/11/2022-15/11/2022.
[5] Gustavo Gutierrez, A Theology Of Liberation. Translated by Caridad Inda and John Eagleson (New York: Orbis, 1973), 170.
[6] Gustavo Gutierrez, We Drink From Our Own Wells: The Spiritual Journey Of A People Translated by Matthew J. O’Connell (London: SCM Press, 2005), 198. https://www.scribd.com/read/375692503/We-Drink-from-Our-Own-Wells-The-Spiritual-Experience-of-a-People#a_search-menu_445562 accessed November 23rd 2022 at 06:45
[8] “The inward disciplines are: Meditation, prayer, fasting and study. The outward disciplines are Simplicity, solitude, submission and service. The corporate disciplines are confession, worship, guidance and celebration.” Listed in Richard Foster, Celebration Of Discipline (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2008) v
[9] https://dwillard.org/about
[10] Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life In God (London: Harper Collins, 1997), 370. https://www.scribd.com/read/163595170/The-Divine-Conspiracy-Rediscovering-Our-Hidden-Life-In-God accessed 13/11/2022 at 08:15
[11] Dallas Willard, Hearing God: Developing A Conversational Relationship With God (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2012), 56. https://www.scribd.com/read/540207100/Hearing-God-Developing-a-Conversational-Relationship-with-God#a_search-menu_101236 accessed 13/11/2022 at 08:33
[12] Psalm 1, 39, 48, 77, 119, 143, 145. My favourite psalm to meditate on is Psalm 8. Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
[13] Dallas Willard, The Spirit Of Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives (London: Harper Collins, 1999), 205. https://www.scribd.com/read/163629544/The-Spirit-of-the-Disciplines-Understanding-How-God-Changes-Lives#a_search-menu_90869 accessed 15/11/2022 at 05:40
[14] Dallas Willard Renovation Of The Heart: Putting On The Character Of Christ (London: SPCK, 2021), 136. https://www.scribd.com/read/530608923/Renovation-of-the-Heart-20th-Anniversary-Edition-Putting-on-the-character-of-Christ# accessed 05/11/2022 at 06:20
[15] Brian Houston, Hillsong; Carl Lentz, Hillsong; Bruxy Cavey, The Jesus Collective & The Meeting House Church, Canada; Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill and others from all denominations as examples of those who have dramatically fallen from grace.
[16] Dallas Willard Renovation Of The Heart: Putting On The Character Of Christ. (London: SPCK, 2021), 220. https://www.scribd.com/read/530608923/Renovation-of-the-Heart-20th-Anniversary-Edition-Putting-on-the-character-of-Christ# accessed 08/11/2022 at 07:10
[17] Anonymous, The Way Of A Pilgrim translated by Nina A. Toumanova (New York: Dover Publications, 2008), 17. https://www.scribd.com/read/271511034/The-Way-of-a-Pilgrim#a_search-menu_584543 accessed 1/12/2022 at 8:30
[18] Luke 18:9-14 specifically verse 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
[19] https://www.hopefaithprayer.com/john-wesley-holy-club-questions/
[20] Proverbs 27:17 most helpfully translated using KJV Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. Alternatively the Latin vulgate when translated gets to the heart of accountability groups with “Iron is sharpened with iron, and a man sharpened the face of his friend.” King James Version , Public Domain, Latin Vulgate, Public Domain.
[21] “About,” Dallas Willard Ministries, https://dwillard.org/about accessed 03/12/2022 at 14:29
[22] Mary Margaret Funk, Tools Matter: Beginning The Spiritual Journey (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2013), 178.
[23] Dan B. Allender Leading With A Limp (Colorado Springs, CO: WaterBrook Press, 2006) alludes to a fall from grace that was adulterous and another involving pride and status.
[24] Augustine of Hippo, The Confessions: Book II https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/110102.htm accessed 03/12/2022 at 13:20 St Augustine’s confessions relate to the pear incident along with a predilection to sexual sin.
[25] Rebecca St. James, Stormie O’Martian, Heather Veitch, Stephanie Taylor, Todd White, Trudy Makepeace among many others share in detail their sinful nature before they met Jesus. For me, although I have lived a life there is no need to oversell how sinful I was so I share Dallas’ reticence in sharing.
[26] Dallas Willard Renovation Of The Heart: Putting On The Character Of Christ (London: SPCK, 2021), 147. https://www.scribd.com/read/530608923/Renovation-of-the-Heart-20th-Anniversary-Edition-Putting-on-the-character-of-Christ# accessed 22/11/2022 at 22:50
[27] William Johnson Silent Music: The Science Of Meditation (Glasgow: Fontana, 1976).
[28] Carl McColman The Big Book Of Christian Mysticism: The Essential Guide To Contemplative Spirituality (Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing, 2010).
[29] All-in-all is a Wesleyan Methodist concept
[30] Mary Margaret Funk, Tools Matter: Beginning The Spiritual Journey (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2013).
[31] Rev. Dr. Brenda K. Buckwell, Obl OSB The Advent Of God’s Word (Woodstock, VT: SkyLight Paths Publishing, 2015).
[32] Richard Foster Celebration Of Discipline (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2008).
[33] “Renovation of the Heart: An Interview with Dallas Willard.” Renovare accessed 30th November 2022 at 13:45 https://renovare.org/articles/interview-dallas-willard-renovation-of-the-heart
[34] https://renovare.org/articles/interview-dallas-willard-renovation-of-the-heart accessed 1/12/2022 at 12:07
[35] Psalm 42 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
[36] Exodus 15:22-23 22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they travelled in the desert without finding water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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