Renovation of the Heart by Dallas Willard
Week 7: Chapter 6 — Transforming the Emotions
Read Chapter 6 of Renovation of the Heart. Key passages: Galatians 5:22-23; Psalm 37:4; John 15:11.
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Many Christians have been taught to distrust their emotions or to simply suppress them — Willard offers a more nuanced and more hopeful vision of emotionally transformed disciples.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Willard argues that emotions are not simply things that happen to us — they are deeply connected to our beliefs, desires, and will, and they can be formed and reformed over time. Does that match your experience? Have your emotions ever genuinely changed as your beliefs or habits changed?
2.He identifies 'destructive emotions' — chronic anger, anxiety, envy, contempt, and shame — as among the most powerful obstacles to spiritual formation. Which of these is most active in your own inner life, and how does it affect your relationship with God and others?
3.Willard makes the striking claim that love, joy, and peace — the first three fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 — are not just blessings God gives but emotional states that can be cultivated as we cooperate with the Spirit. What does cultivating joy or peace actually look like, practically?
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