The Imitation on the Not Religious blog

One of the blogs I frequent, though commenting less in recent days, is Not the Religious Type. Dave Schmelzer (pictured) and all have been reading through Thomas a'Kempis' Of the Imitation of Christ, a book I've referred to recently. Come time to comment this week and the group is strangely silent! Never one to allow prolonged silence (ahem!), I jumped in with this thought tonight. Feel free to link over there if you like as well...

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Wow, tabula rasa!

I've been reading along in ye olde english version, devotionally here and there. Perhaps this only adds to the "bracingly different perspective". Perhaps my upbringing in a Pentecostal-Holiness tradition makes it feel a skitch more comfortable. The idea of embracing a worldview that is impervious to fad and trend is a double-edged sword, but hey, that means one edge cuts in a helpful way.

I'll include a quote that carries the directness of, say, George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards in the 18th century revivals:

Chapter XII - Of the Royal Way of the Holy Cross

Unto many this seemeth hard speech, "Deny thyself, take up thy cross, and follow Jesus." But much harder will it be to hear that last word, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire."

For they who now willingly hear and follow the word of the cross, shall not then fear to hear the sentence of everlasting damnation.

By the way, I'm only reading the old English version because it was at hand and free.

But I think the "otherness" of The Imitation partly comes from this monastic commitment to look starkly at biblical text and hang the consequences. I suppose there could be a pride that comes with that sort of separation too. But playing hardball with ourselves instead of always coddling and understanding is OK too. There's balance involved.

So, in this quip, we get a window into the motivation of a'Kempis: judgement and eternal consequences later for choices and actions here and now.

There's a church at a major intersection in our town that until recently had huge lettering on the front of the building reading "Prepare to Meet Thy God." I hated that. Stern. Harsh. Uninviting. But in the quietness of our own hearts, we each have some soul searching to do on the preparation front.