Imitating Christ
eBook - ePub

Imitating Christ

The Disputed Character of Christian Discipleship

  1. 224 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Imitating Christ

The Disputed Character of Christian Discipleship

About this book

Is discipleship about personal sanctification or social reform?

Believers are divided on a question central to Christian identity: what does it mean to follow Jesus? For centuries, imitating Christ meant the pursuit of holiness, conforming the self to Jesus through self-sacrifice in order to join him in eternal life. But some Christians today consider this model to be self-centered. Instead, they say, true disciples ought to imitate Jesus in confronting corrupt social systems on behalf of the oppressed.

In Imitating Christ,esteemed New Testament scholar Luke Timothy Johnson seeks the origin of this fissure. Surveying the New Testament, medieval mysticism, modern theology, and more, Johnson shows how twentieth-century social-gospel and liberation theologies created a new model of discipleship. He then evaluates the theological implications of the two models and asks what we can learn from each. Inspired by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Thomas Merton, Johnson puts forward a vision of discipleship that can revitalize Christian witness in the world today.
Replete with keen exegesis and spiritual insight, Imitating Christ reorients Christian living toward pursuing sainthood. Pastors and interested lay readers alike will rediscover a rich heritage in these pages.

Catholic Media Association (CMA) Book Award Spirituality Contemporary Third Place (2025)

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Yes, you can access Imitating Christ by Luke Timothy Johnson in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Theology & Religion & Biblical Criticism & Interpretation. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  5. Preface
  6. Introduction
  7. 1. Discipleship as Transformation of Self
  8. 2. Discipleship before the Reformation
  9. 3. Post-Reformation Discipleship
  10. 4. Discipleship under Threat
  11. 5. Shaping a New Vision
  12. 6. A Critical Analysis of the Two Visions
  13. 7. Discipleship in Churches
  14. 8. Imitating Saints
  15. Suggested Reading