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highly recommended |
Deeply spiritual, good even for non-Christians 
This is one of the most inspiring, spiritual books I have ever read. Thomas A Kempis really pierces the deepest depths of the soul. He has presented here a deep raw truth of how a man should live, and in a very inspiring way. It is a very compelling, thought-provoking read. One must stop and read and contemplate his words, and I think it will be nigh impossible to not be affected on a profound level. Although this book probably resonates best with Christians, I think it can be equally valuable to people of any faith. Such is the way of the Brethren of the Common Life, their focus is not so much doctrine, but very much on how a man should live, imitating Christ as the title implies. Regardless of what you believe, I think if you read Thomas A Kempis' words and deeply reflect on them, I think they will move you to a profound truth that transcends all doctrine and dogma and really affects the spirit of all mankind.
All men are frail... 
As a Christian mystic, Thomas a Kempis provides a simple, devotional theology in the context of a Catholic church that was becoming more loyal to the offices church government than to Christ. The Imitation of Christ is best used as inspirational work rather than a work of complex theology and is most helpful when looked at in it's historical context. I used this work as I was researching the history of Christian thought and found it to be a pleasant deviation from the likes of Augustine or Thomas Aquinas. It is an easy read and offers a lot of insights into pious living, which seems to be becoming even more rare than it was in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
The blueprint
This book helped me to embrace some of the qualities within myself that I had previously been trying to change. The want to do so was triggered by the constant feeling of missing out on something or being judged by my fellow brothers and sisters here on earth. I no longer care what people think or say. To quote Mos Def: "I give a damn if any man records my legacy, I'm trying to live life in the sight of God's memory." This book is one of many that helps make it easy to do just that.
All Jesus
This book changed me. It taught me to stay away from anything that will hinder my faith and to follow Jesus with all my heart and soul and mind. Even though I'm still in the process of reading it, it changes me every day. Thomas A Kempis is the most devoted person I have encountered and I pray that many more people will be changed by this inspirational book. It taught me to be all about Jesus and about nothing else.
meditative
I really enjoyed this book. It is fabulous to see how filled with the Spirit of God Thomas was back in the 14th Century. I would recommend this book for anyone who is truly serious about serving Christ and becoming like Him.
reviews: page 1, 2
The treatise Of the Imitation of Christ appears to have been originally written in Latin early in the fifteenth century. Its exact date and its authorship are still a matter of debate. Manuscripts of the Latin version survive in considerable numbers all over Western Europe, and they, with the vast list of translations and of printed editions, testify to its almost unparalleled popularity. One scribe attributes it to St...
imitation of christ, christ, imitation
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based on 6 reviews
