How many non-Catholics here, have read the Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis?

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I am a Catholic but I must add, it is one of my favorite books of comfort.
 
Well, it is a Catholic book for one thing, non-Catholic Christians are afraid to read anything Catholic, for fear it would make sense to them, or because it is simply Catholic…
 
OneTrueCathApos said:
Well, it is a Catholic book for one thing, non-Catholic Christians are afraid to read anything Catholic, for fear it would make sense to them, or because it is simply Catholic…
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Why make a generalization like that? That is not at all true. Maybe for some but not for all.
 
OneTrueCathApos said:
Well, it is a Catholic book for one thing, non-Catholic Christians are afraid to read anything Catholic, for fear it would make sense to them, or because it is simply Catholic…
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Since it is a Catholic book I bet a lot of Non Catholics have never heard of it. It’s a first for me.
 
I read it. In fact, I still own a copy.

It is a fine example of late medieval moralist writing from the Via Moderna school of practical theology where piety is emphasized over scholasticism.
 
Well, I have a copy on my bookshelf, but it hasn’t seen much use. It’s one of those “I have to read it someday” books.
 
I have read portions of it…I found a nice old leather bound edition at an antique store. I have it sitting on my side table along with the “Journal of George Fox” and Thomas Kelly’s “Testament of Devotion”.

It is a very “deep” work of intense spirituality. When I read it I will usually pick it up and open a chapter at random and read a paragraph or two then meditate on what Truth is stated.
 
OneTrueCathApos said:
Well, it is a Catholic book for one thing, non-Catholic Christians are afraid to read anything Catholic, for fear it would make sense to them, or because it is simply Catholic…
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Imitation of Christ was required reading when I was in seminary - a Protestant seminary. So was Augustine. So was Aquinas. So were the ECF’s. So were the Desert Fathers. So was John Chrystostom. So was John of Damascus. So was Jerome. So was Basil. So was Thomas Merton. So was David Mills. So was Francis Bouyer. And a few others.

Give the rhetoric a rest, OTCA.
 
reteeks21 said:
Why make a generalization like that? That is not at all true. Maybe for some but not for all.
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Because OTCA can only make generalizations and really only likes the truth as she sees it.

I am glad that Christ does not make such generalizations about us.
 
OneTrueCathApos said:
Well, it is a Catholic book for one thing, non-Catholic Christians are afraid to read anything Catholic, for fear it would make sense to them, or because it is simply Catholic…
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reteeks21 said:
Why make a generalization like that? That is not at all true. Maybe for some but not for all.
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I’m not too fond of generalizations like that, either. When I was an evangelical Protestant, my pastors occasionally made reference to the writings of the ECFs. Now that I’m Catholic, I believe they were ripping passages out of context, but they certainly weren’t ignorant of them, and they knew they had their origins in Catholicism.
 
O.S.Luke said:
Imitation of Christ was required reading when I was in seminary - a Protestant seminary. So was Augustine. So was Aquinas. So were the ECF’s. So were the Desert Fathers. So was John Chrystostom. So was John of Damascus. So was Jerome. So was Basil. So was Thomas Merton. So was David Mills. So was Francis Bouyer. And a few others.

Give the rhetoric a rest, OTCA.
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Only when you realize this teaching in your “Protestant seminary” is the truth, so why not be in the church Christ established? 😃
 
OneTrueCathApos said:
Only when you realize this teaching in your “Protestant seminary” is the truth, so why not be in the church Christ established? 😃
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My seminary was a good school, OTCA - several catholic professors were on staff too. Your use of quotes and your obvious disdain make me a lot less inclined to hear a word you say.

I never once said anything that I studied was less than the truth. Once again - you assume… making an “azz” out of “u” and “me.”

Pax vobiscum.
 
O.S.Luke said:
My seminary was a good school, OTCA - several catholic professors were on staff too. Your use of quotes and your obvious disdain make me a lot less inclined to hear a word you say.

I never once said anything that I studied was less than the truth. Once again - you assume… making an “azz” out of “u” and “me.”

Pax vobiscum.
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I am confused by you knowing the truth and yet you don’t practice it? :confused:
 
But I do practice the truth. Now you can disagree with that if you want, but I have practiced the truth all of my life.
 
OneTrueCathApos said:
What is truth to you?
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You’re kidding, right? That would take more than the 4096 characters permitted on thread replies, OTCA. :rolleyes:

The short answer would be the words of Christ: I am the way, the truth, and the light. Christ is truth.

Why don’t you answer some of the questions people are posing you, OTCA? Like why do you persist in generalizations and mean-spiritedness?
 
khutcheson said:
Why would you say this?
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Because I tried to have Protestants read it and they look at it like it’s a fictional Disney book. They told me if it is Catholic, they won’t read it, because they probably are anti-Catholic, or just plain stubborn.
 
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