The Imitation of Christ (Barnes & Noble Library of Essential Reading): Four Books

by Thomas A'Kempis, Thomas à Kempis, Thomas Rogers, et al.

Book Overview

Religion's second-best seller. -- Walter Elwell, describing The Imitation of Christ as second only to the Bible in sales and popularity among religious readers. Through its realistic delineation of the complexities of human existence, and in its soul-building optimism about the benefits of aspiring to a Christ-shaped life, The Imitation of Christ clearly deserves the accolade of "Spiritual Classic." Although they were written early in the fifteenth...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0760755914
• ISBN13: 9780760755914
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

The imitation of Christ

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Misleading Description

The Imitation of Christ is a marvelous book. My paperback is falling apart so I ordered a hardback edition. Although the volume I received is a beautifully illustrated book on top quality paper, it contains only the shortest of extracts from Thomas Kempis’ work. Roughly 38 passages consisting of two to seven SENTENCES each in the entire book. It should absolutely NOT have been listed as The Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempis as the copy itself clearly states Excerpts chosen from…

Interior spiritual growth for the courageous seeker

This book hit me hard in the preface and introductory. This book is for someone who wants a closer more personal relationship with God. If one is willing to apply these words then yes growth will occur. I am diligently taking notes and attempting to absorb various aspects of unhealthy self focus and immaturity. I think every serious student of Christinanity should have a copy of this in there library.

One of the best translations

This is a meditation on Jesus. To read and meditated on. It is very thought provoking on the way of Christ’s spiritual will and human will. We need this as we ask for the Holy Spirit to come into our hearts and change our human will so we too can reflect Gods goodness to others.

Truly amazing

Absolutely deep and right in line with the teachings of Christ. I bought one for my mother as well! A must share!

Best book ever

Reading this book will change your life. If you put this book in your heart, you will surely become a Saint

Packs a punch

As a person trying to grow everyday in Christian practice and thought, I found this book worth its weight in gold. It's easy to read (short segments) -- in fact, it's so easy you have to be careful you don't coast right past a diamond buried in every paragraph. No wonder John Wesley found it to be on of his favorite guidance books!

Humble beginnings

A great book for those who have never understood humility. As great as this book is, it reflects little of an understanding of what might be called 'the apprehended grace of God'. Lots of "I am so terribly unworthy". Very little of "I am so profoundly grateful for the grace of God by which I am worthy in the eyes of the Father'. Don't get me wrong, this book is a gem, and of profound value to all Christians. A lot of so called Christians seem to never have experienced anything even close to mindset of unworthiness from which they were "saved" (and if so, what were they "saved" from?). This book might get some folks on their knees asking God to teach their hearts a humility, as displayed in this book, that they missed out on.

Medieval Illustrations Set A Certain Tone That Fits This Work

This 18th century translation of the 500-year-old Christian classic has both beautiful Medieval illustrations and an archaic tone to its passages that work well together in removing the reader from the confines of contemporary life and putting them inside the mindset of the monk who wrote this meditation on imitating the life of Christ. This is the version of this work to have, in my opinion, far better than the endless, text-only editions of this we had to wade through in theology classes in high school. I've always liked The Imitation, even though I recognized early on that its lofty goals were absolute impossibilities for we imperfect mortals.

A Classic with Art!

The most widely read Christian book after the Bible now has glorious medieval illustrations on every page that complement the profound meditations by Thomas A Kempis. A wonderful book for spiritual reading, and also as a beautiful gift book. Divided up by several thematic spiritual topics, this book is great for just quiet meditation on how to better imitate Christ in our daily lives, and the pictures offer great images for helping the meditation. Just a handsome book all around. One of the best editions of this classic by A Kempis I have ever seen. Very highly recommended!

A very important book to Christianity

I'm not a Christian but I have almost completed a minor in Christianity at the college I attend. I study Christianity because of my interest in European history. This book, written by a 15th century cloistered monk, is amazing for its strong use of language to convey how one should interact with God through Jesus. But even outside the sphere of religious thought, there are some good statements that could apply to everyday life, although Thomas would scoff at the idea that someone could do this independent of God. Consider the following short excerpts:"It is only by patience and true humility that we can grow stronger than all our foes." --pg. 40"For every bodily pleasure brings joy at first, but at length it bites and destroys." --pg. 52"Alas, a long life often adds to our sins rather than to our virtue!" --pg. 58These are just a few quotes from a book that has many memorable lines. Most of the book deals with how man should submit himself to Christ. The format Thomas uses is dialogue, between Christ and a disciple. Like Plato's use of dialogue, it is an effective means of getting his ideas across. Thomas even examines the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, and concludes that only through pure thought and hard work at patience and humility can one be able to effectively use these sacraments to become one with Christ, and through him, God.The only downfall I can see with this book is that it is aimed at the cloistered, or as Thomas calls them, the "Religious." Thomas sees the process of submitting to God as more then a full-time job. Because of this, most people would be shut out of union with Christ. But the book was written to help those in the monastery.I certainly recommend this to anyone interested in Christian history or Christianity in general. I believe that for myself, I will probably read this again, as one reading isn't enough to get all the gold out of the text. The book used to be second only to the Bible in popularity. I read the Penguin version translated by Leo Sherley-Price.