The Imitation Of Christ II

I don’t know about you, but one of the problems I have had with organized religion is the hypocrisy one finds. People claim to be this or that, spouting “I believe” statements, but make little or no effort to live lives based on them. For me, that was one deal-killer. Folks can use their “human-beings-are-not-perfect-get-out-of-jail-free" card all they want, but not to even work on being humble, live simply, be generous, and so on – so easily observable in its absence – just turned me off.

Another deal-killer, also related to beliefs, was the notion that a certain set of beliefs was the one and only ticket to heaven or related blessings. The insistence that anything else but my beliefs was not only wrong, but horribly wrong, seemed filled with a hubris that belied the very essence of what the person was claiming. Also a deal-killer for me. History has proven that beliefs – what one considers truths for the moment – can be modified, discarded, or become more nuanced and substantive over time. Beliefs are current human interpretations of what truth is. They are necessary.  However, they may be more or less valid. As new information (about the shape of the earth, for example) becomes available we can see their plausibility more clearly. They can constrain exploration into deeper understanding. They can be harmful. They are often used to control and build power. [See Beliefs Are Resting Places On Our Journey]

I wasn’t going to bet the farm on one set of unchanging beliefs, especially when it was so easy to observe the many people who asserted them but skipped the part about what they were asked to do as a result of them. Belief was enough, they said.

They weren’t enough for me.

Still another deal-killer for my relationship with organized religion was reliance on knowledge. I knew that learning about something does not necessarily make one a better person. Someone can be a scholar in the field of virtue development and not give a fig about developing one’s own virtues. One can be an expert in understanding bias, but not take one step toward becoming more aware of their own bias.  

Nope, just packing in information wasn’t enough for me.

Beliefs and knowledge accumulation simply were not enough to go on. 

Not if I was serious about living a more meaningful life.

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As I listened to sheep bleating at the Mount Angel Monastery, lying in bed with my little used, heavily-beat-up copy of The Imitation of Christ open, I started reading.

“Indeed an humble husbandman, that serves God, is better than a proud philosopher, who neglecting himself, considers the course of the heavens” (p. 2).

More…

“If it seem to thee that thou knowest many things, and understandest them well enough, know at the same time, that there are many things of which thou art ignorant” (p. 3).

“It is vanity to wish for a long life, and to take little care of leading a good life” (p. 2).

Bam!

“And this must be our business, to strive to overcome ourselves, and daily to gain strength over ourselves, and to grow better and better” (p. 5).

Daily practice.

And, of course, “If thou wilt receive profit, read with humility, simplicity, and faith, and seek not at any time the fame of being learned” (p. 8).

I said to myself that here was a book that was speaking directly to me.

My little book, after reading only eight pages, was already heavily highlighted.

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Later, I would go back and note all the chapters in this book that addressed humility and other practices I knew then and know now that I need to work on over my lifetime, but that evening I was aware I had found treasure in this little book.

In time, The Imitation Of Christ and other troves would lead me not only to practice, but also back to organized religion(s) and the many people who work so hard to be better people each day - they are the role models I aspire to emulate; and to increasingly deeper, more meaningful, constantly-evolving beliefs.

The Imitation of Christ, attributed to Thomas`a Kempis, was written around 1390 and 1440. After the Bible, it is said to be perhaps the second most, after the Bible, widely read Christian devotional book. 

For more, here is the Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Imitation_of_Christ 

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à Kempis, T. (2013). The Imitation of Christ (R. Challoner, Trans.). Charlotte, N.C.: Tan Books & Pub

All photos by Michael Kroth