Saturday, January 05, 2008

 
7th Day 1/5/2008
Robert L. Hopper

Several months ago, during the latter part of summer, I visited Charles and his family. As I was leaving, I saw several books that caught my attention, and mentioning this to Charles, he offered to give me any one of them if I would write a short review of it for this blog. I agreed, and I chose The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A Kempis. Though I lack any formal training in the practice of book reviews, I submit the following in the hope that it, at the least, encourages others to read the book for themselves.
Thomas A Kempis’ sought a life, in contrast to the culture around him, of devotion, zeal for spiritual truth, and simplicity. He divided the work under consideration into four books, each one containing a number of chapters. The first book, “Counsels on the Spiritual life,” is divided into chapters that address, among other topics, personal humility, reading of the Holy Scriptures, peace and spiritual progress, avoidance of rash judgments, and bearing with the faults of others. In the second book, “Counsels on the Inner Life,” he addresses, among other topics, purity of mind and simplicity of purpose, self-knowledge, loving Jesus above all things, humble submission to God, and the cross. In the third book (the longest of the four), “ On Inward Consolation,” he addresses topics such as Divine love, how Truth instructs us in silence, how to bear sorrows, trust in God, that our peace cannot depend on man, etc. The fourth book, “On the Blessed Sacrament,” addresses communion in the form of bread. The third and fourth books take the form of a dialogue between the believer and Christ Jesus, or a monologue of Christ Jesus and the believer.
I found much of insight as I read this work; some of what Kempis wrote squares with Friends’ experience, understanding, and doctrine. His stress on the need for humility, simplicity, trust, and silence, reminded me of similar counsel given by tender Friends both past and present. In the third chapter of book one (entitled “On the Teaching of Truth”) he writes: “Those to whom the Eternal Word speaks are delivered from uncertainty. From one Word proceed all things, and all things tell of Him; it is He, the Author of all things, who speaks to us” (p. 30). In the same chapter, further on, he writes, speaking of those who seek knowledge without humble knowledge of themselves, and talk of spiritual matters over regeneration in the renewing of their mind and amendment of life: “If only such people were as diligent in the uprooting of vices and the planting of virtues as they are in the debating of problems, there would not be so many evils and scandal among the people...At the Day of Judgment, we shall not be asked what we have read, but what we have done; not how eloquently we have spoken, but how holily we have lived. Tell me, where are now all those Masters and Doctors whom you knew so well in their lifetime in the full flower of their learning? Other men now sit in their seats, and they are hardly ever called to mind. In their lifetime the seemed of great account, but now no one speaks of them” (p. 31). This latter quote recalls the words of Paul to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 1:17-31). There were many other such points of contact between Kempis’ work and Friends’ experience, understanding, and doctrine, and this should be no surprise, for as Barclay wrote in his Apology:
§V. Thirdly, though according to the knowledge of God revealed unto us by the Spirit, through that more full dispensation of Light which we believe the Lord hath brought about in this day, we judge it our duty to hold forth that pure and spiritual worship which is acceptable to God and answerable to the testimony of Christ and his apostles, and likewise to testify against and deny not only manifest superstition and idolatry, but also all formal will-worship, which stands not in the power of God, yet, I say, we do not deny the whole worship of all those that have borne the name of Christians even in the apostasy, as if God had never heard their prayers nor accepted any of them. God forbid we should be so void of charity. The latter part of the Proposition showeth the contrary; and as we would not be so absurd on the one hand to conclude, because of the errors and darkness that many were covered and surrounded with in Babylon, that none of their prayers were heard or accepted of God, so will we not be so unwary on the other as to conclude that because God heard and pitied them so, we ought to continue in these errors and darkness, and not come out of Babylon when it is by God discovered unto us. The Popish mass and vespers I do believe to be, as to the matter of them, abominable idolatry and superstition, and so also believe the Protestants; yet will either I or they affirm that in the darkness of Popery no upright-hearted men, though zealous in these abominations, have been heard of God or accepted of him?2 Who can deny but that both Bernard and Bonaventure, Taulerus, Thomas à Kempis, and divers others have both known and tasted of the love of God and felt the power and virtue of God's Spirit working with them for their salvation? And yet ought we not to forsake and deny those superstitions which they were found in? The Calvinistical Presbyterians do much upbraid (and I say not without reason) the formality and deadness of the Episcopalian and Lutheran liturgies, and yet, as they will not deny but there have been some good men among them, so neither dare they refuse but that when that good step was brought in by them of turning the public prayers into the vulgar tongues, though continued in a liturgy, it was acceptable to God, & sometimes accompanied with his power and presence: yet will not the Presbyterians have it from thence concluded that the common prayers should still continue; so likewise, though we should confess that through the mercy and wonderful condescension of God there have been upright in heart both among Papists and Protestants, yet can we not therefore approve of their ways in the general or not go on to the upholding of that spiritual worship which the Lord is calling all to, and so to the testifying against whatsoever stands in the way of it. (http://www.qhpress.org/texts/barclay/apology/prop11.html)

I, too, am of a mind that we cannot deny the working of the love of God within those whose manner of worship and understanding is not entirely consistent with that of Friends, and we can glean great insight and encouragement for our spiritual growth from the writings of such persons. It is in this understanding that I recommend the work of Thomas A Kempis.

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