From Image to Likeness: The Christian Journey into God

by William A. Simpson

Under the influence of Augustine, many Christian spiritualities dwell on human weakness and recommend a passive response to grace. According to such spiritualities, the most important fact about human beings is that we are sinners in need of salvation. In From Image to Likeness, William Simpson suggests that our human natures are unfinished and that the Christian spiritual journey finds its fullest expression when one's life reflects God's creative and sustaining activity. We are already bearers of the divine image because we are God's creatures, and we resemble that from which we came. We grow into the divine likeness as we cooperate with grace and begin to manifest God's presence in the world.By emphasizing the incarnational aspects of the Christian message, Simpson offers a traditionally rooted alternative to these Augustinian spiritualities. Here, the spiritual journey emerges not as a flight from one's wounded and corrupt nature, but as the ongoing discovery of one's true nature as a child of God.

144 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1997

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine and inviting exploration of Christian mystical spirituality, presenting the traditional in an accessible, fairly contemporary way.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the author's voice, his simple stories about garden, neighbors, and his wife. He has a good sense of Christian history and thought, but in the end I found his vision of the Christian life fairly narrow - tied to mystical progression and contemplation. I could read with interest, but did keep asking, how does Christ fit into this and where is the church? The book is not devoid of answers to those questions, but they do seem peripheral to the particular experiences referenced here. Useful at times, a pleasurable read, but feels like a guide to only a small part of the path.