Truly, this is a 1.5 star book in my record, but I didn't have the option. Although one of the most popular books in Christian literary history, I found this text difficult to connect with because of the jabbing absolutes and insistence on isolation. Kempis' Christianity resounds with joylessness; and as one member of our book group commented, he comes across as the kind likely to be disappointed by heaven.
The overwhelming theme of the text is suffering, that is, imitating Christ through suffering. Many times in the text, this point crescendos to suffering for the sake of suffering, rather than for any particular religious goal. Perhaps that impression stems from his lack of balance in describing Christian humility and our post-salvation predicament. Kempis endorses a life void of rejoicing in one's salvation, and suggests that to do so would imply haughtiness of spirit and a lack of contempt for sin. He also emphasizes disdain for the world, that the more mature one becomes in their faith, the more one should enjoy suffering and despise both self and world.
While I agree that humility is a difficult virtue to exist alongside human intellect, as humanity is always inventing ways to be impressed with itself, I cannot endorse Kempis' view that the world and self should be completely despised. Scripture tells us that the Kingdom of God is NOW, not just in the future, but occurring since Jesus began his ministry and finding its fulfillment in heaven. Why Kempis avoids this discussion, I do not know. However, if God is able to reside in my own heart, then there is that part of me which should never be despised.
Kempis also insist on solitude in the Christian life, and while it is true that we all eventually fail one another due to our own sinful imperfections, nowhere in scripture do I find solitude and isolation endorsed. Kempis says that one should seek God not above others, but instead of others. Again, this avoids a scriptural discussion on the body of Christ and our needs and obligations to others. Again and again, scripture resounds with the reminder that we cannot exist outside of community. Which, I suppose, is why even the monks retired from the world in the company of others.
The emphasis on suffering was a good reminder that adversity is, indeed, a guarantee of the Christian life (of any life, for that matter); and Kempis' insistence on faithfulness in the experience of suffering is a needed reminder for today's feel-good age. Also enjoyable, and boosting my review from 1 to 1.5 stars, is the end portion on communion. Reading Kempis' guide to communion preparation reminds the spirit of what a contrite posture feels like, and helps one bend into that impossible pose.
Overall, this is not a book I enjoyed reading, but my own disagreements with the text were quite stimulating. Perhaps that is the aim of Thomas a Kempis' impossible absolutes.