Neither Hypocrisy Nor Replication: A Protestant Account of Imitating Christ as Moral Exemplar

In this article a Protestant view of the imitation of Christ is offered as part of participation in Christ and as taking place in ordinary life (Luther, Calvin). Imitating Christ as moral exemplar does not mean copying him, as a human effort to emulate a high moral ideal, but loving the neighbour as...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Vos, Pieter 1970- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Wiley-Blackwell [2017]
In: International journal of systematic theology
Year: 2017, Volume: 19, Issue: 3, Pages: 271-286
IxTheo Classification:CB Christian life; spirituality
KDD Protestant Church
NBF Christology
NCB Personal ethics
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
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Summary:In this article a Protestant view of the imitation of Christ is offered as part of participation in Christ and as taking place in ordinary life (Luther, Calvin). Imitating Christ as moral exemplar does not mean copying him, as a human effort to emulate a high moral ideal, but loving the neighbour as he did in the particularities of one's own life. It is a striving rooted in Christ's lowliness, which makes imitation an achievable though demanding ethical requirement for each individual (Kierkegaard, Bonhoeffer). Imitation is a 'putting on Christ' that is neither a hypocritical pretending nor a pretentious replication but a striving to re-present Christ in an authentic Christian existence.
ISSN:1468-2400
Contains:Enthalten in: International journal of systematic theology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/ijst.12223