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Departing From—And Recovering—Tradition
Agan, Jimmy
Agan, Jimmy
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Abstract
"With respect to the imitation of Christ, E. J. Tinsley had the following to say in a 1972 article: “In Protestantism there is a perceptible nervousness about using the term at all. This has been particularly the case since the time of Luther. His final antipathy to the ideal became the orthodox protestant [sic] tradition on the matter.” 1 The present article hopes to demonstrate two things: first, that evangelical scholarship continues to maintain this “orthodox Protestant tradition” through appeals to John Calvin and his perceived hostility toward the imitation of Christ; second, that such appeals to Calvin are misleading, since the Reformer himself displayed far less nervousness regarding the imitatio Christi than many of his theological heirs. As we shall see, while Calvin could speak strongly against the abuse of the imitation of Christ when necessary, the concept ultimately played a positive and prominent role in Calvin’s understanding of the Christian life. In other words, whereas Calvin speaks of imitation in terms of both abuse and proper use, many in the Protestant and Reformed heritage have heard only the former. As a result, many who believe they are maintaining Protestant tradition by downplaying the imitation of Christ are actually departing from that tradition, at least as it is represented by Calvin.2 The ultimate aim of this article, then, is to let the Reformer himself reform our views so that we might recover a neglected part of our tradition— namely, a proper emphasis on the imitation of Christ"
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2013
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With permission of the license/copyright holder