{"product_id":"christlikeness-ancient-wisdom-for-todays-world-paperback-1","title":"Christlikeness: Ancient Wisdom for Today's World - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eRobert P. Vande Kappelle\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHuman beings are happiest when they live virtuously. For Jesus and his first followers, living virtuously meant loving God and others as extensions of oneself. However, what began as an inclusive ethical way of life based on unconditional love gradually degenerated into an exclusive social and political religious movement that came to be known as Christendom. Originally a continuation of Jewish messianism, the Christian movement aligned itself with Platonic and Aristotelian elements, comprising a marriage of specific elements of Greek philosophy with Roman imperialism. What if, instead of aligning with the dualist, idealist, exclusivist, and supremacist Socratic movement perpetuated by Plato and his followers, ancient Christians had aligned with the nondualist, realist, inclusivist, and egalitarian Stoic movement spread by Zeno and his followers, an ethical tradition that, like the teachings of Jesus, was guided by providential and natural law ethics? The results of such a synthesis, laid out in this innovative study, are practical, inspiring, and transformative, for they are based on the greatest vision possible for humanity, a nondualist approach to life that counters authoritarian and exclusivist behavior fostered by supremacist political, ethical, and social religious ideologies. Unlike Christendom, based on ecclesiastical triumphalism, the way of Christlikeness, envisioned by Jesus for humanity, is grounded in humility, compassion, service, and love of others.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eRobert P. Vande Kappelle is professor emeritus of religious studies at Washington \u0026amp; Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania, and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA). He is the author of thirty-seven books, including biblical commentaries, volumes on ethics and church history, and discussion guides on faith, theology, and spirituality. Recent titles include \u003ci\u003eWading in Water\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHolistic Happiness\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eRadical Discipleship\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eA Bible for Today\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eLiving Water\u003c\/i\u003e, a wisdom approach to the parables of Jesus.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 188\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.4 x 9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e December 20, 2022\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42640774365280,"sku":"9781666764949","price":41.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0598\/1922\/9280\/files\/OGFrckVvZkNaWENPSEEydE5mTHJPdz09.webp?v=1773157767","url":"https:\/\/bijoucc.myshopify.com\/products\/christlikeness-ancient-wisdom-for-todays-world-paperback-1","provider":"CARIBBEAN CONNECT","version":"1.0","type":"link"}