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Who could have guessed that a book written almost 600 years ago by a monk for other monks would become one of the most popular Christian devotionals worldwide, second only to the Bible? Today, The Imitation of Christ is still as much a handbook for Christian growth as it was when it was first published in 1427. The author, a devout Augustinian monk named Thomas à Kempis, couldn't possibly have predicted its far-reaching impact. Here is an excerpt from this classic work.

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Person of the Week: Thomas À Kempis THIS WEEK IN CHRISTIAN HISTORY: Thomas a Kempis, Dutch mystic and devotional author of The Imitation of Christ, dies at age 91. Quiz Question: Who prayed, when he knew he should stop seeing concubines, "Lord, grant me chastity, but not yet"? Quote of the Week: Abba Poemen, 5th-century desert father FROM THE ARCHIVES: The Monkey Trial

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Person of the Week

Inner Travelers Thomas À Kempis Author of the most popular devotional classic "We must imitate Christ's life and his ways if we are to be truly enlightened and set free from the darkness of our own hearts. Let it be the most important thing we do."    —Thomas À Kempis Read more profiles from 131 Christians Everyone Should Know

This Week in Christian History

Quiz Question

Quote of the Week

An old man said, "We are not condemned because of our thoughts that enter us, but because we use our thoughts badly; our thoughts can cause us either to suffer shipwreck or to be crowned."

—Abba Poemen, 5th-century desert father

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