Imitation of Christ

When a movement has lost its way, the best way to recover the right path is to retrace its steps to its most formative principles and voices.

Christianity has lost its way.  To recover it, we should go back to its earliest expressions and manifestations.  The earliest books of the New Testament that were written were some of Paul's epistles.  They predated the writing of the first gospel, the Gospel of Mark, which was probably written between 65-70 CE, after Paul's death.

In Paul's earliest letters, particularly I Thessalonians and Philippians, Paul articulates the vision and purpose of the growing movement that arose out of the life and ministry of Christ.  God was revealed in Christ to serve us.  The role of the movement was to create a community of believers who would imitate Christ by serving others and the world.  Then, those outside the community would see those within the community and imitate them.  The goal of the community was for everyone to imitate Christ, which would bring salvation and redemption to the world and real God's Kingdom.