📘 Lexicon Entry: Cruciform Imitation

Understanding Christian ethics as participation in Christ’s self-giving pattern rather than mere rule-following, emphasizing how faith and practice are integrated through imitation of Christ’s cruciform example rather than abstract moral principles.

Understanding Christian ethics as participation in Christ’s self-giving pattern rather than mere rule-following, emphasizing how faith and practice are integrated through imitation of Christ’s cruciform example rather than abstract moral principles. This framework addresses practical atheism by demonstrating how authentic Christian faith necessarily transforms behavior through participatory ethics grounded in Christ’s pattern rather than cultural or political allegiances. Drawing from Paul’s call to "have the same mind" as Christ in Philippians 2:5-11, cruciform imitation establishes the cross as both revelation of divine character and pattern for Christian living, challenging reductions of Christianity to either abstract beliefs or external rule-following.

Theological Alternative

APA: Geevarghese-Uffman, C. (2025). Cruciform Imitation. Political Theology Lexicon. Common Life Politics. https://www.commonlifepolitics.com/p/lexicon

Chicago: Geevarghese-Uffman, Craig. “Cruciform Imitation.” Political Theology Lexicon. Accessed [date]. https://www.commonlifepolitics.com/p/lexicon.

MLA: Geevarghese-Uffman, Craig. “Cruciform Imitation.” Political Theology Lexicon, 2025, www.commonlifepolitics.com/p/lexicon.

Theological: Geevarghese-Uffman, Craig. “Cruciform Imitation.” In Political Theology Lexicon. Digital theological resource. https://www.commonlifepolitics.com/p/lexicon (accessed [date]).

Christian ethics emerges from participation in Christ’s self-giving pattern revealed in Philippians 2:5-11 rather than external rule application, emphasizing transformation through union with Christ rather than moral compliance

The cross reveals God’s character of self-giving love rather than merely being instrumental to salvation, establishing divine nature as kenotic love that becomes pattern for human relationships and community life

Moral action flows from being "in Christ" rather than external rule application, following Paul’s understanding of being "crucified with Christ" in Galatians 2:19-20 as participatory reality

Christian practice involves being conformed to Christ’s pattern demonstrated through concrete practices like foot-washing rather than merely following abstract principles

Christianity reduced to abstract theological beliefs without practical implications, separating faith from works in ways that contradict James’s teaching that “faith without works is dead”

Christian ethics reduced to mere rule-following without transformation, treating Scripture as legal code rather than formative narrative

Cross understood merely as instrumental to salvation rather than revelatory of divine character, reducing crucifixion to transaction rather than revelation

Christian formation separated from participation in Christ’s pattern, treating sanctification as external conformity rather than internal transformation through union with Christ

Grounded in Paul’s call to "have the mind of Christ" in Philippians 2:5-11 and his understanding of being "crucified with Christ" in Galatians 2:19-20

Emphasizes participatory ethics through union with Christ rather than external moral compliance, following Reformed emphasis on union with Christ as foundation for sanctification

Integrates contemplative spirituality with ethical transformation through practices that embody Christ’s self-giving pattern in concrete relationships and community life

Challenges both abstract theology disconnected from practice and moralism disconnected from theological foundation, maintaining integration of faith and works

Demonstrates love for enemies as distinctive mark of Christian discipleship following Matthew 5:43-48

Christological grounding in Christ’s incarnation, death, and resurrection as pattern for human life rather than merely substitutionary transaction

Pneumatological empowerment for cruciform living through Spirit’s work in transformation and sanctification

Ecclesiological understanding of church as community of formation through practices that embody Christ’s pattern

Soteriological integration of justification and sanctification through participatory understanding of salvation

Paul’s call to "have the same mind" as Christ in Philippians 2:5-11 establishing kenotic self-emptying as pattern for Christian ethics

Jesus’s teaching that disciples must "take up their cross" in Mark 8:34 demonstrating cruciform pattern as universal Christian calling

Paul’s understanding of being "crucified with Christ" in Galatians 2:19-20 as participatory reality rather than metaphor

Jesus’s washing disciples’ feet as pattern for their relationships in John 13:1-17 providing concrete demonstration of imitable pattern

Love of enemies in Matthew 5:43-48 as distinctive mark of Christian discipleship

Early church sharing in Acts 2:42-47 as economic expression of cruciform imitation

Communities practicing non-violent resistance to oppression following Christ’s example of confronting injustice through self-giving love rather than violent opposition

Economic practices prioritizing common good over self-interest, demonstrated through intentional communities and mutual aid networks

Leadership models based on service rather than domination, implementing servant leadership principles in organizational and institutional contexts

Presence with suffering rather than merely solving problems, following Wells’ “being with” framework that emphasizes incarnational solidarity

Restorative justice practices that prioritize reconciliation over retribution, embodying Christ’s pattern of forgiveness and restoration

Stanley Hauerwas’s development of virtue ethics through narrative theology, emphasizing character formation within distinctive Christian community

Douglas Campbell’s participatory soteriology demonstrating how salvation involves actual transformation rather than merely legal status change

Sarah Coakley’s integration of kenotic spirituality with systematic theology, providing contemplative foundation for cruciform living

Michael Gorman’s biblical analysis of “cruciform Paul,” demonstrating participation in Christ’s crucifixion as organizing principle for Christian existence

Biblical: Paul’s participatory theology, Gospel accounts of Jesus’s teaching on discipleship

Traditional: Monastic tradition’s emphasis on imitatio Christi, patristic understanding of theosis through participation

Reformed: Calvin on union with Christ, contemporary Reformed emphasis on participation in Christ’s death and resurrection

Cross-Denominational: Stanley Hauerwas (Methodist virtue ethics), Sarah Coakley (Anglican kenotic spirituality), Douglas Campbell (Methodist participatory soteriology), Samuel Wells (Anglican incarnational ministry)

Liberation: Liberation theology’s emphasis on following Christ through solidarity with poor and marginalized

Academic: Michael Gorman on cruciform Paul, virtue ethics tradition’s emphasis on character formation through practices

Related Primary Concepts: [Participatory Soteriology](placeholder-url), [Being With](placeholder-url), [Kenotic Love](placeholder-url)

Key Mutations: [Practical Atheism](placeholder-url), [Binary Apocalypticism](placeholder-url), [Prosperity Materialism](placeholder-url), [Authoritarian Spirituality](placeholder-url)

Contemporary Movements: [Virtue Ethics](placeholder-url), [Liberation Theology](placeholder-url), [Servant Leadership](placeholder-url)

Theological Alternatives: [Character Formation](placeholder-url), [Moral Formation](placeholder-url), [Union with Christ](placeholder-url), [Participatory Hermeneutics](placeholder-url)

Historical Context: [Monastic Tradition](placeholder-url), [Reformed Theology](placeholder-url), [Patristic Theology](placeholder-url)

2025-07-03

*This entry is part of the Political Theology Lexicon, accessible exclusively to subscribers. View the complete lexicon to explore related concepts and the full theoretical framework.*