Download or read book Children of a Compassionate God written by L. John Topel and published by Liturgical Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Luke 1-6:16 forms the literary context for the Sermon on the Plain. This context grounds Jesus' teaching authority as the Son of God. The beatitudes and woes (6:20-26) establish a revolutionary vision of the authentic human life. The love commandment is grounded in two general ethical principles - the Golden Rule (6:31) as a maxim of general altruism and the imitatio Dei (6:36) making human conduct respond to the deepest human desires intimated in the Rule. Consequently, Christian disciples are to avoid hostile judgment, as their master did; one can judge truly only by examining the fruits one produces. These commands, which carry human authenticity beyond its limits, are the only way to avoid total destruction.