Moved by Compassion: Exploring the Core of Orthodox Christian Spiritual Life

by John D. Jones

Though compassion lies at the heart of the Gospel, it has been little studied in its own right. This book, written by an accomplished scholar yet accessible to the lay reader, fills that void by drawing on the broad and ancient tradition of the Orthodox Church.

398 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 8, 2022

Reviews

[w gall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Four stars for lay Christians, five stars for the select audience of those familiar with Orthodox Christian theological writings and an acquaintance with philosophy. Aside from the detailed analysis, one comes away with a sense of the importance of compassion in our lives in God. Dr. Jones especially delineates the difference in meaning of the words pity and compassion. He uses stories to illustrate his points, which allows the lay reader to grasp his meaning.

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jones explores the concept of compassion and related terms like pity, empathy, mercy and sympathy. He looks at the Hebrew and Greek words which are translated into compassion and its related terms. He looks at compassion also from a philosophical point of view, as well as a moral one. He explores some of the difficult dilemmas we are confronted with when we practice compassion. The root words for compassion and its cognates imply in humans deeply felt visceral responses (they affect our body and organs). This is interesting because they are also applied to God who is bodiless and yet experiences compassion which also tells us that compassion is not merely visceral nor emotional but related to the will.