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Showing 1 - 25 of 38 matches in All Departments
Who would have guessed that something as austere as Calvinism would become a hot topic in today's postmodern culture? At the 500th anniversary of John Calvin's birth, new generations have discovered and embraced a "New Calvinism," finding in the Reformed tradition a rich theological vision. In fact, "Time "cited New Calvinism as one of "10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now." This book provides pastoral and theological counsel, inviting converts to this tradition to find in Calvin a vision that's even bigger than the New Calvinism might suggest. Offering wisdom at the intersection of theology and culture, noted Reformed philosopher James K. A. Smith also provides pastoral caution about pride and maturity. The creative letter format invites young Calvinists into a faithful conversation that reaches back to Paul and Augustine, through Calvin and Edwards, extending to Kuyper and Wolterstorff. Together they sketch a comprehensive vision of Calvinism that is generous, winsome, and imaginative.
The Avett Brothers sing of a spiritual yearning present in modern culture. Without being overtly religious, theological underpinnings are prevalent in their music. The contributors in this book delve into the Avett Brother's explicit and implicit theology with an eye on how they help make sense of our secular age. Theology and the Avett Brothers offers a rich contemplation on how these brothers from North Carolina help listeners navigate the religious consciousness of today's world, exploring themes like the good life, virtue formation, empathy, ministry models, and dying.
As Christians engage controversial cultural issues, we must remember that "all things hold together in Christ" (Col. 1:17)--even when it comes to science and faith. In this anthology, top Christian thinkers--including Robert Barron, Timothy George, Stanley Hauerwas, Alasdair MacIntyre, Mark Noll, and N. T. Wright--invite us to find resources for faithful, creative thinking in the riches of the church's theological heritage and its worship traditions.
In this provocative book James K. A. Smith, one of the most engaging Christian scholars of our day, offers an innovative approach to hermeneutics. The second edition of Smith's well-received debut book provides updated interaction with contemporary hermeneutical discussions and responds to criticisms.
God is infinite, but language finite; thus speech would seem to
condemn Him to finitude. In speaking of God, would the theologian
violate divine transcendence by reducing God to immanence, or
choose, rather, to remain silent? At stake in this argument is a
core problem of the conditions of divine revelation. How, in terms
of language and the limitations of human understanding, can
transcendence ever be made known? Does its very appearance not
undermine its transcendence, its condition of unknowability?
God is infinite, but language finite; thus speech would seem to condemn Him to finitude. In speaking of God, would the theologian violate divine transcendence by reducing God to immanence, or choose, rather, to remain silent? At stake in this argument is a core problem of the conditions of divine revelation. How, in terms of language and the limitations of human understanding, can transcendence ever be made known? Does its very appearance not undermine its transcendence, its condition of unknowability? Speech and Theology posits that the paradigm for the encounter between the material and the divine, or the immanent and transcendent, is found in the Incarnation: God's voluntary self-immersion in the human world as an expression of His love for His creation. By this key act of grace, hinged upon Christs condescension to human finitude, philosophy acquires the means not simply to speak of perfection, which is to speak theologically, but to bridge the gap between word and thing in general sense.
Following his successful "Who's Afraid of Postmodernism?" leading
Christian philosopher James K. A. Smith introduces the
philosophical sources behind postliberal theology. Offering a
provocative analysis of relativism, Smith provides an introduction
to the key voices of pragmatism: Ludwig Wittgenstein, Richard
Rorty, and Robert Brandom.
Publishers Weekly starred review One of the Top 100 Books and One of the 5 Best Books in Religion for 2019, Publishers Weekly Christianity Today 2020 Book Award Winner (Spiritual Formation) Outreach 2020 Resource of the Year (Spiritual Growth) Foreword INDIES 2019 Honorable Mention for Religion This is not a book about Saint Augustine. In a way, it's a book Augustine has written about each of us. Popular speaker and award-winning author James K. A. Smith has spent time on the road with Augustine, and he invites us to take this journey too, for this ancient African thinker knows far more about us than we might expect. Following Smith's successful You Are What You Love, this book shows how Augustine can be a pilgrim guide to a spirituality that meets the complicated world we live in. Augustine, says Smith, is the patron saint of restless hearts--a guide who has been there, asked our questions, and knows our frustrations and failed pursuits. Augustine spent a lifetime searching for his heart's true home and he can help us find our way. "What makes Augustine a guide worth considering," says Smith, "is that he knows where home is, where rest can be found, what peace feels like, even if it is sometimes ephemeral and elusive along the way." Addressing believers and skeptics alike, this book shows how Augustine's timeless wisdom speaks to the worries and struggles of contemporary life, covering topics such as ambition, sex, friendship, freedom, parenthood, and death. As Smith vividly and colorfully brings Augustine to life for 21st-century readers, he also offers a fresh articulation of Christianity that speaks to our deepest hungers, fears, and hopes.
Painting, according to Jean-Luc Marion, is a central topic of
concern for philosophy, particularly phenomenology. For the
question of painting is, at its heart, a question of visibility--of
appearance. As such, the painting is a privileged case of the
phenomenon; the painting becomes an index for investigating the
conditions of appearance--or what Marion describes as
"phenomenality" in general.
In this culmination of his widely read and highly acclaimed Cultural Liturgies project, James K. A. Smith examines politics through the lens of liturgy. What if, he asks, citizens are not only thinkers or believers but also lovers? Smith explores how our analysis of political institutions would look different if we viewed them as incubators of love-shaping practices--not merely governing us but forming what we love. How would our political engagement change if we weren't simply looking for permission to express our "views" in the political sphere but actually hoped to shape the ethos of a nation, a state, or a municipality to foster a way of life that bends toward shalom? This book offers a well-rounded public theology as an alternative to contemporary debates about politics. Smith explores the religious nature of politics and the political nature of Christian worship, sketching how the worship of the church propels us to be invested in forging the common good. This book creatively merges theological and philosophical reflection with illustrations from film, novels, and music and includes helpful exposition and contemporary commentary on key figures in political theology.
Malls, stadiums, and universities are actually liturgical
structures that influence and shape our thoughts and affections.
Humans--as Augustine noted--are "desiring agents," full of longings
and passions; in brief, we are what we love.
Christianity Today Book Award Winner Martin Institute and Dallas Willard Center Book Award You are what you love. But you might not love what you think. In this book, award-winning author James K. A. Smith shows that who and what we worship fundamentally shape our hearts. And while we desire to shape culture, we are not often aware of how culture shapes us. We might not realize the ways our hearts are being taught to love rival gods instead of the One for whom we were made. Smith helps readers recognize the formative power of culture and the transformative possibilities of Christian practices. He explains that worship is the "imagination station" that incubates our loves and longings so that our cultural endeavors are indexed toward God and his kingdom. This is why the church and worshiping in a local community of believers should be the hub and heart of Christian formation and discipleship. Following the publication of his influential work Desiring the Kingdom, Smith received numerous requests from pastors and leaders for a more accessible version of that book's content. No mere abridgment, this new book draws on years of Smith's popular presentations on the ideas in Desiring the Kingdom to offer a fresh, bottom-up rearticulation. The author creatively uses film, literature, and music illustrations to engage readers and includes new material on marriage, family, youth ministry, and faith and work. He also suggests individual and communal practices for shaping the Christian life.
2013 Word Guild Award (Academic) How does worship work? How exactly does liturgical formation shape us? What are the dynamics of such transformation? In the second of James K. A. Smith's three-volume theology of culture, the author expands and deepens the analysis of cultural liturgies and Christian worship he developed in his well-received Desiring the Kingdom. He helps us understand and appreciate the bodily basis of habit formation and how liturgical formation--both "secular" and Christian--affects our fundamental orientation to the world. Worship "works" by leveraging our bodies to transform our imagination, and it does this through stories we understand on a register that is closer to body than mind. This has critical implications for how we think about Christian formation. Professors and students will welcome this work as will pastors, worship leaders, and Christian educators. The book includes analyses of popular films, novels, and other cultural phenomena, such as The King's Speech, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest, and Facebook.
The philosophies of French thinkers Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault
form the basis for postmodern thought and are seemingly at odds
with the Christian faith. However, James K. A. Smith claims that
their ideas have been misinterpreted and actually have a deep
affinity with central Christian claims.
Although God is making a comeback in our society, popular culture
still takes its orders from the Enlightenment, a movement that
denied faith a prominent role in society. Today, many are
questioning this elevation of reason over faith. How should
Christians respond to a secular world that continues to push faith
to the margins?
★ Publishers Weekly starred review 2023 Christian Book Award® Winner (Christian Living) Christianity Today 2023 Book Award Finalist (Christian Living & Spiritual Formation) Outreach 2023 Recommended Resource (Christian Living) A "Best Book of 2022," Englewood Review of Books "This incisive and eloquent volume will expand readers' minds."--Publishers Weekly "A beautifully written book. . . . [Smith] offers a good, pastoral word to Christians today."--Christian Century Many Christians live a faith that is "nowhen." They are disconnected from the past or imagine they are somehow "above" the flux of history, as if every generation starts with a clean state. They lack an awareness of time and the effects of history--both personal and collective--and thus are naive about current issues, prone to nostalgia, or fixated on the end times and other doomsday versions of the future. Popular speaker and award-winning author James K. A. Smith explains that we must reckon with the past in order to discern the present and have hope for the future. Integrating popular culture, biblical exposition, and meditation, he helps us develop a sense of "temporal awareness" that is attuned to the texture of history, the vicissitudes of life, and the tempo of the Spirit. Smith shows that awakening to the spiritual significance of time is crucial for orienting faith in the twenty-first century. It allows us to become indebted to the past, oriented toward the future, and faithful in the present.
Learn to think deeply about the relationship between church and state in a way that goes beyond mere policy debates and current campaigns. Few topics can grab headlines and stir passions quite like politics, especially when the church is involved. Considering the attention that many Christian parachurch groups, churches, and individual believers give to politics--and of the varying and sometimes divergent political ideals and aims among them--Five Views on the Church and Politics provides a helpful breakdown of the possible Christian approaches to political involvement. General Editor Amy Black brings together five top-notch political theologians in the book, each representing one of the five key political traditions within Christianity: Anabaptist (Separationist: the most limited possible Christian involvement in politics) - represented by Thomas Heilke Lutheran (Paradoxical: strong separation of church and state) - represented by Robert Benne Black Church (Prophetic: the church's mission is to be a voice for communal reform) - represented by Bruce Fields Reformed (Transformationist: emphasizes God's sovereignty over all things, including churches and governments) - represented by James K. A. Smith Catholic (Synthetic: encouragement of political participation as a means to further the common good of all people) - represented by J. Brian Benestad Each author addresses his tradition's theological distinctives, the role of government, the place of individual Christian participation in government and politics, and how churches should (or should not) address political questions. Responses by each contributor to opposing views will highlight key areas of difference and disagreement. Thorough and even-handed, Five Views on the Church and Politics will enable readers to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the most significant Christian views on political engagement and to draw their own, informed conclusions.
An alternative, uniquely Christian response to the growing global challenges of deep religious difference. In the last fifty years, millions of Muslims have migrated to Europe and North America. Their arrival has ignited a series of fierce public debates on both sides of the Atlantic about religious freedom and tolerance, terrorism and security, gender and race, and much more. How can Christians best respond to this situation? In this book theologian and ethicist Matthew Kaemingk offers a thought-provoking Christian perspective on the growing debates over Muslim presence in the West. Rejecting both fearful nationalism and romantic multiculturalism, Kaemingk makes the case for a third way-a Christian pluralism that is committed to both the historic Christian faith and the public rights, dignity, and freedom of Islam.
Painting, according to Jean-Luc Marion, is a central topic of
concern for philosophy, particularly phenomenology. For the
question of painting is, at its heart, a question of visibility--of
appearance. As such, the painting is a privileged case of the
phenomenon; the painting becomes an index for investigating the
conditions of appearance--or what Marion describes as
"phenomenality" in general.
Christian philosophy and philosophy of religion tend to be dominated by analytic approaches, which have brought a valuable logical rigor to the discussion of matters of belief. However, the perspectives of continental philosophy-in particular, the continental emphasis on embodied forms of knowing-still have much to offer to the conversation and our understanding of what it means to be both rational and faithful in a postmodern world. The Nicene Option represents the full sweep of James K. A. Smith's work in continental philosophy of religion over the past twenty years. Animated by the conviction that a philosophy of religion needs to be philosophical reflection on the practice of religion, as a "form of life" (as Wittgenstein would say), this book makes the case for the distinct contribution that phenomenology-as a philosophy of experience-can make to philosophy of religion and Christian philosophy. Engaging a range of philosophers in this tradition, including Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger, Jacques Derrida, Emmanuel Levinas, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Jean-Luc Marion, Richard Rorty, and Charles Taylor, Smith's constructive proposal coheres around what he describes as "the logic of incarnation," a "Nicene option" in contemporary philosophy of religion. By grounding philosophy of religion in the doctrinal heart of Christian confession, Smith gestures toward a uniquely robust Christian philosophy. Besides issuing a clarion call for the renaissance of continental philosophy of religion, The Nicene Option also offers a glimpse behind the scholarly curtain for a wider audience of readers familiar with Smith's popular works such as Who's Afraid of Postmodernism?, Desiring the Kingdom, Imagining the Kingdom, and You Are What You Love-all of which are tacitly informed by the phenomenological approach articulated in this book. As an extended footnote to those works-which for many readers have been gateways to philosophy- The Nicene Option presents an invitation to a new depth of reflection.
Publishers Weekly starred review One of the Top 100 Books and One of the 5 Best Books in Religion for 2019, Publishers Weekly Christianity Today 2020 Book Award Winner (Spiritual Formation) Outreach 2020 Resource of the Year (Spiritual Growth) Foreword INDIES 2019 Honorable Mention for Religion This is not a book about Saint Augustine. In a way, it's a book Augustine has written about each of us. Popular speaker and award-winning author James K. A. Smith has spent time on the road with Augustine, and he invites us to take this journey too, for this ancient African thinker knows far more about us than we might expect. Following Smith's successful You Are What You Love, this book shows how Augustine can be a pilgrim guide to a spirituality that meets the complicated world we live in. Augustine, says Smith, is the patron saint of restless hearts--a guide who has been there, asked our questions, and knows our frustrations and failed pursuits. Augustine spent a lifetime searching for his heart's true home and he can help us find our way. "What makes Augustine a guide worth considering," says Smith, "is that he knows where home is, where rest can be found, what peace feels like, even if it is sometimes ephemeral and elusive along the way." Addressing believers and skeptics alike, this book shows how Augustine's timeless wisdom speaks to the worries and struggles of contemporary life, covering topics such as ambition, sex, friendship, freedom, parenthood, and death. As Smith vividly and colorfully brings Augustine to life for 21st-century readers, he also offers a fresh articulation of Christianity that speaks to our deepest hungers, fears, and hopes.
After Modernity? addresses a cluster of questions and issues found at the nexus of globalization and religion. This unique volume examines various religious--especially Christian--evaluations of and responses to globalization. In particular, the book considers the links among globalization, capitalism and secularization-and the ways in which "religion" is (or can be) deployed to address a range of "hot button" topics. With cross-disciplinary analyses, the collection argues consistently for the necessity of a "post-secular" evaluation of globalization that unapologetically draws on the resources of Christian faith. The "conservative radicalism" represented in these contributions will resonate with a broad audience of scholars and citizens who seek to put faith into action.
In Teaching and Christian Practices several university professors describe and reflect on their efforts to allow historic Christian practices to reshape and redirect their pedagogical strategies. Whether allowing spiritually formative reading to enhance a literature course, employing table fellowship and shared meals to reinforce concepts in a pre-nursing nutrition course, or using Christian hermeneutical practices to interpret data in an economics course, these teacher-authors envision ways of teaching and learning that are rooted in the rich tradition of Christian practices, as together they reconceive classrooms and laboratories as vital arenas for faith and spiritual growth.
The Devil Reads Derrida brings together essays and articles written for a general audience by a notable young voice in the church and the academy. A specialist in French philosophy and postmodernism, James K. A. Smith has also consistently sought to speak to the church as the most important -public- for his work. This book brings together some of Smith's most significant forays into the public arena, focusing especially on discipleship, the university, and politics and the church. It also provides a selection of his criticism, including essays on Harry Potter, A History of Violence, the poetry of Franz Wright, and much more. Smith's work as a Christian public intellectual brings theological wisdom into the service of lived discipleship. Whether grappling with the Wild at Heart phenomenon or the challenges of secularization, dealing with sex or consumerism, or commenting on The Devil Wears Prada orAmerican Beauty, Smith tackles each issue with clarity and insight, with scholarly rigor -- but always with an eye to Christian discipleship and the life of the church. |
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