James K. A. Smith
James K. A. Smith (born 1970) is Professor of Philosophy at Calvin College and a notable figure in Radical Orthodoxy, a postmodern Christian movement. His work is undertaken at the borderlands between philosophy, theology, ethics, aesthetics, science, and politics. Informed by a long Augustinian tradition of theological cultural critique—from Augustine and Calvin to Edwards and Kuyper—his interests are in bringing critical thought to bear on the practices of the church and the church's witness to culture.[1]
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[edit] Life
Smith was born in Embro, Ontario and currently resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
[edit] Education
Smith completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Waterloo and Emmaus Bible College. He earned an M.Phil. in philosophical theology at the Institute for Christian Studies where he studied under James Olthuis. He went on to receive a Ph.D. from Villanova University where he worked with noted deconstructionist John D. Caputo. After teaching for a short time at Loyola Marymount University, Smith accepted his current position at Calvin College. He currently resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
[edit] Work
As a leading proponent of Radical Orthodoxy, Smith's claim is that it is actually theology or, more specifically, the story told by the church that is capable of countering modernism. His popular-level work largely aims at educating evangelicals regarding postmodernism and radical orthodoxy. Though he is critical of the emergent church movement, it should be said that he is at the same time sympathetic to much that could be described as part of that movement. It seems that a primary concern in his work is to expose certain postmodern philosophical claims (and certain ecclesial attempts to work with them) as not actually postmodern enough, pointing out instead that they too have accepted the agenda set by the enlightenment. This is seen in his warnings that the emergent tendency away from historic ecclesial tradition is a grave mistake, and that putting down roots, committing to a community for the long haul, and engaging the deep discourses within historic Christian orthodoxy are in fact the truly post- or counter-modern practices for the church today.
Given his training in continental philosophy and in the theology of the Reformed and Pentecostal traditions, his intellectual interests are a natural fit. Smith's research topics range from the continental philosophy of religion to urban altruism to the relationship between science and theology.
[edit] Bibliography
- (2000) The Fall of Interpretation: Philosophical Foundations for a Creational Hermeneutic
- (2002) Speech and Theology: Language and the Logic of Incarnation
- (2004) 101 Key Terms in Philosophy and Their Importance for Theology, with Kelly James Clark & Richard Lints
- (2004) Introducing Radical Orthodoxy: Mapping a Post-secular Theology, foreword by John Milbank
- (2004) translation of The Crossing of the Visible, by Jean-Luc Marion
- (2004) The Hermeneutics of Charity: Interpretation, Selfhood, and Postmodern Faith (festschrift for James Olthuis), editor with Henry Isaac Venema
- (2005) Jacques Derrida: Live Theory
- (2005) Radical Orthodoxy and the Reformed Tradition: Creation, Covenant, and Participation, editor with James Olthuis
- (2006) Hermeneutics at the Crossroads, editor with Bruce Ellis Benson & Kevin J. Vanhoozer
- (2006) Who's Afraid of Postmodernism?: Taking Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault to Church
- (2009) The Devil Reads Derrida: and Other Essays on the University, the Church, Politics, and the Arts
- (2009) Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation
- (2010) Thinking in Tongues: Penecostal Contributions to Christian Philosophy
[edit] See also
- List of thinkers influenced by deconstruction
- Postmodern Christianity
- Radical Orthodoxy
- Deconstruction and religion
[edit] References
- ^ "Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation". January Series at Calvin College. Calvin College. http://www.calvin.edu/january/2010/smith.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
[edit] External links
[edit] Personal homepage
[edit] Critical reviews
- Christianity Today: What's so Radical about Orthodoxy? Review of Introducing Radical Orthodoxy: Mapping a Post-secular Theology, by Ashley Woodiwiss
- Evangelicals Now: Introducing Radical Orthodoxy Response to a review of Introducing Radical Orthodoxy: Mapping a Post-secular Theology, by Paul Helm
- Review/Summary of "Limited Inc/arnation" (PDF) Summary and review of Smith's essay in Hermeneutics at the Crossroads.
