James K.A. Smith
Full Name and Common Aliases
James K.A. Smith is a Canadian-American philosopher, author, and professor.
Birth and Death Dates
Born: October 30, 1971 (alive)
Nationality and Profession(s)
Nationality: Canadian-American
Professions: Philosopher, Author, Professor
Early Life and Background
James K.A. Smith was born on October 30, 1971, in Canada. Growing up in a Christian family, he was exposed to the intellectual and spiritual traditions of his faith from an early age. This foundation would later influence his philosophical pursuits.
Smith's academic journey began at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he earned his Bachelor's degree in Philosophy. He then pursued his Master's degree in Theology at Calvin Seminary, followed by a Doctorate in Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame.
Major Accomplishments
Throughout his career, Smith has made significant contributions to various fields:
As a philosopher, he has written extensively on topics such as the relationship between faith and reason, the nature of humanity, and the implications of postmodernism.
His work in Desire and Early Asceticism, a two-volume series, explores the intersection of desire and ascetic practices in early Christian thought.
Smith's influential book You Are What You Love examines how our loves shape us and offers a vision for reorienting our lives around God.Notable Works or Actions
Some notable works by James K.A. Smith include:
Desire and Early Asceticism: A Study of Clement of Alexandria
Imagining the Kingdom: Daily Life in the Words of Jesus
You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit
Impact and Legacy
James K.A. Smith's work has had a profound impact on various fields:
His philosophical contributions have influenced theologians, ethicists, and philosophers worldwide.
His writing on love and desire has inspired readers to reexamine their priorities and values.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
James K.A. Smith is widely quoted and remembered for his thought-provoking insights into the human condition, faith, and culture. His ability to bridge philosophical and theological perspectives has earned him a reputation as a leading voice in contemporary Christian thought.
Quotes by James K.A. Smith
![[Augustine's] is once again a realist spirituality that is trying to understand how to love what is mortal, how to live amid the ephemeral, how to deal with the crooked timber of our hearts and our penchant to deny all of this and cling to the mortal as if it were immortal.](/_vercel/image?url=https:%2F%2Flakl0ama8n6qbptj.public.blob.vercel-storage.com%2Fquotes%2Fquote-793502.png&w=1536&q=100)
[Augustine's] is once again a realist spirituality that is trying to understand how to love what is mortal, how to live amid the ephemeral, how to deal with the crooked timber of our hearts and our penchant to deny all of this and cling to the mortal as if it were immortal.
The question isn't whether you're going to believe, but who; it's not merely about what to believe, but who to entrust yourself to. Do we really think humanity is our best bet? Do we really think we are the the answer to our problems, we who've generated all of them? The problem with everything from Enlightenment scientism to mushy Eat-Pray-Love-ism is us. If anything looks irrational, it's the notion that we are our own best hope.
You can still be living in your childhood bedroom and have departed for a distant country. You can play the role of the “good son” with a heart that roams in a twilight beyond good and evil. You can even show up to church every week with a voracious appetite for idols. Not all prodigals need a passport.
It's not that we start with beliefs and doctrine and then come up with worship practices that properly "express" these (cognitive) beliefs; rather, we begin with worship, and articulated beliefs bubble up from there. "Doctrines" are the cognitive, theoretical articulation of what we "understand" when we pray.
James Smith argues that liturgies “are compressed, performed narratives that recruit the imagination through the body.
Whenever science attempts to legitimate itself, it is no longer scientific but narrative, appealing to an orienting myth that is not susceptible to scientific legitimation.
Our Christian faith - and correlatively, our account of apologetics - is tainted by modernism when we fail to appreciate the effects of sin on reason. When this is ignored, we adopt an Enlightenment optimism about the role of a supposedly neutral reason in the recognition of truth.
Or, to put it another way, presuppositional apologetics--such as that developed by Francis Schaeffer, but also by Cornelius Van Til and, to a degree, Herman Dooeyeweerd--rejects classical apologetics precisely because presuppositionalism recognizes the truth of Derrida's claim that everything is interpretation (though I am admittedly radicalizing their intuitions).
Discipline is aimed at formation for a specific end, and that end is determined by our founding narrative.
We have created youth ministry that confuses extroversion with faithfulness. We have effectively communicated to young people that sincerely following Jesus is synonymous with being 'fired up' for Jesus, with being excited for Jesus, as if discipleship were synonymous with fostering an exuberant, perky, cheerful, hurray-for-Jesus disposition like what we might find in the glee club or at a pep rally.