Book Reviews -- By: Matthew S. DeMoss

Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 171:684 (Oct 2014)
Article: Book Reviews
Author: Matthew S. DeMoss


Book Reviews

By The Faculty of Dallas Theological Seminary

Matthew S. DeMoss

Editor

Imagining the Kingdom: How Worship Works. By James K. A. Smith. Cultural Liturgies, vol. 2. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013. xx + 198 pp. $22.99.

Smith is professor of philosophy at Calvin College and a prolific writer on issues of Christian spirituality and culture. This volume is the second of a trilogy of works on a liturgical theology of culture.

The introduction sets the trajectory of the book. Smith explains, “The renewal of the church and the Christian university—a renewal of both Christian worship and Christian education—hinges on an understanding of human beings as ‘liturgical animals,’ creatures who can’t not worship and who are fundamentally formed by worship practices. The reason such liturgies are so formative is precisely because it is these liturgies, whether Christian or ‘secular,’ that shape what we love. And we are what we love” (pp. 3-4). The heart of Smith’s argument is this: “Because we are liturgical animals who are defined by what we love, and because our loves and desires are primed and shaped by formative practices, then a holistic model of Christian education—whether in the church, school, or university—needs to involve a pedagogy of desire. Such a pedagogy is not merely a conduit for disseminating information; a pedagogy of desire is a strategy for formation” (p. 12). Of worship he writes, “Worship isn’t a weekly retreat from reality into some escapist enclave; it is our induction into ‘the real world.’ Worship is the space in which we learn to take the right things for granted precisely so we can bear witness to the world that is to come and, in the power of the Spirit’s transformation, labor to make and remake God’s world in accord with his desires for creation” (pp. 2-3).

The first part of the book develops a theology of the body, a liturgical anthropology, rooted in the works of “phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty and social theorist Pierre Bourdieu” (p. 29). Although necessary and helpful, some readers will find this section difficult to follow, especially in comparison with what follows, which applies the theory to the practice of worship. In particular Smith unpacks “the centrality of the imagination and the importance of the arts in sanctifying our perception for the sake of Christian action—for the sake of the kingdom” (p. 102).

The final chapter, “Restor(y)ing the World: Christian Formation for Mission,” is worth the price of the book. It should be required reading for everyone who is involv...

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