Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation by James K.A. Smith

Apr 13, 2013 Matthew rated it 4 of 5 stars

His argument is that humans are desiring creatures, not simply rational creatures. This involves embodied existence that is most powerfully shaped by practices. Thus, he commends Christian practices (a "new monasticism") that bring about holistic formation, rather than just teaching that shapes ideas. I am in sympathy with his anthropology, though I think he underemphasizes the role of language and reason in shaping the human. Perhaps this is a bit of an overreaction to a long period of cerebral...more

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May 25, 2013 Jake Belder rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own

I originally read this book when it first came out in 2009, but just read it again a few weeks ago before I read the follow-up volume, Imagining the Kingdom. In all honesty, this remains one of the best books I have ever read. Smith's main thesis is that we are shaped not primarily by what we think, but by the things we love and desire. He notes that Christians have spent a good deal of time focusing on what we ought to think and believe, but have missed a trick that many others have well unders...more

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Aug 08, 2012 Ryan rated it 5 of 5 stars

The central point of Smith's entire argument in this work is that we, as human beings, are not primarily thinking animals (modern anthropology), nor are we believing animals (world-view anthropology), but first and foremost we are desiring, worshiping (liturgical) animals. Just as it has been demonstrated that world-view shapes our thinking, or our rationality, so liturgical practices shape our worldview. Smith explicates three secular liturgies - the mall (economic), the stadium (political), an...more

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Apr 23, 2012 Al Soto rated it 4 of 5 stars

The growing trend of implementing various philosophical and theological approaches using the developmental aim of "Spiritual Formation" is becoming much more popular as people desire to connect that which is ancient and apply into our modern context. This is most evident in the arena of human development and the relationship between cognitive development and the relationship it has with spiritual maturity. In simplicity the debate is focused on the one side an education based on an Informational...more
The growing trend of implementing various philosophical and theological approaches using the developmental aim of "Spiritual Formation" is becoming much more popular as people desire to connect that which is ancient and apply into our modern context. This is most evident in the arena of human development and the relationship between cognitive development and the relationship it has with spiritual maturity. In simplicity the debate is focused on the one side an education based on an Informational Model that focuses on that which cognitive in contrast to what is being presented as a Formational model that attempts to integrate that which is both cognitive and that which shapes the "kardia" or heart of a person. Thus, within the Christian community the entry point into the discussion begins with developing a perspective concerning the nature of man in relationship with his Creator. It is in this matrix that present day scholars perceive Spiritual Formation as being profoundly social. For instance, Dallas Willard states, "For all that is between me and God affects who I am; and that, in turn, modifies my relationship to everyone around me." He goes on to write, "My relationship to others also modifies me and deeply affects my relationship to God. Hence those relationships must be transformed if I am to be transformed." It is in addressing the modern debate of how people are formed in Christian Education that James K.A. Smith, in his book Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview and Cultural Formation, the first of a three volume set states, " If we consider these two very different understandings of education (the informative and the formative, and the different understandings of the human person that are at work behind them, I suggest that, over the past decades, institutions of Christian Education have unwittingly absorbed the former and eschewed the latter. Many Christian schools, colleges, and universities - particularly in the Protestant tradition - have taken on board a picture of the human person that owes more to modernity and the Enlightenment than it does to the holistic, biblical vision of human persons." It is in response to this issue that James K. A. Smith presents that most Protestant Christian Education has absorbed philosophical anthropology that sees human persons as primarily thinking things which then promotes and understanding of education largely in terms of information which makes its end the dissemination and communication of Christian ideas rather than the formation of a peculiar people. It is in light of this understanding that the author presents that this now manifested in the way the vision of Christian Education is articulated in the terms of "a Christian worldview." It is then important to understand that the author is in no way avoiding the foundation of theological expression for a more social anthropological perspective but is in fact using anthropology as one of the sectional disciplines of theology to present his thesis concerning man created in the Image of God (imago dei), as a calling to a Mission that only man is the steward of in all of creation. There are some researchers that affirm that because the concept of imago Dei in the New Testament is not only anthropological but Christological and soteriological that the only way to bridge that which is held precious to man in terms of belief with that which is cognitive in the holistic formation of people that only theology can provide a more complete portrait of the formation of people in their humanness. Thus, there can be critique that Smith's discussion concerning worldview with the employment of counter-anthropology which can be understood in Smith's question: "What if education wasn't first and foremost about what we know, but about what we love?" The argument that Smith presents is that we have an anemic vision of the human person because we treat them more as thinkers or believers rather than lovers. It is with this statement of the author defaulting to a more philosophical anthropology that criticism could be levied that he does not engage this topic theologically. It is the humble opinion of this student that though Smith's vision would offer theologian's much to think about in terms of Christian Education his use of the word telos in from the perspective of philosophical anthropology will not be theologically substantive enough to meet the depth of understanding from the areas of Christian Theology such as the ontological study of God, or Christology and Pneumatology. Smith's theological thought I think will be considered underdeveloped. It is my presentation of Smith's philosophical anthropology that the discussion of man being created in the image of God becomes the foundation for Smith to argue that man primarily was made to worship and being created in the image of God is not a thing but rather a calling and vocation. It is here that I would argue that though Smith is not approaching this subject on the basis of a systematic theology in which each one of sections of discipline is being presented in an organized fashion neither do I not perceive Smith avoiding the topics in these areas of discipline. Matter of fact, if you were to review the four approaches of understanding imago Dei: (1) First, the moral characteristics inside of man; (2) Second, a functional view, identifying the God-ordained purpose and work specific to humans; (3) Third, a relational view that sees it as man's social and relational capacity; (4) Fourth, a teleological view suggesting it is reflective of the ultimate objective of human existence. Smith attempts to not present these topics in pieces, but instead, present it in the historical event of God breaking into human history with the establishment of His Kingdom. Thus, we are fully created in God's image with a calling that is found in the person of Christ and his vocation who modeled how to live in the kingdom. Simply our doing flows out of our being and what we have loved is what we will become. It is my assumption that Smith would agree with the assessment of Greg R. Allison of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary when discussing imago Dei not being understood in separate parts like a jigsaw puzzle but rather in our humanness we are constructed holistically that in our entirety are created in the image of God.

Therefore, Smith contextualizes man being created in the image of God using the language of George Eldon Ladd's description of the present "in between times" of the kingdom of God being the now but the not yet. This was central to the calling of Jesus of being the fullness of the image of God, thus accomplishing that creational task that was given to Adam which all is made complete by act and liturgy that the Cross represents (this students language not the author's). This finds its foundation in the use of the word liturgy. For the author, there are both "sacred" and "secular" liturgies at work that are attempting to grip the affection of humanity. The sacred makes the unfortunate attempt of seeking people's hearts by lecturing them, while the secular grasps at desiring humanity where they desire - their loves. The foundational thought for Smith is that liturgies form our most fundamental desires and our most basic attunement to the world. The manifestation of ultimate love using the vehicle of liturgy is that humanity worships which is not always what we are thinking. What Smith attempts to do is to present that what man desires is ultimately transcendent and using the cognitive approach of "Worldview" what inherently occurs is that people no longer live as eschatological beings in the immediate present but instead are always out of step with the times they live in never connecting with that which would truly form them. For Smith to really live as one who is being formed into Christ it is necessary to practice in our liturgy our personal confession to be completely dependent on God.

Conclusion:
I enjoyed reading Smith's book and feel that his attempt of use of philosophical anthropology will receive criticism from those of the theological community for not being more robust in its breadth. I also struggled with Smith's use of Aristotle when discussing habits, because virtue is defined as doing the right thing without having to think about it. Therefore, he sets forth by use of the imaginative are more non-cognitive approach to the implementation of what we believe. I think there are some other theologians throughout history that would have given a more balanced perspective of anthropology than the citing of Aristotle. The positive element that Smith attempts to do in this volume is harmonize how the Kingdom of God sets forth a whole new telos that not only engages the mind (though Smith for me goes too far in his presentation of minimizing the cognitive), and involves in the engaging of the passion of people the fact that he does not broaden his argument to engage other areas of discipline within a theological framework leaves me wondering if he develops this further in the next two volumes.
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Mar 16, 2012 Kathyk21 rated it 4 of 5 stars

The premise of Desiring the Kingdom is that because we are “desiring beings” rather than “thinking beings”, the most effective education for Christians would be a combination of those activities which involve both our materiality and spirituality, our bodies and emotions as well as our intellects. Having stated that thesis, James Smith explores the ways we are “culturally” educated into secular society, and then looks at what we do in liturgy and worship as educative activities that forms us int...more The premise of Desiring the Kingdom is that because we are “desiring beings” rather than “thinking beings”, the most effective education for Christians would be a combination of those activities which involve both our materiality and spirituality, our bodies and emotions as well as our intellects. Having stated that thesis, James Smith explores the ways we are “culturally” educated into secular society, and then looks at what we do in liturgy and worship as educative activities that forms us into Christians.
In examining the “culture” education to which we are exposed, Smith suggests what we are being taught about being consumers, about national loyalty, about love as sexuality. He asks the reader to evaluate the virtues of persons of “culture” education with what is valued as virtues of Christian persons. He then begins a lengthy examination of how we are educated as Christians through liturgy and worship. He looks at various parts of liturgy and describes what might be being taught in each. His insights into the cultural re-education provided by individual aspects of worship/liturgy awakened in me an appreciation for the ideal of what liturgical activities could mean. This section was the most valuable, insightful, and enriching part of the book for me.
If a reader didn’t have enough time or interest to study the full education argument of the book, the sections in Part 2, beginning with Chapter 4 describing liturgy and worship are worth reading and contemplating on their own. Smith has described worship/liturgy in ways that help us realize that what we do on Sundays really does/or can impact our activities and decisions for the whole week. He begins by asking why some people get up on Sundays, leave home and go to a church at a particular time. He answers by saying that some people are called, and respond to that call. What a privilege it is to have been called.
I would recommend Desiring the Kingdom. James Smith helps us see, question, and reevaluate our usual activities.
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Feb 20, 2012 Lori rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: educators, pastors, worship ministers, parents, theologians

Recommended to Lori by: Aaron Fortune

Shelves: theology-religious, education

One of my former students who is now a philosophy major at Covenant College suggested that I read this book -- no, he *urged* me to read it. And I'm so thankful.

Dr Smith serves on the philosophy faculty at Calvin College and has published several papers and books on the topic of postmodernism and the modern church. This book draws heavily on that background but launches into a totally different direction: the connection between worship and education.

In brief: Smith argues that more than "knowers...more One of my former students who is now a philosophy major at Covenant College suggested that I read this book -- no, he *urged* me to read it. And I'm so thankful.

Dr Smith serves on the philosophy faculty at Calvin College and has published several papers and books on the topic of postmodernism and the modern church. This book draws heavily on that background but launches into a totally different direction: the connection between worship and education.

In brief: Smith argues that more than "knowers" or "worldview-holders" or "believers," humans are at our cores "lovers" or "desirers." The way we define "the good life" (his accessible term for mankind's telos) affects everything about our morals, values, and beliefs. So targeting someone's worldview isn't going to really change how they are. You have to reshape what they LOVE.

Smith then argues that God has always intended for Church worship (liturgy in a broad sense) to be the tool whereby the Gospel challenges our sinful vision of the Good Life and replaces it with one that is biblically aligned. Thus, worship in all of its practices is essential to an effective Christian educational institution.

Along the way, Smith takes time to analyze the "liturgies" offered to us by the World. He attacks the mall/consumerism (easy to see), the military/industrial complex (hard for me to agree with) and a few others. Then Smith analyzes at length the typical, liturgical church service, pointing out all the ways the practices of corporate worship model for us a different way of thinking, valuing, and acting.

Despite some of my minor disagreements with Smith (I really don't think the government is out to destroy all that is good and happy), this is an outstanding read for anyone who wants a new way to view the human being within a Reformed theological construct. Usually Reformed thinking reduces people to being brains that need to believe certain ideas. Smith restores the heart to its proper place in our view of mankind, with an argument that I find theologically compelling. As such, it's welcome refreshment in what often seems to be a rather dry theological trudge through the world of Reformed practice.

Smith wrote the book as the opening of a trilogy on Christian education. But don't skip it if you're not an educator. Anyone interested in training the Christian mind (pastors, teachers, parents) will benefit from this book.

Warning -- this isn't entry-level Reformed thinking. If you aren't familiar with the more Dutch-flavored worldview of Al Wolters and Nik Woltersdorff, you really should read Wolters' excellent little book on the Reformed worldview first. It's called Creation Regained. (less)

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Sep 29, 2010 Christopher Perrin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Desiring a Kingdom School
Christopher A. Perrin

A review of Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation, by James K. A. Smith.

We all have ideals—ideals for a wonderful marriage, the best job, a superb vacation. Our ideals, however, are often fuzzy. What does the ideal church really look like? An ideal government? What about an ideal school?

Well to outline an ideal marriage involving the intersection of two inscrutable human beings is a difficult challenge, to actually live out...more

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May 06, 2011 John Caneday rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, favorites

This is an outstanding book about how humans are primarily oriented to the world by our desires or loves. Rather than thinking of ourselves as mere thinking creatures, we ought to realize that we are embodied creatures, that, while rational, are primarily motivated by desire. A recurring thesis throughout the book is that we are defined by what we love, by what we worship.

Here is a snippet of what Smith is arguing for:

“Being a disciple of Jesus is not primarily a matter of getting the right ide...more This is an outstanding book about how humans are primarily oriented to the world by our desires or loves. Rather than thinking of ourselves as mere thinking creatures, we ought to realize that we are embodied creatures, that, while rational, are primarily motivated by desire. A recurring thesis throughout the book is that we are defined by what we love, by what we worship.

Here is a snippet of what Smith is arguing for:

“Being a disciple of Jesus is not primarily a matter of getting the right ideas and doctrines and beliefs into your head in order to guarantee proper behavior; rather, it’s a matter of being the kind of person who loves rightly—who loves God and neighbor and is oriented to the world by the primacy of that love. We are made to be such people by our immersion in the material practices of Christian worship—through affective impact, over time, of sights and smell in water and wine.”

While Smith never actually calls for us to discipline our desires, he does stress the importance of forming our desires through Christian worship. Surprisingly, I don't think he ever references 1 Cor. 9:27: "I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified." This verse reverberated through my mind as I read the book, and is perhaps what the book is all about.

Smith contends that Christian worship is opposed to the "secular" liturgies that we contend with daily--liturgies of the mall or marketplace, liturgies of the sports stadium, liturgies of the university, etc. He shows how many of the places we attend in life are not the innocent experience we believe them to be, because they seem so mundane. But Smith argues that a trip to the mall, Target, or wherever, is in fact a liturgy in opposition to Christian worship. It is an experience that calls for your ultimate allegiance, that demands your worship in a way that we don't often recognize.

This is one of the most important and exciting books I've ever read. Highly, highly recommended!

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Apr 06, 2011 peter rated it 5 of 5 stars

Within a few pages, I knew that this book would become a foundational piece for me. It is challenging, written in an engaging voice, and full of implications for those who wrestle with communicating the Gospel of Jesus in contemporary culture.

The book has immediately impacted my own life: What are the stories I have implicitly bought into? How am I choosing to go about pursuing the longings of my own heart? Which practices should I incorporate in order to train myself toward relationship with my...more

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Sep 06, 2011 Chris Griffith rated it 4 of 5 stars

A critique of present worldview "thinking." Christians (as well as all human beings) are at heart not just thinkers but we are worshipers. We are all desiring a "kingdom," of one type or another. We are creatures with desires and we are lovers to the core. What we love, desire, and worship shapes what we think about the world. We don't just "think" but we are thinking about "some-thing." We are oriented toward one kingdom or another. Smith takes on the broad subject of cultural transformation th...more

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May 22, 2013 Bob rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: christian-theology, christianity-and-culture

Once in a while a book comes along that crystallizes the things you have been thinking and takes you further down the road. This was such a book. Smith contends that we are primarily "desiring animals" who think rather than "thinking things" who happen to have desires. He thinks much of Christian education has followed the latter conception and crucially fails to shape Christians who live and think Christianly. This is because their approaches failure to consider the importance of desire and the...more

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Dec 28, 2009 David rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoy reading Jamie Smith because I always find him challenging and insightful. This book was no exception. His over-arching strategy in this volume is to persuade us that human beings are fundamentally "liturgical, desiring animals", not "thinking animals" or "believing animals". And he angles this orientation towards the issue of education, which he states is too often misconstrued as the disimmenation of information, rather than the facilitation of formation.

Smith is engaging, prova...more I really enjoy reading Jamie Smith because I always find him challenging and insightful. This book was no exception. His over-arching strategy in this volume is to persuade us that human beings are fundamentally "liturgical, desiring animals", not "thinking animals" or "believing animals". And he angles this orientation towards the issue of education, which he states is too often misconstrued as the disimmenation of information, rather than the facilitation of formation.

Smith is engaging, provacative, and thoroughly conversant with contemporary philosophy. And he ably corrects an overemphasis on thoughts/beliefs in our understanding of the human person. I particularly appreciate his analysis of "secular liturgies" and how they shape us through forming (pre-cognitive) dispositions within us, that desire an alternative kingdom. Lots of wise and penetrating exegesis of cultural institutions like the mall (really, an exploration of marketing), the university, and the military-entertainment complex (think "nationalism enacted at sports events through Star-Spangled Banner, half-time shows where a gigantic flag is unfurled, etc...").

But this book has some considerable weaknesses, in my opinion.

1. While Smith states that he is only trying to situate more properly our thoughts and belief - not marginalize them altogether - the entire book is beset by agitating disjunctions between cognitive and affective aspects of the human person.

2. His "reading" of worldview proponents - a major foil for his thesis -strikes me as uncharitable. There is little significant engagement with thinkers in the "worldview" tradition, only scattered descriptive phrases that function more as rhetorical devices in his argument. Disappointed about this.

3. While Smith repeatedly (repetitively) emphasizes the importance of the affective and liturgical as the fundamental way our desires are "aimed", strangely, the genre of his book is didactic and theoretical. I wish he would have acknowledged more enthusiastically the role of the cognitive and reflective aspects of "being human", because he certainly believes in the essential importance of thinking/beleiving when he writes THIS KIND OF BOOK with a title like DESIRING the Kingdom.

4. Smith really struggles to concretely describe how his alternative model - a pedagogy of desire as opposed to (mere) intellect - might look when it is fleshed out. All his musings sound so abstract (even if attractive) - language like "imagining the world otherwise", forming a "peculiar people", etc... He chastizes Christian education for being oriented towards giving people a "Christian perspective" on their vocation. But he doesn't really adequately describe an alternative, in my opinion. What would his pedagoy of desire "produce" in a Christian engaged in the business world or in the practice of medicine or in the arts, that could not be appropriately classifed as having a "Christian perspective" (which would make a difference in their practice)? His (very brief!)) reflections sound no different than so-called "worldview thinkers". If his goal is simply to attend to the ways in which we are formed/shaped in pre-cognitive (or sub-cognitive?) fashion, it sounds more like a significant nuance or improvement to present practices, not the Copernican revolution that he continually states it to be.

5. Some of his musings on how "theology" arose out of worship seemed very sloppy to me. If he means systematic, critical reflection, then okay. Who disagrees with this???? But how does he account for the beliefs about Jesus that led people to worship in certain ways? I think he is vulnerable here, because he writes as if the affective-cognitive stream only flows one way. Or, at least, he doesn't carefully attend to the overlap and permeation between affective and cognitive aspects of being human.

6. Finally, while Smith engages the Scriptures to some degree in his exegesis of liturgy in Christian worship (pretty good chapter), he barely mentions the Scriptures in his development of his philosophical anthropology. I really would have liked him to do this, especially since everything else he says is predicated upon this (and he plans to write several more volumes in this series).

I do not intend these criticisms to discourage anyone from reading this book. It is well worth the read, and it has me thinking and reflecting on my own life and what "liturgies" are shaping me, what "social imaginaries" I inhabit in my culture/practices. (less)

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Apr 11, 2011 Tom rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, theory-philosophy-etc, christianity

Smith's task is a noble one: to reimagine Christian education (and Christianity in general) as being primarily based not in belief & worldview, but in embodied practices, i.e. liturgy. His argument, drawing on modern philosophers Charles Taylor and Martin Heidegger as well as Augustine and other church fathers, is compelling: our practices are pre-critical, shaping our beliefs. Thus, the wider culture is composed of various secular liturgies, all of which posit some vision of "the good life"...more Smith's task is a noble one: to reimagine Christian education (and Christianity in general) as being primarily based not in belief & worldview, but in embodied practices, i.e. liturgy. His argument, drawing on modern philosophers Charles Taylor and Martin Heidegger as well as Augustine and other church fathers, is compelling: our practices are pre-critical, shaping our beliefs. Thus, the wider culture is composed of various secular liturgies, all of which posit some vision of "the good life" (in Theodor Adorno's parlance*) or "the kingdom" (in biblical parlance), and it is the duty of Christian worship to run as a counter-liturgy, shaping us as creatures directed toward the Creator.

While I find Smith's general theory a welcome reinvestment in Christianity's fundamental emphasis on embodiment, the book itself seems to be split between two audiences. On the one hand, he wants to make his account of humanity philosophically viable and therefore gestures toward the philosophical underpinnings on which he draws; on the other hand, he is simultaneously attempting to reach a broader audience of Christian educators and worship leaders who may not be schooled in twentieth-century phenomenology or deconstruction. Intentions divided as such, he fails to satisfy either audience, being too heady for the general reader and insufficiently rigorous for the scholar.

Furthermore, Smith repeats his main points over and over and over to such an extent that it grows weary, tempting the reader to skim over introductions and conclusions, almost all of which simply summarize his main point: we need to think of all culture as liturgical in that it shapes us fundamentally.

Finally, for all that he sets out his goal to be a reimagining of the Christian college/university, Smith spends only one brief chapter (#6) devoted to the topic, the rest of the book focusing on the frame for this. Yet both are lacking: the chapter on Christian education offers very little (about 3-4 pages) in the way of actual suggestions for reconstituting the Christian college, while the framework is insufficiently thorough to satisfy a philosophically-minded reader.

Nonetheless, Smith's book is a much-needed introduction to a new anthropology that brings Christianity out of the realm of mere belief or emotion and back into the body. I only hope that volumes 2 and 3 in this series are more thorough, that they will deeply examine the issues which he skims in volume 1.

*From Minima Moralia. I think Smith's critique of culture could have been much more poignant had he chosen to engage with the Frankfurt School theorists.(less)

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Apr 10, 2013 Brian rated it 4 of 5 stars

Desiring the Kingdom is as close to a "must read" for pastors and worship leaders and church musicians as you can get.

Smith does a terrific job exploring the precognitive formative power of cultural liturgies, (i.e. the mall, the stadium, the university) and the ways Christian liturgy can be counter formative.

The major premise (that dovetails quite well with a lot of "post modern" stuff) is that we humans are more feeling critters than we are thinkers. That is, we aren't primarily thinkers but...more

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May 05, 2013 Qi Xiang rated it 4 of 5 stars

Good book for someone who is going to go into education. Challenges our mode of education by re-examining how people learn and form. As long suspected, people do not learn best through books. They learn when their desires are transformed, such that their reformed desires drive their curiosity and efforts in particular areas of practice and scholarship. How do we shape those desires? Smith suggests that it is done through "liturgies", and by "liturgies", he means any practice that is aimed at sha...more Good book for someone who is going to go into education. Challenges our mode of education by re-examining how people learn and form. As long suspected, people do not learn best through books. They learn when their desires are transformed, such that their reformed desires drive their curiosity and efforts in particular areas of practice and scholarship. How do we shape those desires? Smith suggests that it is done through "liturgies", and by "liturgies", he means any practice that is aimed at shaping and directing the inherent desire to love in every person. Therefore, education is about shaping the individual's desires, changing or strengthening the ultimate object of their love.

His exegesis of secular cultural liturgies such as the shopping mall experience, patriotism expressed in sporting events, and a particular view of what human flourishing is about in the practices of the University are enlightening, albeit largely from an American perspective. Nonetheless, Smith does provide with helpful examples of how a liturgical lens may be used to examine secular culture.

After that, however, the book generally becomes a bit stale as he goes on to exegete the liturgies as practiced in the Church. While he does a good job summarizing how the practices of the Church are also liturgical in the sense that they serve to shape people's desires through an encounter with God in the liturgies, it is nothing new to anyone who is self-reflexive about our Church practices. It could still be a refreshing perspective for one who has not thought or reflected about Church liturgies and practices. For me, as a first generation Christian, his views were opinions that i arrived at personally as i struggled to adapt to the new cultural world of the Christian worship service and sought to understand Church liturgy as both a communicator of doctrine, and an invitational, participatory way of being God's people together. It is, of course, still good to check what i understand of liturgy with the interpretation of a notable Christian scholar.

The final chapter on how Christian universities ought to understand themselves as ecclesial colleges and be more intentional in using liturgical practices as pedagogies, is, for me, a somewhat unsatisfactory ending to the book. Granted, Smith does qualify that what he is trying to develop is, in essence, a type of school that does not quite exist. One chapter is also surely too short to develop a concept of how liturgies and pedagogies go hand in hand in holistic education. However, even granting these, the suggestions he makes still do not sound particularly original. For example, in his point on connecting body and mind, he suggests that students studying philosophical concepts of hospitality could also be tasked to practice hospitality while reading philosophical discussions on it at the same time. Perhaps it is unique to the Singapore education system, but there is already a shift towards a synergy between learning through service going concurrent with learning in the classroom, even in secular education institutions. Churches are also moving in this direction in how Scripture is studied. Some seminaries are also offering courses whereby Scripture is studied within the context of a mission trip. Or, perhaps, Smith's ideas sound stale to me because the ideas have been put into practice by people who have read his book between its publication and today, which means that it sounds stale to me because I have benefitted from its impact.

Despite my own misgivings about the book, the philosophical anthropology that Smith develops is one that deserves to become a cornerstone in how education, both Christian and secular, should be done. It could go against the liberalism that our society tends to prize. I cannot imagine the liberal public to be too keen on a school system that explicitly works to shape the desires and worldviews of students through liturgical practices. But it could be exactly what we need.(less)

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Sep 16, 2010 Matt Bianco rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: theology

I loved this book.

It may be necessary to warn that this book can appear to come off as anti-intellectual. I do not believe that is the author's intent or belief, but the emphasis ritual and liturgy (bodily habits) can come across as anti-intellectual.

The idea is that man is primarily a liturgical being (homo liturgicus) not primarily a thinking being (cogito ergo sum). As a liturgical being, man is a creature that desires, and what man desires (which kingdom or concept of "the good life") is sha...more

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Jul 08, 2011 Matt rated it 4 of 5 stars

James K. A. Smith’s Desiring the Kingdom lays siege to the church’s current approach to worldview training. He says our current fascination with worldview is dominated by a philosophical emphasis that tends to overlook the body and the imagination. Man is treated like “a brain in a vat” rather than as the embodied lover God made him. This leads to an impoverishment of the church and the Christian life and surrender to the world, the flesh, and the devil. Smith seeks to redirect his readers into...more

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Apr 10, 2012 Peter N. rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is one of the hardest books to give a rating to. The reason is simple: his main thesis is dead on and needs to be digested by numerous Christians and pastors. But some of his details and unanswered questions leave one queasy. I do not often write long reviews, but the book made me think. So here is my lengthy review.

Here are the points in the book I liked.

1. His main thesis, in my words, is that ritual or liturgies shape our desires and our desires cause us to do what we do. Therefore ri...more This is one of the hardest books to give a rating to. The reason is simple: his main thesis is dead on and needs to be digested by numerous Christians and pastors. But some of his details and unanswered questions leave one queasy. I do not often write long reviews, but the book made me think. So here is my lengthy review.

Here are the points in the book I liked.

1. His main thesis, in my words, is that ritual or liturgies shape our desires and our desires cause us to do what we do. Therefore ritual, liturgies, and worship have tremendous influence over our lives. But the influence is subtle. He would argue, and I think rightly, that what we learn in the liturgies of our lives can undo what we learn in a classroom setting. This is why a parent can give a child all the correct doctrine and that child still leaves the righteous path. The parents’ daily liturgies undo their teaching. I agree with this wholeheartedly. He does a great job of showing how the world has competing liturgies. In chapter 3 he lists the mall, entertainment, and the university as secular liturgies that compete with the Church. He then spends a long chapter discussing what a historical Christian worship service means and how it shapes our lives. He argues persuasively that the Christian life is more about formation than information. Here Dr. Smith is at his best. His arguments are persuasive and well written. I really enjoyed his discussion of liturgies and desire, as well as how he illustrated his points. As I read, I thought about our liturgy at church and what we are teaching with it. But I also thought about what I do at home. What am I teaching my children through our various family liturgies? Here is why I gave it four stars. The main point is needed tonic for 21st century Christianity.

2. Dr. Smith is a professor at Calvin College, so his burden is for the university. One of the triumphs of the book is his plea for Christian colleges and universities to be rooted in the local church. He describes the Church as the sanctuary with the university being one of the small rooms connected to the sanctuary. For too long, universities have seen themselves as separate from the church, instead of an extension of it. Smith says, “The task of Christian education needs to be reconnected to the thick practices of the church.” (p. 220)

3. Dr. Smith also does a good job of showing that quantity or our liturgies as well as quality matters. Thus our liturgies Monday through Saturday must line up with our liturgies on Sunday. For most of the book this is implicit, but in the last chapter he makes the point explicit as he discusses the Christian university. (p. 226-227) I think quantity is also why people can have a biblical liturgy on Sunday and yet, that liturgy not impact their lives. They are immersed in a Christian liturgy for 1 to 2 hours on Sunday, but swimming in secular liturgies the rest of the week. It is not a surprise that the secular liturgies win.

4. There is one other point, which I do not remember Dr. Smith making, but is still essential to his thesis. What he describes, I think would work best in a local or parish setting. In other words, his thesis wars against large, impersonal classrooms and churches. I am not saying it can’t work with larger groups, but it would be more difficult. It is hard to see the formation he is aiming at happening without the personal connection between pastor/teach and parishioners/students, but also between the parishioners and students themselves.

Here are the things I did not like.
1. The main problem I have with the book is that despite the rhetoric about countering secular liturgies, Dr. Smith often sounds like he is reciting one. For example in his discussion of the confession of sin in the worship service he says this, “We create institutions and systems that are unjust, not only because of individual bad choices, but also because the very structures and systems of these institutions are wrongly ordered, fostering systematic racism or patriarchy or exploitation of the poor.” (p. 178) This sounds like a list of talking points I would hear from a liberal Hollywood actor. It is hard to see how this is counter acting any secular liturgy at all. Also there is no discussion of abortion or sodomy in the book, despite the fact that these two sins are a primary part of the current secular liturgy. I agree that racism and exploitation of the poor are sins. But is racism more rampant than our culture’s hatred of children? Yet abortion goes unmentioned. I am not saying greed is not a problem in the church. The church has absolutely been influenced by our consumerist, materialistic culture. But Dr. Smith leaves out obvious signs that accompany that greed, sins like abortion and sodomy. So I agree with Dr. Smith that liturgies have power and the world has competing liturgies. But reading between the lines of the book, it seems the Dr. Smith has been shaped by most of the prominent secular liturgies, such as feminism, the pro-choice movement, the environmental movement, the sodomite movement, and the wealthy are guilty movement instead of by a biblical liturgy.

2. This brings me to the second aspect of the book I didn’t like. There is very little emphasis on the Bible as the check on our liturgies and Christian formation. This is why Dr. Smith can say with a straight face, “The minister raises her hands.” (p. 207) He does quote from the Bible from time to time, but it does not seem to guide his thinking. There almost no biblical exegesis. Yet, there will not be true Christian formation/discipleship without a deep love for and obedience to the Scriptures. His first chapters are filled with philosophers, sociologists, and Christians, but very little Bible. Because liturgy is so powerful, it must be explicitly biblical. We cannot merely say that we think we are doing Christian liturgy. We must prove it biblically. Dr. Smith did not need to necessarily do that comprehensively in his book. But he did need to show more clearly that the Scriptures were guiding this thinking. If I was a Martian and read his book, I would never know that Bible was the compass that guided his thinking.

3. There is little discussion of the role faith in Christ plays in being formed by liturgies. One thought that kept pounding my head was. “Yes, I know liturgies are powerful. But I also know men and women who have sat under biblical liturgies for decades and yet live rotten, evil lives. How do these two truths weave together?” On page 208, he briefly addresses this problem in a footnote, saying he plans on discussing this in volumes 2 and 3. However, the deciding factor in our lives is a growing, vibrant faith in Christ that works itself out in obedience to his word. Christian liturgies can become instruments of death when someone participates apart from faith in Jesus Christ, the only Savior of sinners. Dr. Smith might plan on discussing this in the future. Maybe he assumed that faith in Christ was an understood prerequisite to a faithful liturgy. However, I did not get that impression. It seemed at times that faith in Christ was not even a factor in his thesis.

4. Finally, this might be a little picky, but I disagree with the quote from Stanley Hauerwas, which Dr. Smith approves of. “Becoming a disciple is not a matter of a new or changed self-understanding but of becoming part of a different community with a different set of practices.” (p. 220) Paul and Jesus are constantly trying to tell Christians how they are to view themselves. You are salt and light. You were dead, but now you alive. You have been raised up with Christ. Our practices are shaped by who we are, by our self-understanding. And our practices also shape who we are. I know Dr. Smith’s focus is on the latter of these two. But the former is true as well. A proper self-understanding is essential to Christian formation. Self-understanding is believing what God says about us. One of the great acts of the Christian imagination is to view ourselves how God views us. If I understood Dr. Smith correctly, then I think he overreaches. Yes, it is not just about “a new or changed self-understanding,” but to exclude that is unbiblical.
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Sep 10, 2011 Adam Lockridge rated it 4 of 5 stars

I devoured the first part of this book because I found it to be such a great articulation of the idea that humans are "liturgical animals." The alien anthropologist description of the "liturgy of the mall"--with cashiers functioning as priests exchanging cash for salvation from the sin of under-consumption--was brilliant. But I found myself slavishly plowing through Part II. I am still optimistic about the next volume and will read it as soon as it comes out.

One disclaimer: I think Smith oversta...more

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Aug 12, 2012 Alex rated it 3 of 5 stars

Interesting way to look at consumption and liturgy in American culture. As a member of an often legalistic faith like Seventh Day Adventism it's important to remember what things Christianity has in common across the board. However the call here, to change the rituals of Christianity into living liturgies is amazing and important. Ritual is impossible to discount when it comes to habit-formation. How do you form the character of Christ? With repetition and a love for God. It's tough as American...more

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Apr 27, 2012 Steve rated it 4 of 5 stars

Smith asserts that, contrary to popular notions today (specifically, in education and religion) that ideas are the powerful forces that shape our lives (thus, the emphasis on worldview in school mission statements, for example), we are formed more primarily by what, at the body/gut level, we desire. Our participation in the "cultural liturgies" (embodied rituals of ultimate concern) of our society form or malform us in ways we often don't consciously detect, but which shape our desires to point...more

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Sep 29, 2011 Joshua rated it 4 of 5 stars

Smith's book is a welcome and bracing re-imagination of Christian education achieved through a pointed critique of the Cartesian subject standing at the center of the current model. By drawing equally on Heideggerian phenomenology, Charles Taylor's idea of the "social imaginary" and the writings of Saint Augustine, Smith makes a convincing case for human beings as desiring, affective creatures. While this volume certainly leaves the reader with unanswered questions (and unexplored possibilities)...more

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Feb 11, 2012 Patrick Schlabs rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

Don't be deceived, this book is not simply about Christian education (in the traditional sense). In it, James KA Smith argues that humans are, above all, desiring creatures that are pursuing a vision of human flourishing that is shaped by practices and habits. These "pedagogies of desire" are all around us and are formative before we ever "think" about them. As Christians, our liturgical practices found in Christian worship help to fashion us into people that desire THE Kingdom above all other k...more

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May 05, 2013 David Holford rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is an outstanding book. When he paid homage to Schmemann's For the Life of the World as "an inspiring working model" in the preface, I knew that I was probably going to like it. Smith revolutionizes the concept of Christian worldview, particularly as it is accepted in Christian colleges and universities, but also as it is commonly understood particularly in Reformed circles as well as by other Christians, both conservative and not-so-conservative. Anyone who thinks they have a Christian wor...more This is an outstanding book. When he paid homage to Schmemann's For the Life of the World as "an inspiring working model" in the preface, I knew that I was probably going to like it. Smith revolutionizes the concept of Christian worldview, particularly as it is accepted in Christian colleges and universities, but also as it is commonly understood particularly in Reformed circles as well as by other Christians, both conservative and not-so-conservative. Anyone who thinks they have a Christian worldview needs to read this book and have the opportunity to re-evaluated whether this is true.

For Smith, what passes for Christian worldview is an added-on mental assent to Christian truths. He takes Schmemann's ideas of man as homo adorans (worshipping man) one step further to man as homo liturgicus. "...humans are those animals that are religious animals not because we are primarily believing animals, but because we are liturgical animals -- embodied, practicing creatures whose love/desire is aimed at something ultimate." (p. 40) In other words, it is the things that we - particularly in worship - do that make us who we are. As Smith makes clear, that worship may be in church (whether it is what is commonly thought of as a liturgical church or not) and as an extension of church or it may be elsewhere. Smith starts his book with demonstrating that anthropologists from another world would determine that the shopping mall is a house of worship, though forming a distinctly non-Christian worldview in its worshippers.

This book is both theoretical and practical, building from the one to the other as the book progresses, until in chapter 5 he breaks down the different parts of the Sunday worship service and other aspects of Christian worship and demonstrates the roles they play in the formation of the Christian life.

Though Smith is writing with the Christian college or university primarily in mind, this book is also for pastors, church leaders and other readers not directly involved in higher education. It is about a fundamental shift in thinking about worldview and worship. It is about what worship is and does to and for us and how it equips us to be what God wants us to be.(less)

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Feb 04, 2013 Heather Goodman rated it 5 of 5 stars

Though it's written primarily for professors and students and secondarily for church practitioners (pastors, worship leaders, etc), I read it as a lay leader, lover of theology, and artist. Though I prefer to look at how the imagination draws together affective and cognitive (rather than strictly related to affective) (frankly, I don't like categories such as affective and cognitive because it is sometimes impossible to separate the two, but I understand the need for them for the sake of discuss...more

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Feb 08, 2013 Ryan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, education, religion-theology

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. ***My summary and notes on the book:
Smith writes about the limiting scope of the term "worldview" because it fails to address the more affective side of how people live their lives. Specifically, he argues that it limits the inclusion of "liturgies" (he calls them "formative practices") or habits in our life that demonstrate what we hold to be important and how we spend our time. Thus, when the ultimate aim of Christian education is to teach a worldview, it falls short of building a way of life...more

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May 05, 2013 Jason Custer rated it 5 of 5 stars

Smith challenges the Enlightenment notion that man is primarily a "thinking" or a "believing" being - rather, he suggests that man is primarily a "desiring" being. If this is true, then the way to form people is not by giving right knowledge or beliefs (worldview), but rather by addressing the affections. This is not to say that knowledge or beliefs are irrelevant, but instead that they follow where the affections go.

The popular culture seems to understand this as we can see by looking at any of...more Smith challenges the Enlightenment notion that man is primarily a "thinking" or a "believing" being - rather, he suggests that man is primarily a "desiring" being. If this is true, then the way to form people is not by giving right knowledge or beliefs (worldview), but rather by addressing the affections. This is not to say that knowledge or beliefs are irrelevant, but instead that they follow where the affections go.

The popular culture seems to understand this as we can see by looking at any of the advertisements that draw on your desires and affections to buy more of their products and mold us into consumers. Smith says that if we want to form the people of the church we have to stop waging a losing battle by trying to give them right knowledge or beliefs when the culture is capturing their affections and desires. We have to address their desires, and he proposes the way to do that is through worship.

Worship needs to become the central formative portion of the church (and not just "praise and worship" - i.e. singing, as we think of it). Worship is to train and educate our hearts to love and desire God as he is and has revealed himself to be. Worship is formative, and thus it forms our affections - which results in our beliefs and actions falling in line with our "desiring the kingdom."

I think Smith is on to something that the church needs to be reminded of these days, and I think his analysis of the popular culture's way of capturing our affections is spot on. If there is one area the book is lacking in, it's in Smith's suggestions for how to go about implementing these ideas within the church. Granted, he is writing a series and I have yet to read his recently released book Imagining the Kingdom: How Worship Works (Cultural Liturgies) - which apparently addresses this issue clearer.

Regardless, this book shifted my paradigm and has changed the way I preach, teach, and think about ministry within the church. It has also affected the way I address issues in my own heart. I'd recommend it.(less)

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Apr 27, 2012 John rated it 4 of 5 stars

Smith's book is worth reading because it mounts a strong challenge against one of the fundamental ideas informing our approach to (Christian) education: that human beings are essentially containers for ideas, making education primarily about information rather than formation. Smith argues, instead, that human beings are primarily affective creatures, "feeling" our way through the world rather than thinking our way through it. By feeling, Smith does not mean the reductionistic idea that we are be...more Smith's book is worth reading because it mounts a strong challenge against one of the fundamental ideas informing our approach to (Christian) education: that human beings are essentially containers for ideas, making education primarily about information rather than formation. Smith argues, instead, that human beings are primarily affective creatures, "feeling" our way through the world rather than thinking our way through it. By feeling, Smith does not mean the reductionistic idea that we are being batted here and there by our emotions, but rather that we make choices and operate as embodied creatures living in the world--a full-orbed, sensory experience.

For Smith, this conception of humanity has important implications for education. Drawing on the liturgical practices of Christians through history (i.e. how we worship), Smith illustrates the ways in which we learn and even proclaim through largely non-cognitive means in worship. From simply gathering together, to taking the Eucharist, to singing together, Smith shows that these weekly (and sometimes more often) actions on the part of Christians make an enormous impact, whether processed cognitively or not. This is not to say Smith is down on the use of our minds: he understands that by thinking about these matters we will deepen the richness of the experience. But the experiences we have in worship still have value as experiences. In the end, Smith applies these insights about worship onto the practice of Christian education, drawing some preliminary conclusions about what he hopes would be a more ecclesial approach to teaching.

Smith is a great writer, presenting his points clearly and with regular reference to outside literary works that deepen and expand his presentation beyond the cognitive realm. The chapter on worship practices is really the heart of the book and especially good. He is planning another two volumes in this series that promise to expand some of the points he has made in this book. One of them will cover in more detail and with more nuance his approach to anthropology, which I think will be especially helpful.(less)

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Dec 26, 2012 J.E. Jr. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: church-life, theology, worship, philosophy

Wow.

Usually there is a single book (very occasionally two) that rises to the top of the list of most significant books I’ve read in the past year; in 2011 it was James Davidson Hunter's To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World. In 2012, it was definitely this book.

The insights and value I took away from this one could fill an essay in themselves, so it would be ridiculous to try to even summarize them here. What prevailed as an overarching...more

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Aug 02, 2011 Bob Robinson rated it 5 of 5 stars

A must-read, in my opinion. The core claim of this book is that liturgies – whether “sacred” or “secular” – shape and constitute our identities by forming our most fundamental desires and our most basic attunement to the world. Liturgies make us certain kind of people, and what defines us is what we love. They do this because we are the sorts of animals whose orientation to the world is shaped from the body up more than from the head down. Liturgies aim our live to different ends precisely by tr...more

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