Podcast appearances and mentions of james ka smith

What if the journey to a deeper life with God was more like a spiral staircase than a carousel? Join us as we explore this compelling metaphor and its implications for spiritual growth. Beginning with a scripture reading from 2 Corinthians 3:12-18, we dive into the transformative power of living openly with God. We also celebrate our healthiest habits and greatest skills, encouraging you to recognize and embrace what you do well in various aspects of your life, from relationships to hobbies.Moving forward, we examine the importance of relationships and how God sees us, contrasting this with titles and roles that often define our self-worth. By drawing parallels to Exodus 20 and the first two commandments, we urge you to reject idolatry and instead focus on God's everlasting covenant. Our reflections on Psalm 63 further highlight our profound longing for God, echoing His original desire for us, and challenging us to assess our true desires and overcome the inertia that hinders a deep life of prayer and contemplation.Finally, the intriguing life of Moses serves as a powerful narrative of alienation and transformation. We discussed how modern life's distractions can keep us from God, drawing insights from theologian Justo Gonzales and James KA Smith's concept of "refugee spirituality." As we conclude, we invite you into a time of heartfelt prayer and reflection, asking for the Holy Spirit's presence to bring personal transformation. Let go of past regrets and embrace a renewed journey of faith, recognizing God's redemptive power and the possibility of a deeper relationship with Him.Support the show

For years one of Dave's favorite books has been On the Road with Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts, and today we have the author James KA Smith joining Dadville. Throughout the conversation, Smith gives enlightened views on not only Saint Augustine, but also his latest book, How to Inhabit Time, which shows why awakening to the spiritual significance of time is crucial for orienting faith in the twenty-first century. Today's guest: https://jameskasmith.com/ Join our mailing list: http://dadville.substack.com Thanks to our sponsors! Raising Boys and Girls - The Raising Boys and Girls Podcast is hosted by Sissy Goff, David Thomas, and Melissa Trevathan – three counsels who are serving kids and their parents in Nashville, TN. In each episode they share some of what they're learning in the work they do with kids and families on a daily basis. New episodes every Tuesday. Go to http://raisingboysandgirls.com/podcast for more information. Teen Study Bible - Find out more about the Teen Study Bible and order your copy today at http://amazon.com/teenstudybible LMNT - Right now LMNT is offering a free sample pack with any purchase. The LMNT Sample Pack includes 1 packet of every flavor. This is the perfect offer for anyone interested in trying all of our flavors or who wants to introduce a friend to LMNT. Get yours at http://DrinkLMNT.com/Dadville Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

March 24, 2024. Mark 11:1–11. Guest speaker James K. A. Smith teaches about politics and Christianity. The post Guest Speaker: James K. A. Smith appeared first on Christ Church of Austin.

March 24, 2024. Mark 11:1–11. Guest speaker James K. A. Smith teaches about politics and Christianity. The post Guest Speaker: James K. A. Smith appeared first on Christ Church of Austin.

Ben and Justin share Part 2 of their reflections from Philosopher James K A Smith from Calvin University. His recent book, How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now, is available on Amazon or wherever books are sold.

Ben and Justin share reflections from their time learning from Philosopher James K A Smith from Calvin University. His recent book, How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now, is available on Amazon or wherever books are sold.

In this episode, ECFI's Jason Myhre and Amy Sherman reflect on our recent interview with James K.A. Smith. Listen for more on how Christian educational institutions can redirect their language and images from cultural idols of investing, what it can look like for financial advisors to act as spiritual directors for their clients, and a preview summary of Amy's upcoming journal article.On this episode:Matt Galyon, Associate Director, ECFIJason Myhre, Executive Director, ECFI Amy Sherman, Editor-at-Large, ECFI Notes & Links: View our Courses These communication herein is provided for informational purposes only and was made possible with the financial support of Eventide Asset Management, LLC (“Eventide”), an investment adviser. Eventide Center for Faith and Investing is an educational initiative of Eventide. In some cases, information in this communication may include statements by individuals that are current clients or investors in Eventide, and/or individuals compensated for providing their statements. In such cases, Eventide identifies all relevant details of the relationship, the compensation, and any conflicts of interest, within the communication which can be found at faithandinvesting.com.  Information contained herein has been obtained from third-party sources believed to be reliable. Statements made by ECFI should not be interpreted as a recommendation or advice pertaining to any security. Investing involves risk including the possible loss of principal.

After a weekend of teaching in Omaha in 2017, Christian philosopher Dr. James K.A. Smith sat down with the pastors at Coram Deo to talk about his life, his work, and his calling.

James K.A. Smith has written extensively on how our hearts are—often unintentionally—formed by our habits. In this interview, he shares investing habits we may be participating in that could be subtly shaping our view of money. On this episode: Matt Galyon, Associate Director, ECFIAmy Sherman, Editor-at-Large, ECFIJames K.A. Smith,  AuthorNotes & Links:View our CoursesThese communication herein is provided for informational purposes only and was made possible with the financial support of Eventide Asset Management, LLC (“Eventide”), an investment adviser. Eventide Center for Faith and Investing is an educational initiative of Eventide. In some cases, information in this communication may include statements by individuals that are current clients or investors in Eventide, and/or individuals compensated for providing their statements. In such cases, Eventide identifies all relevant details of the relationship, the compensation, and any conflicts of interest, within the communication which can be found at faithandinvesting.com.  Information contained herein has been obtained from third-party sources believed to be reliable. Statements made by ECFI should not be interpreted as a recommendation or advice pertaining to any security. Investing involves risk including the possible loss of principal.

Nick and Brian sit down with Dr James K. A. Smith to talk in depth about two of his books. You are what you love and How (Not) to Be Secular.

James K.A. Smith is a returning guest to The Weight, this time for a conversation about his newest book, How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now. He, Eddie, and Chris talk about the redemptive work of God's love and grace in the broken parts of our lives. Our brokenness is part of our story, and it's something God uses to bring us to an even better place than we could have imagined. Getting to that better place is difficult, especially as we live in a world that would rather gloss over the problems of our past than acknowledge the pain in order to move forward.Jamie is professor of philosophy at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is an award-winning author of a number of books, essays, and articles. His work focuses on building bridges between the academy, society, and the church.Resources:Learn more about James K.A. SmithFind out about his booksFollow him on Twitter and FacebookListen to his previous episode on The Weight

Live from the 2022 Catholic Imagination Conference in Dallas, TX, Nate and Rich interview James K. A. Smith. James K. A. Smith is professor of philosophy at Calvin University, where he holds the Gary & Henrietta Byker Chair in Applied Reformed Theology and Worldview. He is also the Editor in Chief of Image Journal. Trained as a philosopher with a focus on contemporary French thought, Smith has expanded on that scholarly platform to become an engaged public intellectual and cultural critic. An award-winning author and a widely traveled speaker, he has emerged as a thought leader with a unique gift of translation, building bridges between the academy, society, and the church.  In this conversation we discuss a number of topics at the intersection of Christianity, philosophy, and the arts, with a focus on James's new book, How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now.

As we begin a new year, the Busted Halo Show welcomes back author and philosophy professor James K.A. Smith to discuss his new book, “How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now.”

Have you ever said things like: I'm running out of time? I wish I had more time. Where did the time go? For those who have seen their kids grow up too fast or have seen a loved one pass away too early, these are the human tensions of time.  All these constructs and references of time remind us that we are temporal creatures, that live inside of time. Yet by faith, we know we are not bound or trapped by time. How should this reality affect how we live?  Listen to the words of the Apostle James; “Look here, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit." How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it's here a little while, then it's gone. What you ought to say is, "If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that." Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil. Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.”  James writes that life is fleeting, but it is lived in its most total sense when we live it wisely, humbly, and obediently. The start of 2023 is an appropriate "time" to investigate this deep topic and its implications.  Our guest on this episode is Dr. James K.A. Smith (Jamie), a Canadian philosopher who is currently a Professor of Philosophy at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, holding the Gary & Henrietta Byker Chair in Applied Reformed Theology & Worldview.   Jamie helps us understand that if we realize that created things have this fleetingness about them, we can recalibrate our expectations about how to live with these temporal things in our lives. We can learn how to best steward and enjoy them while we can, knowing they will pass.  We should embrace our mortality with discernment from the spirit of God as our guide in the context and accountability of our faith community.  Resources: Book: https://amzn.to/3GFW6IM Website: https://jameskasmith.com   James K.A. Smith on Twitter ---------------------------------------------- Website: https://impactus.org/   Check Our Resources for Men: https://impactus.org/resources/   ---------------------------------------------- Follow us on Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/impactusmen/  Instagram: https://instagram.com/impactusmen/   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/impactusmen/   Twitter: https://twitter.com/impactusmen   This Is Me TV: https://www.youtube.com/user/ThisIsMeTVShow 

Justin presents an end of year show featuring a conversation with theologian and philosopher James KA Smith on his new book 'How To Inhabit Time' recorded at the Everything Conference. Justin also caught up with Trevin Wax in Oxford who gave him a tour of CS Lewis' home The Kilns.   Support our End Of Year Appeal: https://gtly.to/aAxRk0kQs   • Subscribe to the Unbelievable? podcast: https://pod.link/267142101 • More shows, free eBook & newsletter: https://premierunbelievable.com • For live events: http://www.unbelievable.live • For online learning: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/training • Support us in the USA: http://www.premierinsight.org/unbelievableshow • Support us in the rest of the world: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/donate

Do you feel like there isn't enough time or wish you could just get a better hold on time? This episode is a chance to enter into a way of greater freedom with time. Professor and author James K. A. Smith talks with me about history, contingency, limitations, Black Lives Matter, hope, and his latest book, How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now.__Guest Bio:“James K. A. Smith is professor of philosophy at Calvin University and serves as editor in chief of Image journal, a quarterly devoted to ‘art, mystery, and faith.' Trained as a philosopher with a focus on contemporary French thought, Smith has expanded on that scholarly platform to become an engaged public intellectual and cultural critic. An award-winning author and widely traveled speaker, he has emerged as a thought leader with a unique gift of translation, building bridges between the academy, society, and the church.”__Connect Online:Website: jameskasmith.comTwitter: @james_ka_smith__On the Podcast:Latest book: How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully NowChristianity Today interview with BonoBono's book SurrenderMidnight Library by Matt HaigRepetition by KierkegaardPlough Essay | When Merit Drives Out GraceA Royal Waste of Time: The Splendor of Worshiping God and Being Church for the World by Marva Dawn__For full show notes, transcript, and more, go to: amyjuliabecker.com/james-k-a-smith__Season 6 of the Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast connects to themes in my latest book, To Be Made Well, which you can order here! Learn more about my writing and speaking at amyjuliabecker.com.*A transcript of this episode will be available within one business day on my website, and a video with closed captions will be available on my YouTube Channel.Connect with me: Instagram Facebook Twitter Website Thanks for listening!

Time and Hope with James K.A. SmithIn this third episode of our Advent Series, philosopher and author James K.A. Smith helps us consider what it means to be creatures that are bound and formed by time. Each of us is shaped by the stories that precede us: “I think to be a creature who is living into the fullness of being human means grappling with, reckoning with, and sort of gratefully receiving the way that our past, our history, our our  embeddedness in time has contributed to this unique identity that God has made us to fulfill. And, , it's hard work.”As we mark Advent, a season of waiting, of reckoning with time, and of hopeful longing for the fulfillment of the Kingdom, Smith helps us rightly locate our hope in God: “Hope is possible precisely because you don't think the present is all there is. And you also don't think that humans are the only agents in this, that the God of the cosmos who fires the world with love is out ahead of us, which is precisely why there can always be new possibilities. I think that's radical for us to think about personally and individually. And I think it's radical for us to think about collectively and communally.”This podcast is an edited version of our Online Conversation from September 2022. You can access the full conversation with transcript here.Learn more about James K.A. Smith.Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:Who's Afraid of PostmodernismDesiring The Kingdom.The Devil Reads Derrida - and Other Essays on the University, the Church, Politics, and the ArtsYou Are What You LoveAwaiting The KingOn the road with St. Augustine: A Real World Spirituality for Restless HeartsHow to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, and Living Faithful NowMakoto FujimuraHenri NouwenSt. Teresa of AvilaThomas MertonRelated Trinity Forum Readings:Bright Evening Star, Madeleine L'EngleA Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens Babette's Feast, by Isak DinesenRelated Conversations:Practicing Gratitude with Diana Butler BassBeauty and Wonder with Andrew PetersonTo listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org/podcast and to join the Trinity Forum Society and help make content like this possible, join the Trinity Forum SocietySpecial thanks to Ned Bustard for our podcast artwork.

Make a holiday donation to the Living Church. Today is a special day on the liturgical calendar. It is what the fathers and mothers of the Church knew as the "First Podcast of Advent." Welcome to this wonderful time of waiting. And we've got a treat for you almost as sweet as those baked goodies you're wondering whether or not to fast from because this is technically a penitential season: we welcome author and philosopher James K.A. Smith, who has written such books as Imagining the Kingdom and You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit, and most recently, How to Inhabit Time. We've got a cozy Advent chat with him on his new book, How to Inhabit Time, from his home in Grand Rapids. How do we live in time? And how do we resist -- how are Christians some of the worst at resisting -- living in time? How does time make us vulnerable, but also give us a sobering kind of power? And what does it mean that time is one of the conditions in which God becomes Immanuel to us? It will be no surprise to you, given what I've just said, that James K.A. Smith is professor of philosophy at Calvin University. Over the years he has become an engaged public intellectual and cultural critic, an award-winning author, and a widely traveled speaker, building bridges between the academy, society, and the Church. The author of a number of widely-known books, Jamie's writing has also appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and USA Today, as well as in influential literary and religious magazines. He serves as editor in chief of Image, a quarterly journal at the intersection of art, faith, and mystery. We talk keeping time and catching curve balls, walking through houses once-loved, the charms and dangers of longing for the past, time as an adventure, and the radical freedom and trust the Incarnation invites us into. Lord of the Rings comes in, as well as the Left Behind series, Wes Anderson, and lots of German philosophers. We had a lovely time. So cuddle up with a warm, frothy cup of whatever penitential holiday drink you feel like -- and if you're in the car, make sure you've got a lid securely on it -- we hope you enjoy the conversation. Make a holiday donation to the Living Church. Read How to Inhabit Time. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/living-church/support

In this episode, we chat with Dr. James Smith, a professor of philosophy at Calvin University about his most recent book How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now (Brazos Press, 2022). This text encourages us to cultivate the spiritual discipline of memento tempori, a temporal awareness of the Spirit's presence -- indebted to a past, oriented toward the future, and faithful in the present. To gain spiritual appreciation for our mortality. To synchronize our heart-clocks with the tempo of the Spirit, which changes in the different seasons of life. Integrating popular culture, biblical exposition, and meditation, Smith provides insights for pastoring, counseling, spiritual formation, politics, and public life. Our conversation focuses on institutions and individuals reckoning with the past and discerning how to live in the light and shadows of the past, the role of liturgy, and finding stability with our community admits rewriting our own stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In this episode, we chat with Dr. James Smith, a professor of philosophy at Calvin University about his most recent book How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now (Brazos Press, 2022). This text encourages us to cultivate the spiritual discipline of memento tempori, a temporal awareness of the Spirit's presence -- indebted to a past, oriented toward the future, and faithful in the present. To gain spiritual appreciation for our mortality. To synchronize our heart-clocks with the tempo of the Spirit, which changes in the different seasons of life. Integrating popular culture, biblical exposition, and meditation, Smith provides insights for pastoring, counseling, spiritual formation, politics, and public life. Our conversation focuses on institutions and individuals reckoning with the past and discerning how to live in the light and shadows of the past, the role of liturgy, and finding stability with our community admits rewriting our own stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

In this episode, we chat with Dr. James Smith, a professor of philosophy at Calvin University about his most recent book How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now (Brazos Press, 2022). This text encourages us to cultivate the spiritual discipline of memento tempori, a temporal awareness of the Spirit's presence -- indebted to a past, oriented toward the future, and faithful in the present. To gain spiritual appreciation for our mortality. To synchronize our heart-clocks with the tempo of the Spirit, which changes in the different seasons of life. Integrating popular culture, biblical exposition, and meditation, Smith provides insights for pastoring, counseling, spiritual formation, politics, and public life. Our conversation focuses on institutions and individuals reckoning with the past and discerning how to live in the light and shadows of the past, the role of liturgy, and finding stability with our community admits rewriting our own stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

In this episode, we chat with Dr. James Smith, a professor of philosophy at Calvin University about his most recent book How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now (Brazos Press, 2022). This text encourages us to cultivate the spiritual discipline of memento tempori, a temporal awareness of the Spirit's presence -- indebted to a past, oriented toward the future, and faithful in the present. To gain spiritual appreciation for our mortality. To synchronize our heart-clocks with the tempo of the Spirit, which changes in the different seasons of life. Integrating popular culture, biblical exposition, and meditation, Smith provides insights for pastoring, counseling, spiritual formation, politics, and public life. Our conversation focuses on institutions and individuals reckoning with the past and discerning how to live in the light and shadows of the past, the role of liturgy, and finding stability with our community admits rewriting our own stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

*Episode originally recorded in August 2022.*In round two of Ludwig von Mises vs. a Christian scholar, we look at the brilliant Christian philosopher James K.A. Smith's collection of essays called ‘The Devil Reads Derrida'. There is a lot of great content, but his definition of capitalism and libertarianism are at odds with the tradition of Austrian economics.  We compare his statements with Ludwig von Mises' great essay ‘Liberty and Property' in an attempt to offer a more holistic understanding of capitalism. I agree with Smith on most other issues, and I would highly recommend his exceptional book ‘Who's Afraid of Postmodernism', which is the best introduction to both postmodern philosophy and it's relevance for the church. Episode Outline:I. Capitalism and Misunderstanding EconomicsII. James K.A. SmithIII. Liberty and PropertyIV. Capitalism Accomplishes Christian Goals Media Referenced:Liberty and Property, Ludwig von Mises (https://mises.org/library/liberty-and-property)The Devil Reads Derrida, James K.A. SmithGreat Society, Amity ShlaesMeltdown, Tom WoodsThe Road to Serfdom, F.A. HayekJames K.A. Smith's Website: https://jameskasmith.comSmith on Twitter: @james_ka_smith Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at theprotestantlibertarian@gmail.com.  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Check out the Protestant Libertarian Podcast page at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/theplpodcast. Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the shows profile! Thanks!

Popular speaker and award-winning author James K. A. Smith returns to our show to explain that we must reckon with the past in order to discern the present and have hope for the future. In his recent book, How to Inhabit Time, Smith brings together 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

James KA Smith joins the pod to discuss the liturgical significance of everything from listening to music and going to the mall, to attending classes and going to the doctor. We also discuss the myth of secular "neutrality," the cult of celebrities, and whether or not we should burn the universities down and start from scratch (*we should not). Check out his books Desiring the Kingdom, How to Inhabit Time, and many others here. $upport CracksInPomo by clicking on this link And follow CracksInPomo on Substack, Instagram, and Twitter. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stephen-adubato/support

James KA Smith joins the pod to discuss the liturgical significance of everything from listening to music and going to the mall, to attending classes and going to the doctor. We also discuss the myth of secular "neutrality," the cult of celebrities, and whether or not we should burn the universities down and start from scratch (*we should not). Check out his books Desiring the Kingdom, How to Inhabit Time, and many others here. $upport CracksInPomo by clicking on this link And follow CracksInPomo on Substack, Instagram, and Twitter. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/stephen-adubato/support

Today, I'm sharing a recent conversation with James K. A. Smith about his latest book, How to Inhabit Time. The moment I saw this title, I knew there would be some wonderful intersections with our core idea here of learning to live and lead in the unhurried way of Jesus. I wasn't wrong about that. There is a depth of thinking and a beauty of language in this book. It really was a pleasure to read. There is an invitation to live well in the present moment. The language of “inhabiting” takes me to the invitation of Jesus to “abide in him” like a branch remains connected to a vine to be lush and fruitful. Each “now” is the place where we can do that. But we are so often rushing past the present moment (or trying to) and missing the grace that is available to us right here. I know you're going to enjoy our conversation about these things today.Connect with Alan to let him know what you think of this episode and your take on "time". You can also learn more about Alan, his book and Unhurried Living on the Unhurried Living website.

James K. A. Smith is professor of philosophy at Calvin University, where he holds the Gary & Henrietta Byker Chair in Applied Reformed Theology and Worldview. Trained as a philosopher with a focus on contemporary French thought, Smith has expanded on that scholarly platform to become an engaged public intellectual and cultural critic. An award-winning author and a widely traveled speaker, he has emerged as a thought leader with a unique gift of translation, building bridges between the academy, society, and the church.

James K.A. Smith is a philosopher and a professor at Calvin University. He is also the editor in chief of Image, a quarterly journal at the intersection of art, faith, and mystery.His work has been especially formative for me. His new book is How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now. In this episode, Jamie Smith and I talk about Ecclesiastes, no-when-ness, and celebrating the truth that we are “thrown” into the world.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to episode seventy-six of New Creation Conversations. My guest today is the incredibly gifted writer and Christian philosopher, Dr. James K.A. Smith. I have really been looking forward to having this conversation for a while. Jamie and I became friends about twenty-five years ago when he was a young professor at Loyola-Marymount University, and I was early in my teaching career at Southern Nazarene University. We both got accepted into a summer study program at Calvin College to study “eschatology and hope” with Dr. Miroslav Volf. It was a very enriching summer intellectually and spiritually. However, part of the benefit of the program was that Calvin invited us to bring our families with us for the six weeks we were there. It just happened that Jamie and his wife Deanna, and Deb and I both had four kids all around the same age and so we got to hang out as families.The group that summer had several very gifted and bright people in it, but it didn't take long for us to figure out that Jamie was gifted in unique ways. Eventually Calvin invited him to join their very prestigious philosophy faculty – a faculty that in the past has included names like Richard Mouw, Alvin Plantinga, and Nicholas Wolterstorff. Jamie now is Professor of Philosophy and the Gary and Henrietta Byker Chair in Applied Reformed Theology and Worldview. In these last two decades Jamie has written some of the most widely read and greatly influential books of this generation. We will talk about several of them in our conversation, but some of the best known are Who's Afraid of Postmodernism?; How (Not) to Be Secular (CT winner); the award-winning Desiring the Kingdom (CT winner); You are What You Love, and more recently On the Road with St. Augustine (CT winner). He's also written for the Wall Street Journal, the nY Times, The Washington Post, USA Today… well, you get the point.Jamie has an amazing story of both coming to faith in Christ and becoming a scholar – which he I got him to tell pieces of in our conversation. He's a graduate of the University of Waterloo. Did his Master's in Philosophy at the Institute for Christian Studies, and earned his PhD in Philosophy from Villanova University. A lot of our conversation centers on his brand-new book, How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now (Brazos Press). It is exactly what you would expect from Jamie, a rich, thoughtful, well-written, and transformational textJamie makes a very short list of four or five people who have shaped my own journey and my thinking the most, it's fun that I also get to call him a friend. Thanks for listening in to this New Creation Conversation. Here's my conversation with Dr. James K.A. Smith.

James K.A. Smith discusses his new book, "How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now," which released September 20, 2022, from Brazos Press.We discuss:the role of history in helping us learn discernment and live faithfullythe ways that many Christians think they are living out ancient truths that are actually modern inventionshow many Christians who "deconstruct" and end up leaving the faith are actually "rejecting the minority report" of the faithhow Christian nationalism has "forgotten something very, very fundamental about what the Christian expectation of kingdom come looks like, which is precisely that it is not something that is engineered by us."how gardening helps us embrace our temporality and "experience God seasonally"Also check out James' book "You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit"See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Philosopher Dr. James K.A. Smith returns to the podcast to discuss therapy, loving what does not last, resurrected scars, Calvin, and his new book How to Inhabit Time.

We speak with philosopher James (Jamie) K.A. Smith about his new book How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now. It's a contemplative exploration of what it means to be a temporal creature, a being constituted by a past and oriented toward a future. If that sounds heady, it's honestly one of the most spiritual and restful books we've featured on the show, and it's also philosophically informed and beautifully written. Jamie also loves music, and certain songs are featured prominently in the book, and there's a Spotify playlist that accompanies it which we'll link here when it's released. The books, articles, songs, and films mentioned in the conversation are:Gilead - Marilynne RobinsonImage JournalThe Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor DostoevskyLetter from Birmingham Jail - Martin Luther King, Jr.The Maternal Eye of Sally Mann - Sarah BoxerEvery Time I Hear That Song - Brandi CarlileWe Americans - The Avett BrothersIf We Were Vampires - Jason IsbellI'm Not My Season - Fleet FoxesWading in Waist-High Water: The Lyrics of Fleet FoxesAbout TimeThe beverage we tasted is Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel bourbon.The beverage tasting is at 4:10. To skip to the interview, go to 7:10.Content note: this episode contains some mild profanity.Support the show

What does St. Paul mean when he speaks of a Thorn in the Flesh? Al takes a look and talks with James K A Smith, who takes us on the road with St. Augustine. What do most scholars and students miss when they study St. Paul? NT Wright has the answer.

Summary of the Apostles' CreedThe Apostle's Creed is a summary of the Christian faith that depicts the full story of scripture. The Apostle's Creed contains one of the most concise summaries of the Christian faith in straightforward scriptural language. It follows the narrative arch of scripture from creation to incarnation, crucifixion to resurrection, Pentecost to life everlasting.The Apostle's Creed reminds us that our story and church are rooted in an ancient faith. There is no singular author by which this creed can be traced, rather it is the work of the Western Catholic Church. Though, it seems to have grown out of Peter's confession in Matthew 16:16. Its origin is as a baptismal confession, those that are laying down their life to join Christ in his death and resurrection (Romans 6:4) confess this as their new reality and guiding story.The Apostle's Creed is not simply a routine repetition of doctrine but rather our pledge of allegiance to one God– Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is not a routine repetition of doctrine. It is a liturgical poem meant to move our heart as a pledge of allegiance to the triune God revealed in the person of Christ.The "Secular", is not a place of anti-religion or neutrality, it is the space of contested belief. Everyone in the Secular Age experiences what Charles Taylor calls "cross-pressure"; We have all come to realize that what we believe cannot be taken as the default of society anymore. “I don't believe in God, but I miss him." – Julian Barns, Nothing to be Frightened ofAs we wrestle with our doubts, I think Jesus' encounter with Thomas in John 20 offers us the most beautiful glimpse into God's reception of the doubter. “So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?" Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." After saying these things, he said to them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him." The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover." Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." – John 11:6-16 (ESV)“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going." 5Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" – John 14:1-5 (ESV)“Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe." –John 20:24-25 (ESV)In the midst of Thomas' disappointment and doubt, God, in Jesus, draws close. “Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 27Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." 28Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" –John 20:26-28 (ESV)Jesus invites us to come to him, fully human; full of hope and cold hard facts. Doubt is not the opposite of faith; unbelief is. “Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." –Matthew 28:16-20 They worshiped and doubted– and changed the world. Even at the Great Commission, the disciples held doubt and faith together. “We don't believe instead of doubting; we believe while doubting. We're all Thomas now.” – James KA Smith, How (not) to be SecularThomas embodies the human condition; full of faith and trust one moment and full of questions and doubts the next.To say, “I believe in God” is not made, without doubt, it is to trust in the midst of doubt. The biblical concept of faith is not an illogical leap but a trust in the nature of God. “...Christian belief is [not] an irrational leap into the dark. It is more like tasting a dish that you have never tried. You have seen other people enjoying it; you have read the reviews; the chef swears you'll like it. There are good grounds for trusting, but you will never know for sure until you try it. “Taste and see that the Lord is good,” sings the psalmist (Ps 34:8). The first act is an act of trust that gives rise to ever-increasing [confidence], which in turn nourishes a deeper and a more knowledgeable trust.” –Ben Myers, The Apostles' Creed: A Guide to the Ancient CatechismFour ways in which we can cultivate a life of faith amid the cross-pressures of our moment. 1. Rethink success, not as certainty or control, but as trust. The biblical concept of faith is trusting in the nature of God. 2. Doubt your Doubts. We should be equal opportunity doubters, not just of belief but of disbelief as well. 3. Strive for Emotionally Health. Wrestling with anything, including doubt, becomes exponentially more complicated when we struggle with our emotional health. “Sometimes doubt is fostered by sleep deprivation especially in those who are overworked or are students… it comes from bad habits, zealous perfectionism, and bad time management… The point is that as human beings our mind, body, matter, spirit all work together and if you push yourself to the limit you are inviting depression, breaking down, and looking at the world through dark, gloomy habits, and then the godliest thing you can do in universe is get some sleep!” –DA Carson, Scandalous4. Lean into the community of God. God is not unknown, he can be known. Joining in the songs of the saints, dinner with your microchurch, and the stories of God's activity creates an environment in which faith can grow.

Our final episode of season 3 of Rector's Cupboard. We were honoured to speak with James K. A. Smith, professor of philosophy at Calvin University and editor-in-chief of Image Journal. The conversation is centred largely around a fantastic book that Jamie has written and that will be available in September. Jamie's work demonstrates a hopeful view of faith. He skillfully and insightfully looks to the past for how it might positively shape and inform faith and life today. He does this with a strongly stated desire to move ahead. The conversation became one of great hope, that included inspiring reminders of the goodness, beauty and truth in our world. We talk about modernism and post-modernism. We talk about philosophy and power and control and fear. We talk about these things because they (and misunderstandings around them) have been influential in many churches and ways of seeing faith, perhaps even in how you were taught to understand Christian faith.   Some extended episode notes: The names Derrida, Foucault, Bentham, and Lyotard may not be familiar to all or most readers, but these are writers whose work has had impact on our culture and our faith. Michel Foucault was a French Philosopher whose work was key in what became known as “post-modernism”. We speak about Foucault's ideas around discipline and control. Foucault argued that power and punishment were once exercised in harsh and physical ways, but as these means of control became less physically forceful, they actually became more powerful and more pervasive in society. Jacques Derrida, another contributor to post-modernism, spoke about deconstruction. This term has largely been adopted to define what very many people with religious backgrounds are doing now. Smith says that both those who embrace “deconstruction” and those who warn against it often have a distorted view of what deconstruction is. For Derrida, virtually everything is interpreted. Whether it is a Biblical text or a summer sunrise, you as the reader or viewer are part of interpreting the meaning. Deconstruction aims to see these layers of interpretation. In this episode we also mention Alain de Botton. He is a contemporary philosopher who though he frequently mentions that he is an atheist, has some tremendously helpful and appreciative things to say about faith and the church. Finally we mention the new Arcade Fire album, “We”. Art such as the music on that album demonstrates a thoughtful consideration of some of these important religious, cultural and philosophical themes.

Shownotes:Christians spend a lot of time talking about what is true or exploring goodness, but we do not spend as much time exploring beauty, aesthetics, and the arts. In a world full of content curated to our specific taste, we need more time and space to fill our souls with the kind of art that breaks open our curiosity and makes us come alive. Where does God meet us in the beauty of our imagination? How does art and culture shape our desires and longings?In this episode, Chris and Eddie are joined by James K.A. Smith, Professor of Philosophy at Calvin University and Editor-in-Chief of Image Journal. Smith aspires to bridge the gap between the academy, society, and church, and he discusses the art of culture-making as it relates to the Christian faith. Smith recognizes the tension between the view of culture as the result of a broken world and God's vision for culture as creational good, and he calls us to recognize that we all take part in framing culture.Smith believes that what we make of the world is much more of a reflection of what we want for the world than how we think about the world. He invites us to create habits of putting ourselves in the way of things we don't understand and making ourselves available to be encountered. By expanding our imagination, we give our souls space to carefully consider the stories we carry in our bones and the ways that those stories frame our culture.Resources:Follow James K.A. Smith on the web:https://jameskasmith.com Check out James K.A. Smith's books here:https://jameskasmith.com/books/ Read James K.A. Smith's article Healing the Imagination: Art Lessons from James BaldwinFollow James K.A. Smith on social media:https://twitter.com/james_ka_smith https://www.facebook.com/jameskasmith

James K.A. Smith Brightbell Creative: Meaningful Marketing For The Creative Artist Support The Podcast! Contributing as little as one to ten dollars a month makes a huge difference in our ability to produce quality content and lift a voice of encouragement to artists and creatives around the world. Patrons receive access to additional interview segments, online book clubs and discussions on art and the spiritual life.

Repentance and St. AugustineWe continue our Lenten podcast series by considering the spiritual practice of repentance with author, philosophy professor, and Trinity Forum Senior Fellow, James K.A. Smith. Few figures cast as long a shadow over church history as Saint Augustine of Hippo, regarded by many as second only to St. Paul in terms of his extraordinary contributions to theology and philosophy. For his part, James K.A. Smith takes a different approach, describing Augustine as an AA sponsor for the soul.Disordered Desire and the Role of RepentanceIn Augustine's book, Confessions, he offers us a searingly honest glimpse into the human heart and it's Augustine's refusal to look away from his own disordered loves, but instead to confess and repent at the level of his deepest desires, that makes Confessions one of the most enduring works of Christian spiritual writing of all time.Learn more about James K.A. Smith.Watch the full Online Conversation and read the transcript. Authors and books mentioned in the conversation:Confessions by St. AugustineOn The Road With Saint Augustine by James. K.A. Smith Related Trinity Forum Readings:Devotions by John Donne and paraphrased by Philip YanceyThe Confessions of St. Augustine by Augustine of Hippo, Introduced by James K.A. SmithPilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie DillardPilgrim's Progress by John BunyanGod's Grandeur: The Poems of Gerard Manley HopkinsA Spiritual Pilgrimage by Malcolm Muggeridge. Related Conversations:Liturgy of the Ordinary in Extraordinary Times with Tish Harrison WarrenCaring for Words in a Culture of Lies with Marilyn McEntyreInvitation to Solitude and Silence with Ruth Haley BartonThe Second Mountain with David BrooksOn the Road with Saint Augustine with James K.A. Smith and Elizabeth BruenigTo listen to this or any of our episodes in full, visit ttf.org, and to join the Trinity Forum Society and help make content like this possible, visit ttf.org/join. Special thanks to Ned Bustard for the artwork and Andrew Peterson for the music.

LIVING WITH AN IMMANENT SENSE OF THE DIGITAL Felicia Wu Song is a Christian sociologist who says digital natives aren't as native as we think. Is there any hope for the rest of us? She says, yes. Chris interviews Dr Felicia Wu Song about her new book Restless Devices. She explains her belief that our digital routines and habits are themselves forms of discipleship. She says they not only form our habits, but also shape our identity, community, and relationships. And as a sociologist, Dr Song also draws attention to Big Tech's platforms and design decisions, the structures and systems they create, and the defaults those designs introduce to digitally mediated relationships. Afterwards, Adam and Chris explore more what those routine and habits look like for them, and the struggles that come with the "immanent sense of the digital," as Dr Song puts it in her book. They imagine together what new habits and designs could help them better relate digitally to the most important people in their lives. LINKS & RESOURCES Dr Felicia Wu Song is Professor of Sociology at Westmont College in California, and author of the book Restless Devices: Recovering Personhood, Presence and Place in the Digital Age, published by Intervarsity Press. Dr Song mentions James K A Smith's work on counter-liturgies, which factor heavily into his books Desiring the Kingdom and You Are What You Love. Chris mentions Marshall McLuhan's book The Medium is the Massage, an avant-garde 60s/70s book that uses graphic design to explore the ideas of his seminal work, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. TALK BACK Follow Device & Virtue on Instagram and Twitter. Follow Chris and Adam on Twitter. Support Device & Virtue on Patreon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A recording of James K.A. Smith's presentation at the 2021 CLS National Conference in San Antonio, Texas. For more on Jamie's work, go here and follow him on Twitter at @James_ka_smith.   Episode produced by Josh Deng, with music from Vexento. A Special Thanks to Nick and Ashley Barnett for their contribution in making this podcast possible.

The French call it l'esprit d'escalier—which means something like ‘the wit of the staircase'. It's that clever thing you wished you'd said but only thought of after the conversation was over. After last week's post on faith, I had two of these moments—one I thought of myself and one pointed out by a friend. After a comment from a friend, I really wished I'd made more of the fact that ‘faith in a word of promise' is the character of the Christian life because it is the character of the God we relate to. He is the covenant-making, promising, speaking God, and so the primary way we relate to him is by accepting and trusting his word. I kind of implied this at various points in last week's post, but never actually came out and said it (which leaves me shaking my head on the staircase).Making the connection between God as a speaker and our response of faith is important because it helps us discern false versions of how the Christian life unfolds. It helps us see, for example, that Christian experience is not mystical (where we feel our way towards a wordless force or power); nor is the Christian life lived by sight (neither in the need to see miraculous signs, nor in representing God visually); nor is it a prosperity cult (where God is a capricious non-communicative power that you have to please in order to be blessed). The God of the Bible is personal and verbal, and that's why the primary way we relate to him is by trusting what he says. And by talking to him. That's the second thing I wish I'd included in last week's post—and thought of almost immediately after I pressed ‘Publish Now'. Possibly the most important implication of ‘faith' as the foundational virtue of the Christian life is prayer. Prayer is faith put into words. It's our trust in God verbalized in the midst of life—as we call on him, make our requests to him, cast our cares on him, and generally express the fact that we depend upon him for everything. And so faith is strengthened as we hear the word of God and as we exercise our faith in prayer. (I'm hoping to turn these posts into a little book about the Christian life in due course, and so these staircase thoughts won't be completely wasted.) But enough apologies about last week. Time to think about the second virtue of the three—love. And because love is more complicated than it first appears, it's going to take two Payneful Truths to cover it even moderately well. Here's part 1.The two lovesI'm lovin' it. Love your work. Love what you've done to your hair. I love my wife. I love golf and lazy Saturday mornings. What's love, but a second-hand emotion? If ‘faith' is a saggy, middle-aged word that has put on too much weight around the middle,  what are we going to say about ‘love'? It's so bloated with meanings, associations and cliched usages, we hardly recognise it any more.  Perhaps this is why we don't talk as much these days about ‘love' as the summary and capstone of Christian living—even though the Bible does repeatedly. Maybe it just feels too vague and soppy, like a soft-focus picture of puppies on a 1 Corinthians 13 poster. In fact, even if we do want to be biblical and talk more about love, 1 Corinthians 13 illustrates our problem. Just what is ‘love' in this passage? We're given lots of adjectives—that love is patient and kind, and not arrogant or rude or resentful. We're told what love does (rejoices with the truth, bears all things, and so on) and what it doesn't do (boast or insist on its own way). But what sort of thing is love itself? We're fond of saying that love is an action, not a feeling—and given the general romanticisation of love in our culture, that's a fair enough corrective. But love is not really reducible to an ‘action' in 1 Corinthians 13. Love is certain things, and does certain things. It drives action, and is seen in action, but it is not simply an action.Then again, we also wouldn't say from 1 Corinthians 13 that love was primarily a feeling or a sentiment, since feelings don't act as such—they just are.  So love seems to be something else. Perhaps it is a description of attitude or character. For example, when we say that someone is ‘laid back', we're describing something about that person that sums them up—their habitually relaxed way of acting, their easy-going orientation to life in general, their chilled way of responding to things. Is that what ‘love' is—a cumulative description of someone's habitual way of being and acting? Is it a description of ‘character'? That seems a bit closer, and to fit with 1 Corinthians 13 a bit better. But there are still problems. For example, a description of someone's character is a summary seen from the outside and after the fact. It's an evaluation of how we observe someone acting and behaving over time. I judge you to be laid-back because of certain things I've repeatedly seen you do. But what are those ‘certain things' in relation to love? What sort of actions (repeated over time) would lead me to describe you as loving? What, in other words, is the defining characteristic of an action, the repeated performance of which might lead me to describe you as having a ‘loving' character? Defining what ‘love' actually means or requires turns out to be quite a bit trickier than first appears (as Love Actually itself illustrates, in the confused claptrap of its sentimentality). And we are hardly the first people ever to notice this. In the history of Christian thought and ethics, there has been considerable debate about the nature of love (both God's love and ours). In particular, the debate has often been about the relationship between two kinds of love, captured in the two Greek words eros and agape. Is love fundamentally a desire or longing for something good (eros)? Or is love primarily an unconditional benevolence that acts for the sake of others, regardless of whether they are good (agape)? As gospel people, we are immediately drawn to the second alternative. True Christ-like love, we would say, loves the unlovable. God's love for us is not drawn forth by our goodness or lovableness. In fact, quite the opposite—God's love is spontaneous and uncaused by us. God's love is seen in giving his Son to die for his enemies, for those who are dead in sin.The Lutheran theologian Anders Nygren is well-known for having argued that this agape-love of God is true Christian love, and is the antithesis of eros-style love. Eros is a desire for something that I value. Eros sees something it regards as good, and is drawn to it, longs for it, desires it. Eros, argued Nygren, is inevitably self-centred. It is sub-Christian. True agape-love, according to Nygren, doesn't correspond to the goodness or value of its object. It creates that goodness and value by loving it unconditionally—God's love for sinners being the prime example.So far, so good, we might think. But there are problems. What about our love for God—the great and first commandment? Does our love for God have no relation to the goodness of God? Do we just graciously decide to love God unconditionally, as if there is nothing good about God himself that calls forth our love? That can't be right. Or for that matter, what of other good things we love in the world—a husband's love for his wife, for example? Does my love for Ali have nothing to do with any qualities she possesses? I must of course seek to lay down my life for her, as Christ does for the church, regardless of whether she deserves it at any given moment. But when I tell Ali that I love her, should I add, “Of course, there is nothing at all objectively good or attractive about you that makes me say that—it's just my gracious decision to love an otherwise unlovable object”? This doesn't sound right either (and would very likely result in cold shoulder and burnt tongue for dinner for quite some time). We can see why Nygren wants to make love independent of wanting or desiring ‘the good' (because that seems to be how God loves us), but his approach isn't an adequate explanation of love as a whole. In fact, if we over-emphasize the spontaneous, unconditional nature of love, and say that love has nothing to do with the goodness of its object, then we find other problems emerging. ‘Situation ethics', for example. This approach to ethical thinking (propounded by Joseph Fletcher among others) suggests that a benevolent love for others should be the driving force of our morality, not rules or laws of behaviour. It's a very modern and recognizable ethic—just do whatever love drives you to do in the situation. So if you judge that it would be more loving to leave your marriage (in which you are both unhappy), and shack up with someone else, with a net total increase in love and joy all round, then go for it. Don't let an old-fashioned ‘thou shalt not' stand in your way. The problem with ‘situation ethics' is that making unconditional love the sole criteria for action just kicks the can down the road. My intention to love is all well and good, but how that is expressed depends on more than the intention alone. It requires me making judgements about the situation and what sort of action would be loving action here and now. It requires us, in other words, to think about what ‘the good' would be in this situation, not just about my motivation to be loving.Love, in other words, cannot entirely exist within me (within the subject), as an undifferentiated beam of kindness or affection that flows out onto everyone and everything around me. It must also have some reference to its object—to ‘a good' that we're perceiving or seeking in the thing or person that we're loving. Love does have some connection with seeking ‘the good', and therefore with ‘desire'.   But then that throws us back on the problem of God's love for un-good people like us, his gracious, self-sacrificial love for the undeserving. And how does all this talk about the nature of love relate to faith? Faith is the foundational virtue of the Christian life (as we've seen), and is ‘worked out' in love (as Gal 5:6 says). How does that work? What is it about love that makes it dependent in some way on faith? Well, dear reader, so many questions. But having (hopefully) helped you see the problems, and cleared some of the ground, we might be ready for some answers … in next week's Payneful Truth. PSWe've skated over some deep waters in today's post, and missed out some interesting examples and byways. For example, the idea of love being more about desire has made a bit of a comeback in recent times. Writers like Charles Taylor and James KA Smith have argued that we are driven far more by our desires than by knowledge and rationality, and that (accordingly) people will come to love God not through preaching and rationality and arguments, but through a deep, sub-rational change in what they want. A new and growing love for God will be achieved (Smith suggests) not through rational persuasion or words but through being ‘schooled' in a new set of desires, through the habits of Christian worship and liturgy. We'll come to love new things (i.e. God) by practising wanting and loving them over time. There is some truth in this (as well as significant problems). It's true that our desires and our knowledge or reason often work in different directions. We are much more than thinking machines. And we are fallen and complicated, and don't always respond to rationality—in fact, we are often driven by desires or preferences that we can't easily explain, or that run counter to what we know to be good and true. But what Romans 7 describes as a wretched state—of our desires and our knowledge working in different directions—Smith seems to accept as the unchangeable norm. The sword of the Spirit (the word of God) seems powerless to make any impression on the desire-dominated human heart. The best we can hope for is to train Christians like circus animals to want something different.   And of course that ‘something different' is not contentless, just as desire is never contentless. It is always and inevitably based on some perception, no matter how inarticulate, of something good and desirable. And if the thing desired is a person—who is only revealed or known as he speaks—then desire or longing for that person can never be separated from listening to him and knowing him as he really is. (Incidentally—how surprising that a liberal Catholic like Charles Taylor should come up with a theory of love and knowledge of God that looks like this, and that ends up with the practices of the church being the mediating power that really changes me. This is hardly shocking. What is more surprising is how many Reformation types have embraced him.)But I get ahead of myself. More on love and knowledge and how the gospel is the foundation of love … next time. I was very tempted to use a Tina Turner image for this week's post (‘What's love got to do with it?'), but couldn't find one that was suitable for a Christian newsletter. And then searched for images illustrating ‘two loves' and found lots of LGBT pics. So I settled for this one, the Alan Rickman character in Love Actually, who gets into trouble because of ‘two loves'. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.twoways.news/subscribe

When the desire to be on fire for Jesus is a living hell “Is there a God for those who are not changing anything but diapers? Is there a God for those who simply love their spouse and pour out rarely appreciated affection on their children day after day? Is there a God for the mom who spends what feels like God-forsaken days changing diapers and slicing up hot dogs? Is there a God for the man who hammers out a day's work in obscurity for the love of his wife and kids? Is there a God for just and kind employers? Generous homemakers? Day-laborers who would look at a missions trip to Romania like it was an unimaginable vacation?... The question stretches out into the pew where it steals away into suburban homes and places of work and various schools. It breaks into bedrooms and boardrooms... Is there a God who makes sense of the life lived between the seismic and the extraordinary? Between the missions trips? In between the joy and the pain? Is there a God for the meantime? …I think there is.” There are some great books out there for us Christians: There's Calvin's Institutes, Bavinck's Dogmatics, C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity, Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret, Confessions of St Augustine, Pilgrims Progress… There's James KA Smith, Tish Warren, and NT Wright… All great books and brilliant authors, But, this book, Matthew B. Redmond's - "The God of the Mundane: Reflections on Ordinary Life for Ordinary People" – (perhaps my favorite book of all time) might be the most important book written the last 40 years. This is the one I want my kids to read, this is the book that I want every Christian I know to read. This book scratches the collective itch most 21st century Christians have. Indeed, it's a lovely thing when the Gospel really becomes truly good news for all of life and Matthew B. Redmond does just that. Now, give is a listen and let all of God's people say “amen”!

Christians spend a lot of time talking about what is true or exploring goodness, but we do not spend as much time exploring beauty, aesthetics, and the arts. In a world full of content curated to our specific taste, we need more time and space to fill our souls with the kind of art that breaks open our curiosity and makes us come alive. Where does God meet us in the beauty of our imagination? How does art and culture shape our desires and longings?In this episode, Chris and Eddie are joined by James K.A. Smith, Professor of Philosophy at Calvin University and Editor-in-Chief of Image Journal. Smith aspires to bridge the gap between the academy, society, and church, and he discusses the art of culture-making as it relates to the Christian faith. Smith recognizes the tension between the view of culture as the result of a broken world and God's vision for culture as creational good, and he calls us to recognize that we all take part in framing culture.Smith believes that what we make of the world is much more of a reflection of what we want for the world than how we think about the world. He invites us to create habits of putting ourselves in the way of things we don't understand and making ourselves available to be encountered. By expanding our imagination, we give our souls space to carefully consider the stories we carry in our bones and the ways that those stories frame our culture.Follow James K.A. Smith on the web:https://jameskasmith.com Check out James K.A. Smith's books here:https://jameskasmith.com/books/ Read James K.A. Smith's article Healing the Imagination: Art Lessons from James BaldwinFollow James K.A. Smith on social media:https://twitter.com/james_ka_smith https://www.facebook.com/jameskasmith 

If you are a baptist or have grown up in a baptist(ic) church the terms "liturgy", "lent", and "lectionary" might be a bit foreign to you. If you have heard of them at all, it might have actually been in a negative or cautionary context. In this episode, we hear from Matthew Wireman who is a pastor of a Christ the Redeemer, a baptist church in Greenville SC, that utilizes the lectionary as a guide throughout the year and even observes Lent. Intrigued? I hope so. This conversation will be helpful for anyone who has been curious about how and why a church may use the church calendar or a lectionary. You can find out more about Matthew Wireman at matthewwireman.com, and you can find out more about his church at redeemergreenville.com.The articles that Matthew wrote that served as a starting point can be found here as well. Why Baptists can Follow the Lectionary and Why Baptists can use the Church Calendar.The books that were mentioned written by James K A Smith can be found here. Use the promo code SURPRISEDBYLIGHT to receive a 30% discount when you purchase. Desiring the KingdomImagining the KingdomYou Are What You LoveAs always, the song Sometimes a Light Surprises was written by Mike and Allie Murphy. You can find out more about them at MikeandAllieMurphy.com. 

On today's Bible Answer Man broadcast (11/20/20), we pick up where we ended on our previous broadcast and present more of an episode of the Hank Unplugged podcast. Hank is talking with Professor James K. A. Smith, author of You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit. https://www.equip.org/product/cri-resource-cri2011wa/Hank and James K.A. Smith discuss the power of spiritual formation through repetition, the transcendent strangeness of historic Christian worship as a key element to discipleship and evangelism, how Christians cannot hope to recreate the world if we are constantly trying to recreate the church, and the transformative power of practice and habituation in sanctification.

On today's Bible Answer Man broadcast (11/19/20), we pick up where we ended on our previous broadcast and present more of an episode of the Hank Unplugged podcast. Hank is talking with Professor James K. A. Smith, author of You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit. https://www.equip.org/product/cri-resource-cri2011wa/ Hank and James K.A. Smith discuss why James believes worship is at the heart of discipleship, the importance of the church in the Christian life and as a means of sanctification to experience union with Christ, why knowing Church history is so important to our growth as Christians, the spiritual power of habit and the spiritual power of bad habit, what it means to have a proper understanding of worship, and the disenchantment of the Church and the power of spiritual formation through repetition.

On today's Bible Answer Man broadcast (11/18/20), we present an episode of the Hank Unplugged podcast. Hank's guest is Professor James K. A. Smith, author of You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit. https://www.equip.org/product/cri-resource-cri2011wa/Hank and James K.A. Smith discuss how historic examples of the Christian faith were lost as Christianity remade itself in the image of the Enlightenment, the spiritual power of habit, regaining a perspective of the heart according to biblical language, the significance of liturgy in the Christian life and the way that disordered or rival liturgies negatively impact our lives, and why James believes worship is at the heart of discipleship.

You are what you love. But you might not love what you think. Christians desire to shape culture, yet are often unaware of how culture shapes us—unaware of the ways our hearts are being taught to love rival gods instead of the One for whom we were made. James K.A. Smith joins Hank Hanegraaff to discuss the major themes of his book, You Are What You Love, detailing the formative power of culture and the transformative possibilities of traditional Christian practices. Who and what we worship fundamentally shapes our hearts and James K.A. Smith wants Christians to recognize the critical role of the church in lives of Christians—that church should always be the hub and heart of Christian formation and discipleship. https://www.equip.org/product/cri-resource-cri2011hup/Topics discussed include: How historic examples of the Christian faith were lost as Christianity remade itself in the image of the Enlightenment (2:00); the spiritual power of habit (6:10); regaining a perspective of the heart according to biblical language (12:05); the significance of liturgy in the Christian life and the way that disordered or rival liturgies negatively impact our lives (14:55); why James K.A. Smith believes worship is at the heart of discipleship (18:25); the importance of the church in the Christian life and as a means of sanctification to experience union with Christ (20:40); why knowing Church history is so important to our growth as Christians (23:40); James K.A. Smith draws a powerful connection between addiction recovery programs like AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) and effective church discipleship in order to point out the spiritual power of habit as well as the spiritual power of bad habit (27:00); what does it mean to have a proper understanding of worship? (30:10); the disenchantment of the Church and the power of spiritual formation through repetition (34:45); the transcendent strangeness of historic Christian worship as a key element to discipleship and evangelism (41:15); Christians cannot hope to recreate the world if we are constantly trying to recreate the church (50:45); the transformative power of practice and habituation in sanctification (55:00); one of the most powerful passages in all of theology—what does a faithful Christian life look like? (58:15).Listen to Hank's podcast and follow Hank off the grid where he is joined by some of the brightest minds discussing topics you care about. Get equipped to be a cultural change agent.Archived episodes are on our Website and available at the additional channels listed below.You can help spread the word about Hank Unplugged by giving us a rating and review from the other channels we are listed on.

Today we have Pastor Alan Beauchamp sharing his wisdom with us on the topic of human emotion as it relates to our relationship with God. We also discuss cultivating our inner life, hearing Gods voice and learning how to fully surrender our thoughts to God. Listen in as we explore all of these topics and more!Resources: Books - Don't Follow Your Heart by Jon Bloom, You are what you love by James KA Smith, Recapturing the Wonder by Mike Cosper. www.praiseassembly.org