James K. A. Smith, Imagining the Kingdom, How Worship Works, Grand Rapids, 2013, 198pp.
How does worship work? How exactly does liturgical formation shape us?
What are the dynamics of such transformation? In the second of James K.
A. Smith's three-volume theology of culture, the author expands and
deepens the analysis of cultural liturgies and Christian worship he
developed in his well-received Desiring the Kingdom. He helps us
understand and appreciate the bodily basis of habit formation and how
liturgical formation--both "secular" and Christian--affects our
fundamental orientation to the world. Worship "works" by leveraging our
bodies to transform our imagination, and it does this through stories we
understand on a register that is closer to body than mind. This has
critical implications for how we think about Christian formation.
Professors and students will welcome this work as will pastors, worship leaders, and Christian educators. The book includes analyses of popular films, novels, and other cultural phenomena, such as The King's Speech, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest, and Facebook.
Professors and students will welcome this work as will pastors, worship leaders, and Christian educators. The book includes analyses of popular films, novels, and other cultural phenomena, such as The King's Speech, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest, and Facebook.
