• Education,  James K.A Smith,  Philosophy of Education

    Postmodern Integration part 2

    As you might have noticed, I have been attempting to explore answers to a perennial question – how the Christian faith is integrated with learning. My interest is sparked not only by the fact that I have children who presently attend a Christian school, but also because of my own experience (okay, and it’s also my MA thesis). In some ways I am seeking to understand what I think to be true in principle – that there is nothing that is not under the sovereign rule of God and that includes every avenue of learning possible – math, science, literature, philosophy etc. Today I want to look at a postmodern…

  • James K.A Smith,  Jaques Derrida,  Jean-Francois Lyotard,  Michel Foucault,  Postmodernism

    Debunking Bumper Stickers

    In a book that has done the rounds, Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism, James K Smith critiques evangelicals for their unfair dismissal of postmodern thought. He takes the three most common “bumper sticker” lines from three of postmodernism’s most influential thinkers, tells us what they really mean and why their contributions are helpful for an “emerging postmodern form of church.” I remember the postmodernism/postevangelical debates we all had (far too late) in the early 90’s. And, as I have mentioned before (here and here), the whole thing left me rather non-plussed. However, I thought Smith’s summary of radical orthodoxy in his book of that title was so good that I would flick through his contribution to…