Agents of Renewal, Educating for Shalom

I am now at college. I’ve been at orientation for a week now, and in some ways, it seems way too long of a period for that sort of stuff. I would much prefer to meet my friends in the classroom than being shoved together in ice-breaker games that force us to have many conversations with many people in such short succession that nothing sticks. But, its near the end of the week and certain people are becoming more knowable to me, and vice verse.

But I know the college is intentionally spending a lot of time introducing us to the community, and that I can appreciate. The language of “conversation,” a very postmodern concept, I think, is brought out a lot. They are not trying to give us answers, or disembodied unconnected facts as I said earlier, but ask the right questions and let us wrestle with them. Their mission statement, to be “agents of renewal, in the academy, church, and world” is not seen as an simply thing, but something to be discussed and that has huge ramifications and depth. Even the word “orientation” is defined, by returning to the roots of the word, the navigational term for facing east. The orientation is meant to chart our course during the supposed next four years that we are here.

Two of the orientation days specifically have impacted me exceedingly. The first was the day we did service-learning. It was the first day I started getting to know the group I had been placed in, and I got to encounter them by seeing their selflessness and hardworking care for the poor, which was awesome. We were at a low-income housing facility, cleaning up houses that had been abandoned. So on top of getting to know the group (well, half of them technically) I encountered stories of brokenness through the objects left behind, sometimes pictures, sometimes evidences of crack. It was heartbreaking and at the same time showed me their stories, placing me in their shoes. And we were providing manpower for the organization that was severely underfunded.

The other really exciting day was the one that talked about the Reformed-ness of the school. One of my favorite authors and postmodern philosophers is Dr. James K.A. Smith, more commonly referred to as “Jamie” around here, opened the day about what it meant that we are a “liberal arts college.” One of the other professors even went so far as to say our major doesn’t matter. The language he used was so close to the language I used in my paper on classical education, it was a little scary. He stressed that its not about wealth, power or status or occupationally oriented, but that it forms the person, showing what the “good life” looks like. It shapes our desires, and forms what we love, and that love gives rise to “what really matters” and provides some knowledge. And with knowledge comes responsibility to the Kingdom.

The most beautiful part was the encounter with a movie. Film and music are highly valued here, more so in recent years than in the past. They’ve always been able to write well and succinctly, but now the focus on what’s normally referred to as the “arts” is complementing that quite well. He showed a clip from the movie, “Little Miss Sunshine,” that showed a family that wasn’t prestigious, wasn’t beautiful, weren’t successful. But they did know how to do one thing really well– Love each other. That is what the kingdom of God might look like… to use Rodney Clapp’s language, we are called to be a “peculiar people.” And we should not wait for said kingdom. As Kuyper said, “There is not one square inch of creation over which Jesus Christ does not say, that’s mine!” It is our job to be agents of renewal, bringers of shalom for that Kingdom.

Philosophy and Liturgy: Ritual, Practice, and Embodied Wisdom

I was properly chastised for not having written a blog during my trip to Michigan. I did have some internet time while I was there, but to be honest blogging didn’t even cross my mind. But I am now trying to remedy that!

The most memorable thing really is the train rides. And meeting Jamie Smith face to face. That was pretty cool. Especially since he signed my book. But that wasn’t the only souvenir I brought home. Thanks to Frank, I now have a very *cough* beautiful sketch drawn of yours truly. Actually, it’s kind of hard to tell it’s me if you don’t know. Which is good, because otherwise I would be extremely ugly and manly looking.

But the conference itself… well it was over my head. The title is weighty in and of itself. Even with my education at Heritage providing me a great vocabulary and the capacity to think, it was beyond my scope. It was cool to see how those sort of conferences work, though, and what sort of people come to them. There were a lot of intelligent people who weren’t speakers, but could have been, and their questions at the end of each speaker’s presentation proved it. Philosophy as a discipline seems to appreciate individuals really well, I think. I heard a lot of comments like, “So-and-so’s work, which has been really important for such-and-such reason…” It was kind of encouraging, that this field of study is so focused on people and their ideas. Even if they totally tear someone’s thesis apart, it has sort of a loving-community sort of feel to it.

My one concern was that it was a very philosophical conference as opposed to a theological conference. I was kind of unaware that there was a wide difference between the two, but there seems to be (according to some people). It did over lap a bit, but most of the overlap occurred at the lunch and dinner time conversation, as opposed to the actual presentations. Apparently William Cavanaugh and Catherine Pickstock were invited as well, though, and they probably would have bridged the gap, but they declined the invitation.

So, in conclusion, I am glad I’m going to Calvin next year, and I’m excited to study with James K.A. Smith. And, I think I would ride the train again. But maybe just one direction, as opposed to a round trip. A total of four and a half days is a bit much for one trip.

James K.A. Smith: “Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism: Taking Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault to Church”

This video has absolutely nothing to do with the book. It’s quite obvious that both of these guys have never read it themselves, and that they are scrambling to find something relevant to say, which results in some unrefined discussion about what “postmodernism” is (which, of course, is very different than the definition Smith gives). Nonetheless, it is quite amusing. David Bruce, the main guy, seems incapable of not smiling, which made me smile the whole time myself. He seemed to find the book laughable. That’s funny, since I thought the same thing about the accuracy of the review.

The book itself is a really good primer for an introduction to the philosophical foundations of postmodernism. Unlike the reviewer in the video above, Smith makes the distinction between “postmodernism” (philosophical thought) and “postmodernity” (cultural ramifications). When David Bruce talks about being in more of a constructive era having moved on from postmodernism, he was right to say that postmodernism is a critique of modernism, and a deconstruction of it. However, regarding his views of being in the “creative era” that is beyond postmodernism, Smith would undoubtedly place those cultural exemplifications in the realm of postmodernity , which is truthfully “hyper-modernism” as just an extension of modernism. Smith also does not see it as helpful to pinpoint a historical time when postmodernism came about (which David Bruce would have known if he had read the book). Although it was not as quick of a read as Bruce seemed to suggest (how would he know anyway?), it does have accommodating language for the student who has never studied these things. It is particularly helpful that at the beginning of each chapter Smith takes the time to delve into a movie or book that illustrates the philosophical principles he’s explaining. The last chapter of the book presents a practical embodiment for the church to actively engage in the positive aspects of postmodern thought, ending with a narrative vision of what the church could look like.