James KA Smith is an interesting fellow. He came to York (and indeed my church) last year for several months, but I never got to know him. I would love to have the time to read some of his books.
Anyway his review of Carson's Christ and Culture Revisted is really exceptional. It makes you realise the issues at stake and ask yourself: how would I right the book better? Smith doesn't really give you the answer, and I don't know it. Which is both disconcerting, and challenging.
Hmm fascinating. Thanks for highlighting this.
ReplyDeletehi dave thanks for this. Think he's right that Carson doesn't tend to develop the implications of institutional and social idolatry/transgression (although he certainly mentions it in his preaching through revelation), although the phrase "redistribution of wealth" is a fairly loaded term since marx, and I'm cagey to think that's what Acts 2 & Paul's appeals are all about. It's always been an odd thing to me that the early church just seemed to do it, without much theological connection except evidence of a wisdom shaped by grace (2 cor 8); luke just states it in acts 2, paul just says "they insisted one thing: that I remember the poor" in Gal 1, and the various gifts (php 2, 1 cor 16) seem to be in connection with "the work of the lord" that paul was engaged in. Nonetheless, culture as vocation & activity makes sense to me.
ReplyDeleteI came to the conclusion last year that "culture" was not a unified thing, but full of tensions & in development. I like to think of culture like a rope being woven out of worldview, allegiance & ethos, so I'm interested that Smith has called his book Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation
Glad you both liked it.
ReplyDeleteChris,
I wrote a longer comment but somehow it got lost. In short I was saying: I agree, and I think there were even more interesting things in the article. Particularly great commission/cultural mandate, and christian rather than merely creational approaches to culture.