{"product_id":"whos-afraid-of-relativism-community-contingency-and-creaturehood-paperback","title":"Who's Afraid of Relativism?: Community, Contingency, and Creaturehood - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJames K. A. Smith\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eJames K. A. Smith\u003c\/b\u003e (Editor)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFollowing his successful \u003ci\u003eWho's Afraid of Postmodernism?\u003c\/i\u003e leading Christian philosopher James K. A. Smith introduces the philosophical sources behind postliberal theology. Offering a provocative analysis of relativism, Smith provides an introduction to the key voices of pragmatism: Ludwig Wittgenstein, Richard Rorty, and Robert Brandom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMany Christians view relativism as the antithesis of absolute truth and take it to be the antithesis of the gospel. Smith argues that this reaction is a symptom of a deeper theological problem: an inability to honor the contingency and dependence of our creaturehood. Appreciating our created finitude as the condition under which we know (and were made to know) should compel us to appreciate the contingency of our knowledge without sliding into arbitrariness. Saying \"It depends\" is not the equivalent of saying \"It's not true\" or \"I don't know.\" It is simply to recognize the conditions of our knowledge as finite, created, social beings. Pragmatism, says Smith, helps us recover a fundamental Christian appreciation of the contingency of creaturehood.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis addition to an acclaimed series engages key thinkers in modern philosophy with a view to ministry and addresses the challenge of relativism in a creative, original way.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA Fresh Analysis of Relativism and Pragmatism\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"It is often observed that one of the most important and revealing questions you can ask someone identified as a 'thinker' is 'What are you afraid of?' Writing with clarity and great sympathy, Smith helps us see that Christian theologians have betrayed their best insights by being afraid of relativism. He helps us see that the challenge is not relativism itself but rather the epistemological concerns that produced relativism. As is usually the case with Smith's work, this book is both clear and constructive: he not only provides a clear account of the work of Wittgenstein, Rorty, and Brandom but also develops an account of why and how Christians should navigate the contingent character of our lives.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003eStanley Hauerwas\u003c\/b\u003e, Duke Divinity School, emeritus \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"In very readable and reliable expositions of Wittgenstein, Rorty, and Brandom, Smith builds an extremely attractive case philosophically for recognizing the place of contingency, finitude, and dependence in human life. From a Christian perspective, this actually reaffirms an acceptance of creaturely existence and thus of a properly orthodox version of relativism, which there is no reason to fear. A wonderful thesis.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003eFergus Kerr\u003c\/b\u003e, University of Edinburgh \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"In \u003ci\u003eWho's Afraid of Relativism?\u003c\/i\u003e Smith takes a beautiful risk, boldly and successfully making a case for the relevance of pragmatism for contemporary Christian self-understanding. In this remarkable book, he not only succeeds in making the difficult and enigmatic work of complicated thinkers like Wittgenstein, Rorty, and Brandom accessible to the uninitiated (no small task in itself) but also argues convincingly that the pragmatist emphases on contingency and fallibility should play a key role in a Christian understanding of humans as dependent creatures. The mutual hostility between religious thinkers and pragmatists like Rorty is well known; Smith has the wisdom to see past this impasse in a timely and radical effort to encourage contemporary Christians to think differently about themselves.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003cb\u003eRonald A. Kuipers\u003c\/b\u003e, author of \u003ci\u003eRichard Rorty\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJames K. A. Smith\u003c\/b\u003e (PhD, Villanova University) is professor of philosophy at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he also holds the Gary and Henrietta Byker Chair in Applied Reformed Theology and Worldview. He is the editor of \u003ci\u003eComment \u003c\/i\u003emagazine. Smith has authored or edited many books, including\u003ci\u003e Imagining the Kingdom\u003c\/i\u003e and the \u003ci\u003eChristianity Today\u003c\/i\u003e Book Award winners \u003ci\u003eWho's Afraid of Postmodernism?\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eDesiring the Kingdom\u003c\/i\u003e. He is also editor of the well-received The Church and Postmodern Culture series (www.churchandpomo.org).\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 192\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.51 x 8.47 x 5.54 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 15, 2014\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42773765128288,"sku":"9780801039737","price":47.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0598\/1922\/9280\/files\/SmYQ6i3qBQ9780801039737.webp?v=1779922245","url":"https:\/\/bijoucc.myshopify.com\/products\/whos-afraid-of-relativism-community-contingency-and-creaturehood-paperback","provider":"CARIBBEAN CONNECT","version":"1.0","type":"link"}