Timothy Stoner

Desiring the Kingdom: Humans are Lovers not Thinkers

Posted on 18. May, 2010 by Tim Stoner.

Desiring the Kingdom was authored by James K. A. Smith, a philosopny professor at Calvin College and is one of the 10 most influential books I have read. It shines unrelenting light upon the deficits of the traditional perspective on Christian formation-discipleship. Its thesis can be summarized simply: Christians have been wrong for over 400 years in defining humans by placing the focus on the mind–we are thinking beings that are containers for ideas. He argues that being a disciple of Jesus is not primarily a matter of getting the right ideas and doctrines and beliefs into your head; rather, it is a matter of being the kind of person who loves rightly. We are first of all lovers not thinkers. And then he gets dangerous.

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Paul and Rob at Mars Hill

Posted on 23. Jun, 2009 by Tim Stoner.

Paul appropriates what is good in the Athenian belief system. He does not jettison all of paganism as evil. Nor does he contend that they must burn down the temples, the scrolls, the ancient writings, nor stop dancing, or enjoying the plays, or the feasts. He recognizes that there is much truth embedded in culture. So he affirms what he can. This is where Rob Bell and Paul can properly be compared. But they diverge dramatically in their motivation for the affirmation. and in what they say immediately afterwards

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