James Kenneth Alexander Smith (born 1970) is a Canadian-American philosopher who is currently Professor of Philosophy at Calvin University, holding the Gary & Henrietta Byker Chair in Applied Reformed Theology & Worldview. He is the current editor-in-chief of the literary journal Image.

Early life and education

Smith was born on October 9, 1970, in Embro, Ontario. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Waterloo and Emmaus Bible College. He earned a Master of Philosophy degree in philosophical theology in 1995 at the Institute for Christian Studies where he studied under James Olthuis. He went on to receive a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1999 from Villanova University where he was advised by John D. Caputo. After teaching for a short time at Loyola Marymount University, Smith accepted his current position at Calvin University. He currently resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is a senior fellow at the Trinity Forum.

Work

Smith's scholarly work is undertaken at the interface between philosophy, theology, ethics, aesthetics, science, and politics. It draws from continental philosophy and is informed by a long Augustinian tradition of theological cultural critique, from Augustine of Hippo and John Calvin to Jonathan Edwards and Abraham Kuyper. As of this date, his stated interest is in bringing critical thought to bear on the practices of the church and the church's witness to culture, culminating in the need to interpret and understand what he has called "cultural liturgies". As a former proponent of radical orthodoxy, Smith's claim is that it is actually theology or, more specifically, the story told by the church that is capable of modernism. His popular-level work aims to educate evangelicals regarding postmodernism and radical orthodoxy. Though he is critical of the emergent church movement, he is at the same time sympathetic to much that could be described as part of that movement. A primary concern in his work is to expose certain postmodern philosophical claims (and certain ecclesial attempts to work with them) as not actually postmodern enough, pointing out instead that they too have accepted the agenda set by the enlightenment. This is seen in his warnings that the emergent tendency away from historic ecclesial tradition is a grave mistake, and that putting down roots, committing to a community for the long haul, and engaging the deep discourses within historic Christian orthodoxy are in fact the truly post- or counter-modern practices for the church today. Given his training in continental philosophy and in the theology of the Reformed and Pentecostal traditions, his intellectual interests are a natural fit. Smith's research topics range from the continental philosophy of religion to urban altruism to the relationship between science and theology.