Desiring the Kingdom, by James Smith

I was assigned this book as part of a Theology Discussion group at church. So I was a bit unsure of what I was getting into as I opened the pages. The book is "academic" to say the least. When you approach the book do so with paper and pencil in hand and a good bit of time to devote to each reading. You will be challenged to think, digest, react and then decide, do you agree with Smith or disagree with Smith.

The main tenant of the book appears to me to be the thought that man is a liturgical being. He is born to worship! He desires to worship! He lives to worship! The question is, "what will he worship?" John Piper rightly tells us in his book, "Let the Nations be Glad" that Missions exists because Worship doesn't. When God created the world and then created man He created man with the purpose of bringing Honor and Glory to God and to delight in God, in other words to Worship God.

But our world has delved into a world of sin, paganism and worldliness that God never intended. Even the most gracious of humans, the most gentle of humans, the most kind and caring of humans have succumb to the sin nature of man. We all have a tendency to "worship" something and usually that worship is not the God of our Bible.

Smith will argue that there are several things taking the place of our rightful worship. He will use the examples of The Mall, The Sporting Event and The American University to show that we have replaced the Worship of God the Father with the worship of materialism, sports, entertainment, celebrities and the Intellect.

He will delve into the Philosophical worldviews that have developed and then continue on into a Christian Worldview, but he won't stop there, he will actually go further to declare that even a Christian worldview is not where we should land. You will need to read to learn where he lands.

He also will write that we have put to much credit on the intellect, to much weight on the necessity of learning and have made books, learning and the University things to be worshiped more than the God of the Bible. He will argue that God did make us intelligent beings, but that God gave us his Emotive character and that our faith needs to reside not in our intellect but in our Gut. That's correct, we are emotional romantic people who are pushed more towards the belief in something by our emotions and romance than necessarily by intellect. He will argue that the world / advertisers have it correctly, we are pushed more towards decisions by sex than we are by anything else. That may fly in the face of many Christians but I think he may have a very strong point here. Sex sells. Just watch a little TV and you will know that.

He reminds us that as Christians we often preach and teach, use your intellect to over ride the sex drive. Use your brains to over ride your emotions. Use your wisdom to put down your feelings.

But didn't God make us feeling creatures? So, the question is not that our feelings are bad, but how do we attune ourselves to our feelings, allow them to talk to us and move us without allowing them to drive us to sin. That same phrase could be used with the word "intellect". Yes, our intellect can also drive us to sin when it is mishandled, look at the amount of Pride in some people.

This book is not one that I completely agree with, but it did make me stop and think. I did not buy all of his arguments, but I did have to pause and wonder about them. I think he points out many areas that Christians need to be concerned with and meditate on.

This is not a simple read. It is not for the new Christian. It is not for someone looking for a devotional book. This is a serious read for a serious study and will take you time to work through it. I would recommend that you not read it in isolation, but that you read it as part of a study group that can pick it apart and grow from what you learn.

God bless and Enjoy!