The second of a projected three volumes on Christian worship by Smith (philosophy, Calvin Coll.; Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation), this book focuses on the process through which liturgy, or scripted group participation in action, transforms its participants in both spiritual and secular contexts-making a difference in the way worshipers feel, think, and act in relationship, to self, others, God, or a secular goal. Following philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Smith emphasizes the role of performance through body, perception, story, and imaginative participation in shaping both secular and Christian worldviews. He vivifies his discussion by analyzing contemporary literature, film, and human creativity as catalysts for worldview transformation. Good liturgy, says Smith, embodies habits of expression including bodily expression. Liturgies must not be simply the spouting of doctrine. Smith addresses both academic and more popular concerns in relation to his broader definition of liturgy. VERDICT An important book that may have wide appeal among serious readers in relation to secular education as well as Christian transformation.
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