Description
Book SynopsisAmong many of his influences, James K. A. Smith set the agenda for Pentecostal philosophy with the publication of Thinking in Tongues, which addressed a wide range of philosophical loci through the lens of Pentecostal spirituality. In particular, he articulated an epistemology called narrative, affective knowledge, one that carefully utilizes the resources from continental philosophy and Pentecostalism. In Pentecostalism, Postmodernism, and Reformed Epistemology: James K. A. Smith and the Contours of a Postmodern Christian Epistemology, while accepting the broader descriptions of narrative, affective epistemology, Yoon Shin critically modifies and strengthens Smith’s epistemology through careful exposition and critique and with the aid of wide-ranging resources, such as moral psychology, philosophy of emotion, postliberalism, and Reformed epistemology. Through his exposition, Shin argues that Smith’s Pentecostal epistemology is not uniquely Pentecostal, but postliberal and postmodern. Against Smith’s insistence that to be a Christian postmodern is to be a relativist, Shin critiques Smith’s misunderstanding of postliberalism and its realist commitment and argues for a performative correspondence theory of truth. Moreover, he expands on Smith’s thin prescription for knowledge by enlisting the aid of Reformed epistemology. Through dialogue with Reformed epistemology, Shin identifies three areas for dialogue between postmodern and Reformed epistemology in service of developing a postmodern Christian epistemology.
Trade Review“Yoon Shin’s engaging study stages a constructive conversation few may have thought possible, namely that between Reformed epistemology, postmodern philosophy, and Pentecostal theology. The result is a substantive and creative proposal—a ‘mashup epistemology’ as Shin styles it—that greatly enriches our thinking about religious knowledge and the possibilities available for Christian reflection upon the quality of our knowledge.”
-- Philip G. Ziegler, University of Aberdeen
"Combining the most stimulating debates of the last decade, Yoon Shin courageously ventures into the seemingly contradictory interests of Pentecostal, Evangelical, Reformed and postmodern epistemologies through the lens of one of their chief interlocutors, James K.A. Smith. Critical and constructive, combining philosophy, theology, hermeneutics, and cultural studies, this conversation is an advocate for a postmodern Christian epistemology grounded in the concrete embodiment of the human situation."
-- Wolfgang Vondey, University of Birmingham
"In this significant work, Yoon Shin brings James K.A. Smith’s postmodern epistemology into a much-need conversation with Reformed epistemology. The result is a magnificently lucid and engaging product that will mark a watershed moment in Pentecostalist scholarship. Pentecostalism, Postmodernism, and Reformed Epistemology: James K. A. Smith and the Contours of a Postmodern Christian Epistemology will be treasured by scholars for its rigorous argumentation, clarity, and depth of insight. A real tour de force! "
-- Brian Lightbody, Brock University
Table of ContentsForeword
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Part 1: Smith’s Pentecostal Epistemology
Chapter 1: Pentecostal Spirituality and Postmodernism
Chapter 2: Pentecostal Epistemology
Chapter 3: Pretheory, Theory, and Their Integrated Relationship
Part 2: Smith’s Postmodern Epistemology
Chapter 4: Postmodern Hermeneutic Epistemology
Chapter 5: Smith the Relativist?
Chapter 6: Against Narrative, Affective Knowledge
Part 3: Reformed and Postmodern Epistemology
Chapter 7: Plantinga’s Reformed Epistemology
Chapter 8: Warranted Christian Belief
Chapter 9: Reformed Epistemology, Postmodernism, and a Way Forward
Conclusion: Contours of a Postmodern Christian Epistemology
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
About the Author
