First Light is pleased to welcome James K.A. Smith to Austin to celebrate his newest book, Make Your Home in This Luminous Dark: Mysticism, Art, and the Path of Unknowing.

Please join us at the shop for a conversation between James and Zac Koons, followed by a book signing. ​The event will begin with an author reception from 6:00-6:30 p.m., and the discussion will begin at 6:30 p.m.​

Tickets include a copy of the book and a reserved seat. Unreserved seats are available on a first come, first served basis. Free RSVPs are also encouraged.

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ABOUT THE BOOK​

​A philosopher journeys back to the mystics to learn how to live with uncertainty in the twenty-first century.

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How do we live when we don’t know what to believe, or who to believe, or how we could even know? In this deeply felt book, philosopher James K.A. Smith explores how radical uncertainty can be liberating, opening us to another way of being. The pain of his own profound uncertainty led Smith to a surprising source for modern consolation: the mystical experiences of St. Teresa of Ávila, St. John of the Cross, and the author of The Cloud of Unknowing. These mystics testify to a deeper truth beneath distraction, anxiety, and fear: love.

Drawing on ancient traditions of contemplation as well as on contemporary novels, poetry, film, and paintings, Smith speaks to the fundamental yearnings that persist in late modernity, including the philosophical quest for knowledge and certainty. He shows us how the gifts of the Christian contemplative tradition and the riches of creative works embody a liberating spirituality that recovers the fullness of being human.

In bringing a philosopher’s questions to the mystics, Smith brings a mystical heart back to philosophy.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR​

​James K. A. Smith James K.A. Smith is professor of philosophy at Calvin University where he holds the Gary & Henrietta Byker Chair. As a scholar, Smith has embraced the vocation of being a “translator” of philosophy for wider audiences. As a cultural critic and commentator, he explores the tensions of modern life, inviting readers and audiences to more intentional practices of faith and flourishing.

He is the award-winning author of a number of influential books including Desiring the Kingdom, How (Not) To Be Secular: Reading Charles Taylor, You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit , On the Road with Saint Augustine and How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now.

Smith served as editor-in-chief of Comment magazine and Image Journal. His essays and criticism have appeared in magazines that include the Christian Century, Christianity Today, America, Harvard Divinity Bulletin, LitHub, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. His writing has also been featured in outlets such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. Jamie and his wife, Deanna, are empty-nesters who live in the Heritage Hill neighborhood of Grand Rapids where they tend sprawling flower gardens and an ever-increasing number of bird-feeders.

He will be joined in conversation by Zac Koons, a priest in the Episcopal Church and Rector of St. Mark's in Austin, TX since 2018. He attended Wheaton College and Duke Divinity School and has written for Christian Century, Mockingbird, Plough Magazine, and The Living Church. ​