Against Dualism of Theory and Practice

"It [RO] also calls into question the dualism of theory and practice, aspects that are too often formulated as mutually exclusive – as when some suggest that we need to stop being so concerned with theology and just get down to the work of doing justice or proclaiming the gospel or that theoretical reflection is an inherently bourgeois abstraction that distracts us from practice. For RO, there is a symbiotic, reciprocal, and necessary relationship between the two. Here again, this sentiment echoes Herman Dooyeweerd’s understanding of the relationship between theory and practice, or what we could describe as the ‘theoretical attitude’ and the ‘everyday or natural attitude’ (ITWT, 13-17). Theory, in this respect, is diaconal and is itself a practice. This is why ideas matter, or; to put it differently, ontologies make a difference."

James K.A. Smith, Introducing Radical Orthodoxy, P. 232