The Recovery of Doctrine in the Contemporary Church

At long last we are now getting the kind of serious discussion about doctrine within mainline Christianity that is long overdue. Heyduck has taken that discussion to a whole new level of sophistication, especially as it relates to United Methodism. He brings to his work an irenic spirit, an acute angle of vision, a clear head, and a mind that is steeped in the relevant literature. This book is not for the faint hearted; it gets below the surface, and it advances a central thesis carefully and comprehensively. It deserves to be widely read and pondered.

~William J. Abraham, Albert Cook Outler Professor of Wesley Studies, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University

If you think a book about doctrine is likely to be boring you have probably been affected by the intellectual forces Heyduck here characterizes so well, particularly by 'de-historicization'--the loosing of one's ties to history. Using resources from philosopher Charles Taylor and theologian James McClendon, Heyduck places us in a position to re-envision the nature and function of church teaching. His image of doctrine as script for the ongoing drama of Christian life goes beyond George Lindbeck's cultural-linguistic model, as Lindbeck went beyond his liberal predecessors, and offers an exciting invitation to Christians of all denominations to assume their respective roles in the play.

~Nancey Murphy, Professor of Christian Philosophy, Fuller Theological Seminary