"God has been at work in the church's reflections and practices for centuries. How can modern Christians wisely and discerningly retrieve and transmit these riches so they continue to feed us today? David Buschart and Kent Eilers answer this question by delving into six key areas of the church's tradition—Scripture, theology, worship, spirituality, mission and cosmos—and cogently explain and explore current efforts at the art and science of retrieval and transmission in each of them. This is an extremely helpful and learned book and will prove to be valuable to a broad audience."

"Theology as Retrieval offers an intriguing and carefully grounded typology of contemporary Christian writers who are intent upon reception from past Christian witness for the renewal of God's people. The book begins by wisely situating retrieving theology in media res—as already part of the reception and transmission of the deposit of faith—and by insisting that what is delivered to God's people is not simply conceptual, but 'the personal presence of God in Christ.' Here is a book that will be of great interest to Christians who are wondering about the many 'ancient Christian future' quests that are emerging in the areas of Scripture, theology, worship, spirituality, mission and 'reclamation of the cosmos' (i.e., radical Orthodox thinkers). The book is wide-ranging and imaginatively conceived, using metaphors as varied as jazz improvisation and genetics, and fastening upon both academic and popular quests for Christian roots. Though naturally shaped by its social location within evangelicalism—for example, little is made of the imaginative Eastern Orthodox neo-patristic synthesis, or the North American adaptation of monastic ideals to Orthodox family life—it commends itself as an informative and challenging analysis to readers of various Christian backgrounds. Especially welcome is its closing embrace of scholarly askesis: humble critique of the past, attending carefully to the present and faithfully waiting for the Lord to act."

"In recent decades, a wide range of scholars have sought to retrieve voices from the church's history to open up creative possibilities that move beyond the polarities and dead-ends of the present. Theology as Retrieval is the only book that provides a map to the diverse literature that has resulted. It surveys and critically probes this recent literature as it relates not only to theology, but to worship, spirituality and mission as well. Buschart and Eilers provide a valuable resource for the renewal of the church's life and witness today!"

"Theology as Retrieval avoids the temptation either simply to revile the past (chronological snobbery) or to relive it (chronological stubbornness). Eilers and Buschart instead prove themselves to be 'golden retrievers' who listen to the past in order theologically to discern the way forward. Rather than being embarrassed by the doctrines and practices of our premodern forbears, they discover an embarrassment of riches that continue to fund the church's doctrine, worship and mission."

"Buschart and Eilers have provided the church with an invaluable resource: a guide—a primer, one might say—for emerging theologians who recognize that the theological task is found in counterpoint between continuity and discontinuity. This kind of work requires discernment, and this is precisely what this publication will offer—a guide to effective discernment in drawing on the wisdom of the past for the theological vision and challenges of the church of tomorrow."

"This overview of recent projects of retrieval of the Christian tradition demonstrates their growth both in scope and in depth. But Buschart and Eilers do more than just making clear that theologies of retrieval are here to stay. By putting forward key instances of theological retrieval, they offer a salient contribution to the church's maturation in faithfully passing on the deposit of the Christian faith."

"Thinking in the present is often animated, enriched and healed by thinking through the past; this book tells its readers why and how this is so."