"A Change of Heart: A Personal and Theological Memoir" by Thomas C. Oden is an enthralling account of the life of one of the most influential theologians of the 20th and 21st centuries.

The memoir chronicles Oden's journey, illuminating his childhood and charting his spectrum-shift from liberal radical enamoured by Freud, Marx and Bultmann to one of the premier champions of "paleo-orthodoxy" and chief architect of the magisterial Ancient Christian Commentary Series (ACCS) as well as an advocate for Africa's early Christian heritage.

Following his childhood, Oden studied theology. He became a disciple of liberal theology, with particular interest in Rudolf Bultmann. He also dabbled in the relationship between theology and psychology, evidenced by his early books such as "Kerygama and Counselling." He also writes of his involvement in the ecumenical movement of the mainline - an ecumenical movement he later repudiated because of its shallow doctrine, radical-liberal bent (including its politics) and poor financial management and of travelling to Europe where he met Bultmann, Karl Barth, Wolfhart Pannenberg and where he was admitted as a guest observer to Vatican II.

Oden's "change of heart" began when his Drew colleague, Will Herberg (author of "Protestant, Catholic, Jew") challenged him to return to the early sources of Christianity in the early 1970s. This spawned Oden's continued interest in recovering and proclaiming "classic Christianity" for believers today (the ACCS being a landmark contribution). Oden became more informed of the resources that classic Christianity can offer Christians today and how these teachings have outlasted the fads and fashions that Oden himself was doubting and then abandoning. Now instead of Rogerian therapeutic methods, Oden was discovering the pastoral wisdom of the church fathers.

Though not without opposition from ideological and theological adversaries, Oden began advocating "paleo-orthodoxy" beginning in the late 1970s. He became conversant and friends with many of the leading theologians and thinkers of our time, including Roman Catholics such as Avery Dulles, George Weigel and especially Richard John Neuhaus (Oden attributes the inspiration for the ACCS to his dialogue with Joseph Ratzinger; along with meeting the future Benedict XVI Oden also participated in an early morning mass with Pope John Paul II at the outbreak of the first Gulf War), Protestant evangelicals such as J.I. Packer, Timothy George, Charles Colson, and Christopher Hall as well as Orthodox and Jewish thinkers. The two projects Oden spends most time discussing are the ACCS and later his work in recovering the roots of African Christianity. He writes about the background to a lot of his books but one significant book absent from this memoir is the story behind (my favourite Oden book) "The Transforming Power of Grace." He also writes of his family life.

Several things shine forth especially brightly to me from Oden's memoir:

1) He is immensely gracious. Even when writing about those with whom he strongly disagrees he praises their intellect and talent.

2) Thomas Oden is passionate about the "classic Christian consensus."* He sees this as a richer, deeper form of ecumenism than that offered by the World Council of Churches and other liberal ecclesiastical organizations. He writes glowingly of the "conciliar" process for understanding doctrine.

3) He has steadfastly stuck with the United Methodist Church of his upbringing, despite his immersion in the early Church and the theological liberalism of many of the leaders in the UMC. In an age when many serious Christians are converting to other denominations or worse, Christians act non-nonchalantly about their denominational affiliation, it is admirable to see someone remain loyal to the church that baptized and instructed them in the faith. The UMC is also unique in that it has thus far avoided significant schism, unlike other mainline churches where the conservatives have departed (e.g. the PCA and ACNA).

4) A deep awareness of the Holy Spirit's work through the course of his life is acknowledged. Oden points to providential meetings and opportunities and reminds us that God is very much alive and working in the world today!

Throughout his long career he has been present at key moments and collaborated with an impressive array of believers. Readers will enjoy the anecdotes. This is indeed a personal AS WELL AS a theological memoir. Thomas Oden charts how the utopian idealism of radical Christianity ultimately withered, both in his own life and in the greater Christian Church and how he emerged from this committed to "classic Christianity."