In some of my studies this week I came across a real keeper from Dorothy Sayers. What struck me so powerfully was the recognition that throughout history, we see the same trends and pendulum swings recur. We go from strong voices in the pulpit (one thinks of Edwards, Whitefield, and Spurgeon) to those who know neither the message they’re to proclaim nor how to proclaim it.

Just listen to this from Sayers:

“[We are] constantly assured that the churches are empty because preachers insist too much upon doctrine–dull dogma as people call it.

The fact is the precise opposite. It is the neglect of dogma that makes for dullness. The Christian faith is the most exciting drama that ever staggered the imagination of man–and the dogma is the drama.”

And there you have it, folks.