Author Archives: Richard Heyduck

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About Richard Heyduck

Pastor of Hardy Memorial Methodist Church, a Global Methodist Congregation. PhD Fuller Seminary MDiv Asbury Seminary BA Southwestern University

Communities with Multiple and Conflicting Conviction Sets

Posted on July 1, 2015 by Richard Heyduck

In a previous post I noted McClendon & Smith’s work on the nature of convictions. Convictions are the beliefs that are so important to us that they define our identity. If we give up or change these convictions, we become … Continue reading →

Posted in Theology, United Methodism | Tagged , | 1 Comment

My People Are under Attack!

Posted on June 28, 2015 by Richard Heyduck

I think Christians, regardless of race or ethnicity, ought to think of themselves as co-belligerents (without bellicosity!) for the Kingdom of God. For that reason, when I hear of stories like this (church burnings in multiple states) or the murderous … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Current events | Tagged | Leave a comment

Convictional Communities

Posted on June 28, 2015 by Richard Heyduck

Yesterday I mentioned a concept of a “conviction” as developed by James M. Smith and Jim McClendon. They say of convictions: A conviction [is] a persistent belief such that if X (a person or community) has a conviction it will not easily be relinquished … Continue reading →

Posted in Doctrine, United Methodism | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Dead Men Don’t Bleed?

Posted on June 27, 2015 by Richard Heyduck

You’ve probably heard this old joke. Once upon a time there was a man who was convinced he was dead. After being badgered by his friends, he finally gave in and went to a doctor. The doctor took it upon … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The “We Need More Guns” Solution

Posted on June 19, 2015 by Richard Heyduck

The standard response of one side to horrendous shootings is, “We need gun control!” I’m not going to address that now. The standard response from the other side is, “We need more guns. If we had more guns, particularly more … Continue reading →

Posted in Current events, Jesus, Stanley Hauerwas, Violence, War | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Paying for College

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Richard Heyduck

I’ve only been working full time in academia for a little over three years now, so feel free to take what I say here with a grain (or bucket) of salt. College education costs a lot. I know, not just … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Higher Education | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Getting Past the Feedback Loop

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Richard Heyduck

If you are up on what’s been going on in the United Methodist Church over the past generation, you know that we’re stuck in a big feedback loop over issues regarding sexuality. On the one side are those who take … Continue reading →

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A Hayekian Account of Atonement

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Richard Heyduck

What an odd thing to imagine, a Hayekian account of the atonement! From what I’ve seen, Hayek was not a Christian and didn’t write theology. Why then would I imagine that any of his insights might be of use to … Continue reading →

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Are We There Yet?

Posted on May 20, 2015 by Richard Heyduck

Maps are idealizations of territory. They are useful to the extent that their methods of idealization help us orient ourselves in space and figure out where to go and how to get there. This is true whether the space be … Continue reading →

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Kahneman’s WYSIATI and the American Church

Posted on May 18, 2015 by Richard Heyduck

I’ve known WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) for many years. Recently I read Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow and learned a related idea – WYSIATI (What You See Is All There Is). Kahneman is NOT arguing that … Continue reading →

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