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Dead Orthodoxy and Its Cure: Restoring Power to the Spiritual Life
Are you tired of religion that feels dry, rigid, or lifeless? In Dead Orthodoxy, Ryan Denton delivers a piercing yet hopeful call for Christians to rekindle their love for the Lord and revive their spiritual vitality. Drawing from Scripture, church history, and personal insight, Denton confronts the suffocating effects of a Christianity that is merely formal, complacent, and intellectual.
With the precision of a theologian and the urgency of a revivalist, Denton smashes the idols of tradition and pride, dethrones empty formalism, and encourages Christians to embrace the living, experiential power of God through His Word and Spirit. Each chapter invites readers to reflect deeply, ask hard questions, and rediscover the joy of a “felt Christ.”
Whether you’re battling lukewarm worship, grappling with mediocre personal devotions, or yearning for revival in your church and your own heart, Dead Orthodoxy offers practical wisdom and a roadmap to renewed faith. Be challenged. Be encouraged. Be transformed.
This book is for those brave enough to examine their souls and courageous enough to embrace the Spirit’s call to repentance, renewal, and vibrant living.
Endorsements
In a manner much like A. W. Tozer and the spiritual writers of the past, Ryan Denton challenges readers – especially those in conservative and doctrinally confessional churches – to again heed the call of revival by the power of the Word and the unction of the Holy Spirit. Like a modern-day Josiah, he smashes down idols, grinds up legalism, dethrones antinomianism, and stomps on formalism and the idea of promulgating “religious goods and services” in the marketplace of pragmatism. This book will hurt to read. It will confront your sensibilities. It will call you to repentance. And should you have the courage to look at your own soul in the mirror of God’s Word, Denton will help you to put the pieces back together and avoid the dual errors of losing our first love while growing lukewarm in our worship.
Dr. Matthew Everhard
Jonathan Edwards scholar and Pastor of Gospel Fellowship Presbyterian Church (PCA), Valencia, PA
I am indebted to the good hand of Providence for this enlightening and engaging work. The content was so rich and resonated so much in my heart, it is difficult to capture in two brief paragraphs the words to describe its impact on me. This book has struck a harmonious chord in my heart concerning the ever growing pragmatism in our day.
Because of the deficiency of experiential Christianity, many in the church have been victimized by extremes. We have taught our present generation to think deeply but not feel deeply. Therefore, this book affords a clarion call to motivate the conscientious reader to combat the complacency that is all too common in the contemporary church.
Don Currin
Director, HeartCry Missionary Society
With a notable concern for souls, this book is a rallying cry to avoid the shackles of empty ritualism, mere tradition, and stagnant faith. Anyone interested in communicating the truths of Christianity in a compelling manner will find this work beneficial.
Pastor Anthony Mathenia
Christ Church, Radford, VA
With the precision of a theologian and the urgency of a revivalist, Denton smashes the idols of tradition and pride, dethrones empty formalism, and encourages Christians to embrace the living, experiential power of God through His Word and Spirit. Each chapter invites readers to reflect deeply, ask hard questions, and rediscover the joy of a “felt Christ.”
Whether you’re battling lukewarm worship, grappling with mediocre personal devotions, or yearning for revival in your church and your own heart, Dead Orthodoxy offers practical wisdom and a roadmap to renewed faith. Be challenged. Be encouraged. Be transformed.
This book is for those brave enough to examine their souls and courageous enough to embrace the Spirit’s call to repentance, renewal, and vibrant living.
Endorsements
In a manner much like A. W. Tozer and the spiritual writers of the past, Ryan Denton challenges readers – especially those in conservative and doctrinally confessional churches – to again heed the call of revival by the power of the Word and the unction of the Holy Spirit. Like a modern-day Josiah, he smashes down idols, grinds up legalism, dethrones antinomianism, and stomps on formalism and the idea of promulgating “religious goods and services” in the marketplace of pragmatism. This book will hurt to read. It will confront your sensibilities. It will call you to repentance. And should you have the courage to look at your own soul in the mirror of God’s Word, Denton will help you to put the pieces back together and avoid the dual errors of losing our first love while growing lukewarm in our worship.
Dr. Matthew Everhard
Jonathan Edwards scholar and Pastor of Gospel Fellowship Presbyterian Church (PCA), Valencia, PA
I am indebted to the good hand of Providence for this enlightening and engaging work. The content was so rich and resonated so much in my heart, it is difficult to capture in two brief paragraphs the words to describe its impact on me. This book has struck a harmonious chord in my heart concerning the ever growing pragmatism in our day.
Because of the deficiency of experiential Christianity, many in the church have been victimized by extremes. We have taught our present generation to think deeply but not feel deeply. Therefore, this book affords a clarion call to motivate the conscientious reader to combat the complacency that is all too common in the contemporary church.
Don Currin
Director, HeartCry Missionary Society
With a notable concern for souls, this book is a rallying cry to avoid the shackles of empty ritualism, mere tradition, and stagnant faith. Anyone interested in communicating the truths of Christianity in a compelling manner will find this work beneficial.
Pastor Anthony Mathenia
Christ Church, Radford, VA
- GenresChristianity
171 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2025
8 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Ryan Denton
7 books33 followersRyan Denton is a Presbyterian minister & evangelist. He has published with RHB, DesiringGod, Christian Focus, Founders Ministries, The Confessional Presbyterian, and others. He has degrees from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, St. John's College, University of New Mexico, and a Th.M from Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. Follow him on X: @TexasPreacher
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 17, 2025
4.5/5
This would be a perfect book for those who feel something is missing within reformed Christian circles. The author is very balanced and you can tell that he reads outside his reformed camp and has a healthy appreciation for learning from those in different traditions. His treatment on the power of the Spirit and prayerlessness were especially helpful. I wish that every cessationist would read this book to realize that men of the past that they hold in high regard weren’t “cessationists” according to how the term is used today.
This would be a perfect book for those who feel something is missing within reformed Christian circles. The author is very balanced and you can tell that he reads outside his reformed camp and has a healthy appreciation for learning from those in different traditions. His treatment on the power of the Spirit and prayerlessness were especially helpful. I wish that every cessationist would read this book to realize that men of the past that they hold in high regard weren’t “cessationists” according to how the term is used today.
June 19, 2025
Author Ryan Denton identifies "hyper-cessationism" as an ill affecting the Church and contrasts "dead orthodoxy" with "warm orthodoxy." The book picks up pace a few chapters in, and sometimes he repeats himself for a few paragraphs.
Keeps practical application to just a few points, but could have expanded some.
Overall, a great primer on a little-discussed issue.
Highly recommend if you think the Church seems to get doctrine right yet still lacks life.
Keeps practical application to just a few points, but could have expanded some.
Overall, a great primer on a little-discussed issue.
Highly recommend if you think the Church seems to get doctrine right yet still lacks life.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews