Overall thoughts:
I use this book as a text for an introductory theology class I teach for a discipleship school. At the beginning of the class I tell my students that one of my main goals in the class is to help us all see that it is possible that the Bible may support views other than the ones we automatically assume it does. It seems that many followers of Jesus assume that the Bible "obviously" teaches the doctrines they happen to have been raised with (or introduced to when they first devoted their lives to Christ). However, the very fact that many of these debates have been raging for so long--among people who are undoubtedly sincere in their faith--must show that there is something to be said for more than one viewpoint. This book helps me to illustrate that fact--that a solid argument can be made, based on Scripture, to support a variety of doctrinal understandings.
I attend a church where people hold to many distinct theological views. We come together, however, in our love for Jesus and our faith in his death and resurrection. We are able to look at one another and say, "I completely disagree with your understanding of , but we can still be united, because we are not saved by our understanding of <said theological doctrine>." It is my goal to help my students get to a place where they can not only say that, but also say, "I understand Scripture differently from you, but I can see how you can love Jesus and believe what you believe, how you can hold to Scripture as your authority but understand it differently than I do. I can at least see where you're coming from." This book is a great help in helping them arrive at that point.
Jesus' prayer was that his followers would be united. He said the world would know we follow him based on our love for one another. This book, I believe, is a wonderful tool in helping us live out the fulfillment of his prayer... but only if we are willing to consider that Scripture might say something we are not used to, or even that we are uncomfortable with. If we are open to that possibility, then we can see in this book how people who uphold the authority of Scripture can come to different conclusions about it and still love Jesus, serve and follow him, and even help usher in his Kingdom.
************
A practical note:
I find the book extremely well-written. Boyd and Eddy have a gift for expressing a great depth of information in a very concise and accessible manner. And despite the reviews claiming that it is simply propaganda for a particular viewpoint, I find each view very equally- and well-defended. If you don't know what the authors believe, I think you would be hard-pressed to guess based on the text. It really does allow readers to consider each side and come to their own conclusions.
************
A closing thought:
For what it's worth, I also happen to know one of the authors personally, and anyone who feels that Christendom is somehow deteriorating because of people like these men would, I believe, be ashamed of those thoughts if they met him in person. His heart beats with a passionate love for the Lord, and his wisdom and humility are an inspiration to me.