Rhetoric and Hermeneutics, by James Hester and David Hester
Logic, or the Right Use of Reason, by Isaac Watts
I have been in pastoral ministry since the summer of 1986. At that time I had been a believer for six years, was newly married and had just finished my second year of Bible college. Growing up, I had always had a fear of public speaking. We moved frequently. I attended five different elementary schools. And being very tall, thin and awkward I tended to lack confidence when it came to people. In addition, my father had worked as a police officer, a bouncer in a bar, and then a car salesman until his death in 1980. He was a very smooth, imposing and incredibly gifted person, especially when it came to communicating. He was a voracious reader, a skilled solver of crossword puzzles and simply put; he could sell refrigerators to Eskimos.
I, on the other hand, was not so confident. So when I began to teach I began to slowly formulate the decision that instead of being a smooth talking salesman of the Bible and Christianity I would allow the power of God’s word to do the work. My role was to exegete the text and then explain what it meant and seek to apply it without attempting to emotionally embellish the text. Even my homiletics professor in college appeared to place more emphasis on the technical construction of the text and very little emphasis on its delivery and the use of words in crafting the message.
Rhetoric, however, is defined by WordNet (http://wordnetweb.princeton.ed) as “study of the technique and rules for using language effectively, especially in public speaking.” The Course Requirements state that rhetoric is “the art of speaking or writing effectively: as a: the study of principles and rules of composition formulated by critics of ancient times b: the study of writing or speaking as a means of communication or persuasion.” So as I began to read through the required texts for this course my heart began to resonate with the message that was being conveyed by the authors. Yes, we must be biblical but we must also understand that preachers and teachers are in essence “public orators” and there is power in the spoken word, especially since we are seeking to persuade people to make eternal decisions.
The first book that I read was Isaac Watts’ “Logic or The Right Use of Reason in the Inquiry After Truth.” I was immediately intrigued to read on when I read Watts’ words in the preface, “the great design of this noble science is to rescue our reasoning powers from their unhappy slavery and darkness; and thus, with all due submission and deference, it offers an humble assistance to divine revelation” (Watts, p 3).
What I appreciated most about Watts’ approach to logic was the way in which he began building a simple foundation of examining that which is around us, how these things are perceived and then how we communicate our concepts of these things. I greatly enjoyed his use of scriptural examples to explain his points. General statements of wisdom such as when he refers to making notes as read and saying, “It is but a very weak objection against this practice to say, I shall spoil my book; for I persuade myself, that you did not buy it as a bookseller, to sell it again for gain, but as a scholar, to improve your mind by it...though your book yields less money for your executors” (Watts, p 64). Not only is there wisdom but there is a dry humor in his writing.
In addition Watts’ was very helpful in how we should approach a subject, divide it and adequately explain it. I often see young men who take a subject and essentially preach three separate sermons or they send the majority of their on one point (with several sub points) and very little time on the other two or three main points. In addition, his work on propositions was very helpful for making clear and precise statements that logically communicate the truth of Scripture.
The next book which I read was “Rhetorics and Hermeneutics” by Hester and Hester. I did not know what to expect when I began to read this book. As the title teasingly states, is it simply Rhetorics and Hermeneutics or is Rhetoric a part of Hermeneutics, is it Rhetorics or Hermeneutics or is it Rhetorics instead of Hermeneutics?
What I appreciated most from this book was the understanding that the Bible was not simply written as words on a page that are to only be examined one word at a time. “Rhetorics distinguishes itself from hermeneutics precisely by concentrating on the text’s effects at each and every moment of performance and at every integral context: the context of the rhetor, both real and implied, the context of the text’s materiality, and the context of the audience, empirical, intended, and constructed, both universal and particular” (Hester, p 10). In addition, Wuellner adds, “More importantly, however, is the awareness brought to rhetoric that the essence of all rhetoric is not mere communication, but the creation of states of communion… the aim of identification through transformation” (Hester, p 11).
In my opinion, the essays in this book create an opportunity for the preacher to understand that the rhetoric of the Bible must not be ignored or abandoned but must be the very essence of string Biblical communication today. Do we preach in such a way that our hearers break out with applause? Do we agree with Demosthenes that “the three most important parts of rhetoric are delivery, delivery, delivery” (Hester, p 129)?
This book caused me to evaluate my speaking beyond technical exegetical skills and to ask myself if I am truly seeking to communicate in a way that creates emotion, identification and ultimately transformation through persuasion.
The third book was “Foundations of Christian Thought” by Mark Cosgrove. Perhaps the key quote in this book was his statement, “I suspect that Satan dos not work through chants, ceremonies, Halloween costumes, and body postures as much as through ordinary American TV commercials and self –righteousness in our churches” (Cosgrove, p 118). As I read this book I found myself asking if my preaching has helped people to develop a truly Christian world view. Is this world view of Christian Theism clearly taught and applied or are we for the most part creating people who in practice have a New Age Movement view of spirituality where “I see Americans driving their fast cars, eating rich foods, and then heading off to their twenty minute, Eastern meditation sessions” (Hester, pg 127). This eerily sounds like the behavior of many evangelical Christians today.
In conclusion, the reading of these books has helped me to better evaluate my preaching style, the way that I craft sermons and the purpose of my preaching. The words of Paul ring true, “we try to persuade men” (2 Corinthians 5:11). Most importantly, are we leading people into a true spiritual experience, built upon Christian Theism or are we simply creating individuals who have a form of spirituality apart from regeneration that simply seeks to “unleash” each persons inner potential.
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