OVERALL THEME: The way we practice our faith can affect the faith itself.
CHAPTER THEME: The sermon is very bad and of pagan (non-Christian) origin.
Before we began our discussion we had to be fair and review what the authors meant by “The Sermon.” They define the sermon as: an oration by the same guy, to the same passive group of people on a weekly basis, and that it is a cultivated form of speech.” (Bulleted at the top of Page 87). This was opposed to their description of NT preaching, which they argue was extemporaneous, with interruptions from the audience, and that it was given out of a present burden, and not scripted in any way.
We discussed the merits of the authors’ definition regarding the first several points – ie, regularity, passive audience, same speaker. We discussed how they might have a point that such things do not appear present in the NT church, and how they could, in the right mix, stifle church functioning. Since they devote much of the chapter to it, we had a critical discussion regarding whether or not a cultivated form of speech is bad.
GRECO-ROMAN RHETORIC- The authors argue that the sermon is pagan and bad because it comes from a cultivated form of speech called “rhetoric” that was perfected by the Greeks and Romans. We questioned why this was bad since many of Paul’s writings have elements of Rhetoric. One of the elements we humorously discussed is paralipsis.
Paralipsis is basically mentioning something without mentioning it. An often used example to illustrate paralipsis would be: I’m not even going to mention how it has been reported that my opponent is a wife beater and a sluggard.
Hebrews 11:32-39 is a positive example of this rhetorical technique.
MORE THAN JUST RHETORICAL TECHNIQUES?
Greco-Roman Rhetoric had consistent form. Elements of that form included an introduction called an exordium, a statement of facts called a narratio, a proposition called a propositio, proofs to back up the propositio called a probatio, an exhortation called the exhoratio, and finally it had a conclusion called, you guessed it, the conclusio.
One writer has noticed Greco-Roman rhetoric in 1 Corinthians. You decide:
Click here to read 1 Corinthians in a new window
(paraphrased from faithtacoma.org)
- Exordium chp/vss 1:4-9 an introduction to secure the goodwill of the readers
- Proposition chp/vss 1:10 In this case, that there are divisions in that church and there should not be.
- Narratio chp/vss 1:11-17 a statement of the facts that lead to the proposition
- Probatio chp/vss 1:18 – chp 16:12 Proofs and main arguments supporting the proposition
- Conclusion 16:13-18 summing it all up.
Looks pretty Greco-Roman doesn’t it?
Another writer (Ken Schenk) has proposed that the book of Galatians is, in fact, almost identical to Greco-Roman rhetoric. His outline below. Again, you decide:
Click here to read Galatians in a new window:
The Epistolary Prescript: chp/vss. 1:1-5
The Exordium: chp/vss 1.6-11
The Narratio : chp/vss 1.12-2.14
The Propositio: 2.15-21
The Probatio: chp/vss 3.1-4.31
The Exhortatio: chp/vss 5.1-6.10
The Conclusion: 6.11-18
We discussed the authors' very good thesis that every member should function if is to look like a NT church. However, their insistence that “passivity” is never acceptable, and that it is an argument against the sermon was questioned. We discussed how it is difficult to harmonize that thinking with Paul’s admonition that women not speak in church. (see 1 Corinthians 14:34-35.) Afterall, passivity, (listening to a sermon) is not acceptable or the norm for NT church gatherings as argued by the authors.
CONCLUSION: The authors' make good points that modern day sermons with their regularity of speaker and frequency can become staid, and these kinds of sermons do not appear in the NT so we should always monitor them and check them. Also, the passivity of the audience, which is a consequence of the sermon format, in general, can be very problematic. However, the Bible does not prescribe the exact way to do church, so a modern day sermon, even though it is not biblical, can be a good addition to church life. Afterall, flush toilets, electric lights, and musical instruments are not NT biblical either, but we agree all are good additions to church life.
How might changing the sermon (as defined by the authors) affect our faith for good or bad? I'll ask this question on Sunday.
Your Servant in Christ,
Mike Hosey
No comments:
Post a Comment