Rhetoric, Power and Community

by Jasper, David

• ISBN13: 9780664254346
• ISBN10: 0664254349
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1993-01-01
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Pr

Summary

Rhetoric has returned vigorously to the agenda of a number of academic disciplines. Aristotle defended the art of rhetoric, while Plato was suspicious of its manipulative power to persuade. This study examines rhetoric in the context of different kinds of religious texts, from sacred scripture to liturgy to contemporary and postmodern writing and religion.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction: Nietzschean Hilarity	p. 1
Plato, Rhetoric and Community: Lethal Persuasions	p. 14
The Rhetoric of St Paul's Letters: Heaven Forbid!	p. 37
The Community of St Mark's Gospel: Let the Reader Understand	p. 49
What's a Nice Text Like You Doing in a Place Like This? Archbishop Cranmer's Prayer Book of 1549	p. 72
'Verbs Conjugated Sweetly, Verse Began': Bakhtin's Contribution	p. 89
Theology and the New Rhetoric: Shepherding the Sheep or Pulling the Wool over their Eyes?	p. 104
Postmodernism, Rhetoric and Irony: Another Modest Proposal	p. 121
The Christian Art of Missing the Joke	p. 136
A Personal, Inconclusive, Unscientific Postscript: Bearing our Responsibilities	p. 150
Select Bibliography	p. 164
Index	p. 168
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.