Review article

Rhetorics and Homiletics. Some Theological Debates on the Relationship Between the Two Disciplines

Ivo Džinić ; Catholic Faculty of Theology in Djakovo, University of Josip Juraj Strossmayer, Đakovo, Croatia

Abstract

This article presents the history of the relationship between rhetorics and homiletics, as (the latter) an autonomous theological discipline that studies the content and forms of Christian rhetoric, that is oral proclamation in the form of a liturgical sermon. The issue of the relationship between rhetorics and homiletics has been a constant companion of the theological tradition from its beginnings. The problem of convergence of rhetorics and homiletics had to be faced already by Augustine after his conversion. As a teacher of rhetorics and an expert in Antique tradition, he was well aware that rhetorics is tightly related to the antique worldview and its way of thinking. The problem he had to face concerned the possibility of integrating a »pagan« science with a theological theory of oral proclamation; that is, homiletics. It is this same question that Augustine tried to tackle systematically, which became a constant companion of homiletics ever since. Rhetorics and its relationship to homiletics have been treated variously throughout history; from their exaggeration to their complete devaluation, when it comes to Christian preaching. Theology has also seen a renewed interest in the topic in the last couple of decades of the twentieth century, which sparked lively debates. These debates are led by both Protestant and Catholic theologians, where one can witness a variety of views on the relationship between rhetorics and homiletics. While some recent authors expressed a benign view of the relationship between the two disciplines, the others remained quite sceptical about the possibility to bring these two disciplines closer. These differences between the positive and the negative views on the value of rhetorics for homiletics are closely related to the differences in the understanding of rhetorics as an art of public speech and of the possibility of its integration in theological-homiletic context. The authors who expressed a reservation towards rhetorics are mainly subscribing to an instrumental understanding of the discipline, while the authors who support a convergence between the two, recognised a significant hermeneutical potential in hermeneutics for the Christian theory of preaching. The aim of this article is to offer a review of these theological debates and to draw out some useful and instructive conclusions.

Keywords

rhetorics; homiletics; sermon; preacher; Augustine

Hrčak ID:

99343

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/99343

Publication date:

27.3.2013.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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