Not with Wisdom of Words: Nonrational Persuasion in the New Testament

by Gary Selby

Overview

Many texts in the New Testament do more than simply explain the main tenets of the Christian faith; they invite believers to imagine and experience their theological claims. In Not with Wisdom of Words Gary Selby shows how biblical authors used poetic, imaginative language to inspire their audiences to experience a heightened sense of God’s presence.
 

 
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467444989
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	02/14/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	197
File size:	695 KB

About the Author

Gary S. Selby holds the Carl P. Miller Chair of Communication at Pepperdine University and serves as director of the Pepperdine Center for Faith and Learning. He is also the author of Martin Luther King and the Rhetoric of Freedom: The Exodus Narrative in America’s Struggle for Civil Rights.

Table of Contents

Preface viii

Introduction 1

1 Rhetoric, Poetics, and the Ecstasy of Faith 19

2 Visions of the End (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) 40

3 Performing Despair (Romans 7:14-25) 59

4 Rhapsody on Love (1 Corinthians 13) 80

5 United in Worship (Ephesiaris 1:3-14) 105

6 Reconfiguring the Rhetorical Encounter, Part One: Placing Hearers "in" the Content 126

7 Reconfiguring the Rhetorical Encounter, Part Two: Removing the Rhetor, Constituting the Community 142

Conclusion: A Discourse for the Church 161

Modern Authors Index 173

Subject Index 177

Scripture and Ancient Sources Index 183

Editorial Reviews

Vernon K. Robbins
— Emory University
“Focusing on units of poetic rhetoric in the New Testament that activate the holistic nature of faith, Selby exhibits rhetorical interpretation that considers more how texts transform rather than what they mean. By visioning, performing, rhapsodizing, uniting, encountering, and activating exchange in community, New Testament texts fill human consciousness with visual images, emotions, dispositions, and convictions that habitually (or “liturgically”) compel the hearer to participate in nurturing, loving ways even in contexts of despair. An excellent contribution on the forefront of rhetorical interpretation.”

 Dale L. Sullivan
— North Dakota State University
“Not with Wisdom of Words makes an important contribution to biblical criticism, especially for those interested in how the Bible creates a spiritual experience in readers. Selby broadens the scope of rhetorical criticism, showing that Paul goes beyond rational argument to use poetic mimesis in selected passages, thereby changing the audience and creating a kairotic opening that may occasion a numinous experience.”

 Anthony C. Thiselton
— University of Nottingham
“Gary Selby is well-read in classical rhetoric and the New Testament. . . . This work offers much-needed recognition of the dramatic and imaginative world of Paul’s rhetoric.”

 

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