Preaching

The Mum effect is the natural human reluctance to share bad news with others, due to a desire to avoid a range of negative consequences, consequences affecting both self and the recipient of the bad news. Although the gospel is good news to those who believe, it may be viewed negatively by those who do not believe. Thus, Christians may be hesitant to share the gospel because of the negative consequences associated with the Mum effect. Because of the anonymity of the internet, social media is often filled with unre-strained criticism of Christianity. This may amplify the perceived negative consequences of sharing the gospel with unbelievers. In light of this cultural evolution, found now in the global north and increasingly present in the global south, Christian leaders can lead more effective ministries by distinguishing between outreach (building relationships in a way that makes the gospel attractive), witnessing (explaining how one has experienced God), and evangelism (sharing all that is necessary to make a decision for Christ), and by ensuring that all three occur in culturally relevant ways, carried out by individuals best equipped to do each, in a way consistent with the New Testament teaching on spiritual gifts. Specifically, outreach and witnessing can be done by all Christians who interact with non-Christians, whereas evangelism may be carried out, both on the individual level and in large groups, by those who are appropriately gifted. By addressing large groups in a more impersonal way, those gifted in evangelism may reduce the negative consequences of the Mum effect and build upon the outreach and witnessing done by others.

This thesis explores a theology of a three-fold form of proclamation of the Word of God, in which "proclamation" is both direct (i.e., sermon and sacraments) and indirect (i.e., witness in acts of love and mission), and seeks to identify whether the life of the Church, thanks to its communicative union with Christ, is a true form of proclamation. Simply stated, communicative union is the shorthand term for the Church's and the individual believer's participation in the proclamation of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.  This project reclaims Calvin as a resource for establishing a fitting and appropriate ecclesiology that naturally participates in proclamation through union with Christ, moving from worship to the missio Dei.

Minggu ini kita memasuki Minggu Kelimabelas setelah Trinitatis. Tema yang akan kita renungkan adalah "Berhikmat dalam Yesus". Tema ini menarik untuk kita ulas sebab ada banyak manusia yang kurang berhikmat dalam menjalani hidupnya. Tidak ada jaminan orang yang dekat dengan Yesus memiliki hikmat. Perikop kotbah Minggu ini menunjukkan bahwa Petrus seorang murid Yesus pun melakukan kesalahan sehingga itu menunjukkan bahwa dia tidak berhikmat.

Interpreted preaching embodies the Pentecost belief that all peoples should hear the good news in their heart language communicated through preachers empowered by the Holy Spirit. This paper argues that interpreted preaching is distinct from other forms of preaching. This paper is a summary of the author’s doctoral work that is the first in theology to explore the historically overlooked event of consecutive side-by-side preaching with an interpreter. Interpreters have been of historical importance to evangelism and the global church, and continue to be utilised in churches and religious contexts. The biblical foundation of this paper is that God desires to communicate with people in their heart languages. A case study of SOMA, a short-term mission organisation that regularly uses interpreted preaching was undertaken. Qualitative interviews of preachers, interpreters, and bilingual listeners were conducted to examine the homiletic process before, during, and after the interpreted preaching event. Analysis of results demonstrates that there are significant differences in interpreted preaching from other forms of preaching. Interpreted preaching requires preachers to approach the task with a particular emphasis on nonverbal communication, establish a preaching rapport with the interpreter, as well as different methodology and praxis in preparation, delivery, and reflection. Interpreted preaching also significantly affects power dynamics and roles within the preaching space, with the interpreter considered a gatekeeper and co-preacher due to their linguistic, cultural, and theological fluency. These results confirm the hypothesis that interpreted preaching is a discrete homiletic.

Bruno Restif, « Un évêque issu de la réforme régulière au temps de la première réforme séculière. Yves Mayheuc et les paroissiens du diocèse de Rennes : convergences et ignorances », in Augustin Pic et Georges Provost (dir.), Yves Mayheuc, 1462-1541. Rennes en Renaissance, Rennes, Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 2010, p. 203-215.

Reviewed in: BUKSZ--Budapesti Könyvszemle (Beatrix F. Romhányi), Catholic Historical Review (Katherine L. Jansen), Collectanea Franciscana (Aleksander Horowski), Deutsches Archiv für Erforschung des Mittelalters (Veronika Lukas), Hungarian Historical Review (Dorottya Uhrin), Il Santo (Eleonora Lombardo), Quellen und Forschungen aus italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken (Ralf Lützelschwab), Revue d’histoire ecclésiastique (Michael Robson), Speculum (Thomas F. Luongo)

This paper is addressing the theme “Preaching and Inspiration: Drawing on Other Religious
Traditions” from an untraditional perspective. As a citizen in a country with a quite homogenous
population – until now – the Otherness in preaching is coming primarily from listeners often
unfamiliar with the religious tradition in the Lutheran church of Denmark. In this paper I will
briefly present the result of my Ph.D. dissertation, an empirical analysis of how churchgoers listen
to sermon situated in the worship and how preachers theologically understand the preaching event.
The results indicate what at first glance seems to be a dichotomy between empirical finding and
theological understanding of preaching. By redefining the premises of the theological thinking,
however, I argue for a third way to approach preaching in which there is a lot of inspiration – and
room for Otherness.

The books of 1 and 2 Samuel offer a three-fold thematic scheme that supports the central claim of the Pentateuch, the claim found in Deuteronomy 6:4 and known to the Jews as “the Shema,” a verse that declares the God of Israel is one, true and living God, a theme that undergirds all of the historical books as well. Thus, the foundational theme of 1 and 2 Samuel is the central claim of the Pentateuch, a theme shared by all books of the Holy Scriptures. The secondary, structural theme of the book of 1 Samuel supports the primary theme of the historical books by offering the testimony that God has called out David to establish the Davidic lineage to bring about Israel’s redemption as supporting evidence that YHWH is the true and living God. The secondary, structural theme of the book of 2 Samuel supports the primary theme of the historical books by offering the testimony that God has justified David in his role as king. The third, imperative theme of the books of 1 and 2 Samuel states that Israel loved the Lord their God with all of their strength by accepting the one whom God called and justified as their king and redeemer. The application of this third theme for today’s reader is to believe that God has called and justification the Lord Jesus Christ as King of Kings in the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven. The New Testament believer should trust in Jesus as the fulfillment of prophecies concerning the Messiah coming from the Davidic lineage who will reign eternally over all nations. As believers, we have been called to be a part of the Kingdom of Heaven, and we are justified as members of this Kingdom through faith in Jesus Christ.

Augustine’s Sermon 4 on Esau and Jacob is long (860 lines) and consists of a complex division in 37 chapters. This division makes it difficult to identify quickly and easily the rhetorical arrangement which must have been an important factor in making this sermon a success in the context of Augustine’s struggle against Donatism. This same division has been handed down through the centuries. Once the existing, complex division into 37 chapters is relinquished, it is possible, on the basis
of linguistic and Scriptural indications, to establish the existence of a new, simple division into 3 parts. A frame exists in these three parts that runs from creation (Gen. 1) to judgement (Mt. 25), in which Augustine discusses the stories of (the blessings of) Esau and Jacob (Gen. 25 and 27) in the context of the absence or presence of love (for which he employs 1 Cor. 13). Seen from this perspective, Esau represents the bad people who consciously permit themselves to be separated from the Church through the absence of love (a reference to the Donatist schism), while Jacob stands for the good people, who highlight the unity of the Church by availing themselves of love: by not acting on their own authority and expelling sinners, but by leaving judgement to God and by accepting them lovingly. The new division clearly reveals this message.

The purpose of this article is to examine and compare two preaching manuals, the Prophetica by William Perkins and the Methodus Concionandi by Petrus van Mastricht. The question that leads this article is: Did Mastricht advance the method of preaching as compared to Perkins? After a brief summary of both works, I will provide six reasons that make Mastricht’s method of preaching unique as compared to Perkins.

Convocation Address at Bethel University, August 29, 2016 about recent troubles in Minnesota, particularly the shooting of Philando Castille, and our responsibility as followers of the Gospel. There is an audio link also available. After you click the link, it's the first one in the queue; fast-forward to 15:00:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/2016-2017-chapel-college-arts/id1148681753?mt=10

This article explores some of the recent protests in support of Black Lives Matter from a homiletical perspective. Specifically, the author argues that these protests reflect a non-traditional form of pneumatic or Spirit-inspired proclamation that can enrich the church's preaching in a time of crisis. The article is arranged into three sections. First, a pneumatological framing of proclamation is proffered in order to interpret protest as a mode of Spirit-inspired preaching. Second, drawing on the author's experience as a participant-observer in select protests in Southern California, three snapshots of proclamation at protests are offered. The article concludes by suggesting that the pneumatic proclamation of recent protests challenges the church in the United States to hold together three key dialectical tensions in its proclamation: lament and celebration, particularity and universality, and word and deed.

This doctoral thesis presented to the Australian College of Theology argues for an expanded definition of the task of biblical exposition: it is not merely to discern the original meaning of the text and then to apply that meaning to a contemporary audience, but also to discern the original rhetorical function of the text in order to preach a contemporary sermon with an analogous rhetorical function. In other words, the sermon is not only to exegete and apply what the text says, but also what it does. It is proposed that the discipline of rhetorical criticism, in which much work has been done over the past few decades, provides a means by which this might be achieved in the field of New Testament preaching. Although the term “rhetorical criticism” represents a diversity of methodologies, the presuppositions and aims of biblical exposition fit most naturally with rhetorical critical approaches that use the analytical terms and methods of the New Testament writers’ contemporaries, rat...

This theme could be said to cover all aspects of life and Al Tizon’s two articles, which lead off this edition, fit within that framework. However, the application of his two articles merges with the focus of the remaining four articles in that they have strong ramifications for ministry among the poor, oppressed and disenfranchised of today’s world—the segments of society from which the vast majority of Pentecostals and Charismatics are drawn.

In recent years interest in Greco-Roman rhetoric has exploded for Pauline scholars. Liftin is somewhat responsible for this interest since he published a similarly-titled monograph in 1994 (St. Paul's Theology of Proclamation: 1 Corinthians 1-4 and Greco-Roman Rhetoric (SNTS Monograph Series). As he states in the introduction to this new book, prior to the twentieth century, interpreters understood “words of wisdom” in 1 Cor 1:17 as a reference to Greco-Roman rhetoric and philosophy. Due in part to growing interest in Gnosticism, the first half of the twentieth century understood “words of wisdom” in the light of Gnostic mythology. Paul’s opponents were “gnostic pneumatics” who downplayed the significance of the Cross. In this book, Liftin argues the earlier view was correct. When Paul describes his own mission as preaching the Cross “not with words of the wise,” he has Greco-Roman rhetoric in mind.

Hier nous avons vu la partie la plus dure de cette séries. Toute la théorie. Dieu est Amour. En Exode 20 nous allons découvrir l’essence de Dieu résumée en dix merveilleuses promesses qui vont changer votre vie.

Nous savons maintenant que nous avons dans Exode 20 un registre du certificat de mariage. Là, nous pouvons lire les vœux prononcés par Dieu lorsqu'il s'est engagé avec son peuple, ayant l'univers entier comme témoin. Il a déclaré avant toute la Création Son engagement avec vous, pour vous recevoir comme sa fiancée.

Dans la Bible, on nous montre une église comme la mariée, prête à célébrer le mariage. Dans l'ancien Israël, normalement, ils célébraient des fiançailles comme un mariage. Le « vrai » mariage a été célébré un an plus tard. Pendant ce temps, si quelqu’un dans ce couple est décédé, l’autre été considéré(e) une veuve ou un veuf. L'engagement était aussi valable que le mariage, mais le mariage n'a pas été accompli complètement. Un an plus tard, les vœux ont été répétés pour confirmer l'engagement et le mariage a été complété. Nous attendons les noces de l'Agneau. Quand et où l'engagement a-t-il eu lieu ? Là dans le Sinaï. Et l'accomplissement sera au retour de Jésus.

Nous avons vu la première promesse ou "Vœu". La première chose que Dieu a promise est de vous être fidèle. Fidélité d'une manière telle qu'il n'y aura personne d'autre dans ta vie si ce n'est Dieu, ton Mari. Vous n'aurez pas besoin de trébucher d'une désillusion en une autre. Vous avez déjà trouvé l'Unique qui s'engage à rester à vos côtés en tout temps. « Tu n'auras pas d'autres dieux devant (ni après) Lui. »

This article examines how St. Thomas Aquinas developed rich theological insights to be used ultimately in his preaching ministry as a thirteenth century magister in sacra pagina. His exegetical approach deploys a careful divisio textus to arrive at the
literal meaning and doctrinal sense of the scriptural passage. The ambiguities of difficult passages are examined dialectically by short logical disputations that uncover the riches of the text. The fruits of these labors were then brought together in the master’s university sermon for the conversion and perfection of souls. Thus, the three duties of the medieval master codified in the statutes of the University of Paris – namely, to teach, to dispute, and to preach – contextualize the task of the medieval theologian, rooting him in the revealed Word of God and requiring him to care for the souls of his students and colleagues in his preaching by announcing and explaining the sense and practical import of sacra doctrina. This article also examines the proximate historical source for these three duties as the practice of lectio divina was brought out of the monasteries and into the public sphere of the academies in the great cities of medieval Europe. There is much we could learn today from recovering this robustly ecclesial and pastoral way of pursuing biblical theology.

Artykuł analizuje, w jaki sposób bogaty dorobek teologiczny św. Tomasza
z Akwinu jest wykorzystywany w jego praktyce kaznodziejskiej jako XIII-wiecznego
“magister in sacra pagina”. Jego egzegetyczne podejście wyraża się w ostrożnym “divisio textus”, aby dotrzeć do dosłownego i doktrynalnego sensu danego tekstu biblijnego.  Ambiwalentne interpretacje trudnych tekstów są dialektycznie analizowane za pomocą krótkich, logicznych dysput odkrywających bogactwo tekstu. Owoce tej pracy były niejako zbierane w kazaniu średniowiecznego mistrza ukierunkowanym na nawrócenie i doskonalenie dusz. Trzy obowiązki średniowiecznego mistrza wyrażone w statutach Uniwersytetu Paryskiego – nauczanie, prowadzenie dysput oraz kaznodziejstwo – wskazują na zadania średniowiecznego teologa, zakorzeniając go w objawionym Słowie Boga i wymagając od niego troski o dusze swoich studentów i kolegów wyrażane w głoszenie sensu i praktycznych implikacji sacra doctrina. W artykule przeanalizowano także zródła historyczne dotyczące wspomnianych trzech obowiązków takie jak “lectio divina” przeprowadzana poza klasztorami, w publicznej sferze akademii w największych miastach Europy. Ten model eklezjalnej i pastoralnie ukierunkowanej teologii biblijnej może stanowić również wzór dla współczesnej jej kontynuatorki.

There are three elements of religion, especially Christianity, that are very important; namely, belief, practice, and proclamation. While the first two of these have received great attention in the various forms of the enunciations of orthodoxy and orthopraxy, the third is yet to receive a coherent and systematic articulation. In this paper, I hope to call attention to the need for the formulation of an ortho-kerygma for our gospel witness in our globalizing and urbanizing world.

이 논문은 프레드 크래독(Fred Craddock) 이후 북미 현대설교학자들의 설교자의 권위 에 관한 논의를 살펴보고 포스트모던적 탈권위사회로 진입한 한국 사회와 교회를 위한 대안적 설교 모델을 모색하는 것을 목적으로 한다. 설교자의 권위에 대한 이해는 설교자와 청중의 관계에 대한 교회론적 모델의 근거가 될 뿐만 아니라, 설교자와 청중의 관계에 관한 이해를 반영하는 설교 형태 계발에 영향을 끼쳐 왔다는 점에서 중요한 설교학적 주제로 다뤄져 왔다. 전통적 설교학이 전령으로서의 설교자 이해에 근거하여 설교자의 권위를 강조한 데 반하여, 신설교학의 대표적 학자인 프레드 크래독을 필두로 한 북미 현대 설교학자들은 수평적이며 민주적 설교자 모델을 주장해왔다. 본고에서는 전통적인 권위주의적 설교자 모델을 교정한 크래독의 민주적 설교자 모델에 관한 논의로부터 시작 하여, 북미 현대 설교학자들이 이 주제에 대해 어떠한 논의를 전개해왔는지 살펴보고자 한다. 특별히 크래독 모델의 약점을 지적하고 대화적 설교(Conversational Preaching)와 협력적 설교(Collaborative Preaching)를 대안으로 제시한 포스트모던 설교학자들인 루 스 로즈(Lucy A. Rose)와 존 맥클루어(John McClure)의 논의를 살펴보고, 이들의 주장에 대한 비평적 평가를 시도한다. 크래독 이후 포스트모던 설교학자들의 논의를 숙고하면서, 필자는 이들이 크래독의 논의 를 진전시켜 더욱 민주적 수평적 설교자 모델을 추구한 것은 의미가 있으나 현실적으로 모든 인간관계 속에, 특별히 발화 행위 중 발화자와 화자 사이에는 불평등한 관계는 불가피 하게 존재할 수밖에 없다는 것을 간과했음을 발견한다. 오히려 이러한 현실적인 인식을 바탕으로 설교자의 권위의 근거를 재평가하고 이를 지혜롭게 활용하는 것이 더욱 필요하다 는 점을 주장한다. 토머스 롱(Thomas Long)이 증언으로서의 설교에서 지적하듯이 설교자 와 청중은 이분법적인 관계가 아니라 변증법적인 관계임을 인식하고, 대립적인 이분법적 모델에 기반을 둔 설교자의 권위에 대한 인식을 재고하고, 진정한 말씀 경험에 근거하여 자신의 경험을 고백하는 증인으로서 설교자로서 회중과 변증법적인 연합을 지향하도록 방향전환을 할 것을 제안한다. 필자는 이러한 모델이 한국교회의 권위주의로 인해 병든 설교자의 권위에 대한 의식을 치료하고, 권위 있는 말씀을 탈권위적으로 전하는 증인으로 서 설교자들을 세워 나가는 데 도움을 주리라 기대한다.


This paper aims to reassess the North American contemporary homileticians’ discussions about the authority of the preacher since Fred Craddock. The issue of the preacher’s authority is a pivotal point to establish the ecclesiological perspective on the relationship between the preacher and the congregation as well as to develop homiletical forms which reflect such a relationship. While traditional preaching that proceeds in a form of deductive propositional didactic sermon assumes the preacher of authority, who serves as a herald of God, Craddock's inductive preaching purposes a preacher without authority, in which cultivates the horizontal democratic relationship between the preacher and the listener. However, a group of postmodern homileticians, like Lucy Rose and John McClure, do not consider Craddock's inductive sermon a fully non-authoritarian model, because they think the preacher in Craddock's model still exercise a superior authority to the listeners in another way, neglecting the limits of language and experience. Instead, they suggest conversational preaching or collaborative preaching as alternative ways of preaching which foster communal horizontal relationship between the pulpit and the pew. In reassessment of those scholars' discussions, I elucidate that their models also have limits to fulfill the communal democratic non-authoritarian role of preacher, because the asymmetrical power relationship cannot be fully resolved in reality. Rather, drawing on Thomas Long's preaching as witness model, I attempt to seek to reconfigure the authority of preacher, which is not based on their personal divine calling or gifts or institutional endowment but on the congregation's commission, and encourage to witness the Word with a sincere intention that pursues an authentic experience of the Word in their reading the Bible. Thus, I claim that the relationship between the preacher and the congregation should be understood not as a confrontational bipolarized separation but as a dialectical paradoxical union. I expect that this attempt would be helpful to cure the sick consciousness of authority among Korean preachers which is distorted by the wrong understanding of the authority and to transform them to become a non-authoritarian servant of the authoritative Word.

This new book from Lexham Press is a collection of notes, quotes and illustrations from the files of John Stott. Volunteers compiled and digitally scanned Stott’s notes, originally written on 4x6 notecards. Mark Meynell, who worked at All Souls Langham Place with Stott, selected the best of these illustrations for Pages from a Preacher’s Notebook. In the introduction to this book, Meynell suggests that the value of these notes is threefold. First, they are fascinating, insightful and occasionally provocative. Second, they reveal a great deal about Stott’s evolving working methods. And third, these notes model a deep engagement with both Scripture have a contemporary world.

Lowry, being heavily influenced by the progressive work of Fred Craddock and the New Homiletics school, describes the sermon as an “art form” and the preacher as “artist” (Lowry, xx). In Lowry’s approach, the chancel/pulpit becomes a “theater” a “stage” where the performance actor (the preacher/artist) spins his dramatic tale using a linear/horizontal plot line consisting of the aforementioned five plot moves—oops, ugh, aha, whee, and yeah (Lowry, 26). Lowry’s thesis is that preachers start, “[R]egarding the sermon as a homiletical plot, a narrative art form, a sacred story (Lowry, xxi). Lowry’s purpose in writing is in, “Transforming our intuitions into articulate form (Lowry, xix) . . . .” Lowry suggests a twofold methodology in accomplishing this purpose, “First, we have to lay aside . . . many of the cherished norms about sermon anatomy. . . . We need also to form a new image of the sermon—one that is congruent with our best preaching (Lowry, xix–xx).”

This is an open call to invite papers for the Special Issue of "Religions", which deals with witchcraft, demonology and magic in their interactions with popular and institutional religion (preaching, inquisition, demonology, the role of monks and priests in performing occult sciences and ritual magic; religious images and elements, such as the sacramental bread, in witchcraft and magic rituals; ceremonial magic and Sabbat as an inversion of Catholic rituals).

로마서를 읽고 회심한 아우구스티누스는 일평생 성경을 주석하고 설교했다. 『기독교의 가르침』이라는 작품은 아우구스티누스의 성경해석학과 설교론을 잘 보여준다. 아우구스티누스는 여러 편의 성경주석을 썼으며 주석에 대한 명확한 이해가 있었다. 그는 초기에 신플라톤주의의 영향을 받았지만 점차로 성경적 가르침을 더욱 분명하게 고수했다. 아우구스티누스는 주석의 목적이 하나님 사랑과 이웃 사랑이라는 사랑의 이중계명에 있다고 보았다. 그는 믿음, 소망, 사랑이라는 기독교의 삼주덕(三主德)을 촉진시키고 완성하는 것이 주석과 설교의 목적이라고 보았다. 그는 또한 그리스-로마의 기호론을 성경적 가르침에 맞게 변용하여 자신의 주석에 적용했다. 아우구스티누스는 신앙의 규칙과 보편교회의 권위를 존중하면서 주석에 임했다. 무엇보다 그는 자신의 신앙 성숙을 위해서 성경을 주석했으며, 건전한 성경 이해를 통하여 자신의 시대에 응답하였다. 아우구스티누스의 성경해석학은 그리스도 중심적이며, 교회를 위해 기여한다는 특징을 가진다. 그는 이단들을 배격하였고, 바른 목회를 위해 성경을 주석했다.

아우구스티누스의 주석법은 그의 설교론과 긴밀한 연관성을 지닌다. 그는 목회자의 임무 중에 가장 중요한 것이 말씀의 사역이라고 보았다. 그는 수천 편의 설교를 전했으며, 그중에 562편이 현재까지도 남아 있다. 아우구스티누스는 설교자는 그리스도에 의해 치료 받아야 할 환자이며 동시에 말씀으로 신자들의 영적 질병을 고치는 의사와 같다고 했다. 아우구스티누스는 설교를 통하여 성도들이 자신의 삶을 성경의 언어로 설명할 수 있도록 도와주었다. 그는 청중의 마음을 움직이는 설교를 추구했다. 비록 그가 원고 없이 즉석에서 설교했지만 그렇다고 해서 준비 없이 설교에 임한 것은 결코 아니다. 그의 설교는 언제나 영적으로 깊이가 있었고, 참된 신앙의 원리를 잘 설명했다. 아우구스티누스의 설교는 그의 성경주석과 마찬가지로 사랑을 강조했다. 탁월한 수사학자로서 아우구스티누스는 설교의 전달 방식에 대해서도 깊이 연구했다. 하지만 여전히 그에게 중요한 것은 전달 방식이 아니라 전달되는 내용이었다. 특별히 그는 설교의 내용을 스스로 실천하기를 원했다. 설교자의 삶과 유리된 설교는 성도들에게 아무런 유익을 줄 수 없기 때문이다. 아우구스티누스는 성찬식과 기도와 송영이 들어있는 예배의 한 부분으로서 설교를 인식했다. 그에게 설교란 그리스도를 전파하며, 성령의 도우심을 바라보게 하며, 하나님 아버지께로 인도하는 영적 도구였다.

** Abstract **
Augustine, who was converted through his reading of the book of Romans, interpreted and preached the Bible all his life. His work, On the Christian Teaching (De Doctrina Christiana) shows Augustine’s biblical hermeneutics and homiletics. He wrote several Bible commentaries and had a clear understanding of biblical exegesis. Although initially influenced by Neoplatonism, he became more and more explicitly biblical in his thought. Augustine argued that the purpose of biblical exegesis lay in the dual commandment of the love of God and neighbor. He regarded it as the purpose of exegesis and preaching to promote and fulfill the Christian triad of faith, hope and love. He also applied the Greco-Roman theory of signs to his biblical exegesis and adapted it to biblical teachings. Augustine interpreted the Bible in honor of the rules of faith (regula fidei) and the authority of the universal church. Above all, he commented on the Bible for the maturity of his own faith and responded to his own age through sound biblical understanding. His biblical hermeneutic is Christ-centered and has the characteristic of contributing to the church. He rejected the heretics and commented on the Bible for well-formed church ministry.

Augustine’s exegesis is closely related to his homiletics. He considered the ministry of the Word to be the most important mission of the pastor. He delivered thousands of sermons, of which 562 remain to this day. Augustine said that the preacher is a patient to be healed by Christ, and at the same time, a doctor to repair the spiritual disease of believers through the Word. Throughout his sermons, Augustine helped the believer to explain their lives using the language of the Bible. He sought preaching that moved the hearts of the audience. Though he preached extempore without a manuscript, he by no means preached without preparation. His sermons were always spiritually deep, and he explained well the principles of true faith. Augustine’s sermons emphasized love just like his biblical commentary. As a prominent rhetorician, Augustine also studied deeply how sermons should be delivered. But what was still important to him was the content of the message, not just the method of delivery. Specifically, he wanted to practice the content of his sermon by himself. He believed that when the life of the preacher was separated from the preaching, it would not benefit the audience at all. Augustine recognized the sermon as a part of the worship which was composed of the sacraments, prayer, and doxology. To him, the sermon was a spiritual tool that delivers Christ, makes people seek the help of the Holy Spirit, and leads them to the Father.

Islamic sermon gatherings are a central form of public piety and public expression in contemporary Bangladesh. Held since the 19th century, waz mahfils became so popular that it is today possible to participate in them on a daily basis in many regions of the country. Despite their significance in the rise of popular politics, the sermons are often disregarded as Islamist propaganda and very little research is dedicated to them. This book provides unprecedented access into these sermon gatherings. Based on fieldwork and interviews, Max Stille analyses an archive of several dozens of sermons. He shows how popular preaching shapes roles and rules of what can be said, imagined, and felt. Waz mahfils are a participatory practice of the labouring classes in which religious, political and poetic consensus overlap. In them, Islamic tenets and morals are part of dramatic narrations, vocal art and affective communication, ranging from immersion and upheaval to laughter about political jokes and parody. Suggesting new ways to interpret musical and performative poetics of Islamic speech, this book calls for expanding conceptions of civic participation and public discourse and rethinking the role of the senses and religious aesthetics in Islam.

The purpose of this work has as objective analyze a Spanish traduction of: Sinners in the  Hand of an Angry God. One of the most known sermons of Jonathan Edwards. In Marsden words, a sermon that went beyond anything Edwards had ever preached.