How Big Is Your Preaching?

In a new article published in the rhetoric journal Res Rhetorica, Steven Tramel Gaines, a PhD student in the Department of Communication at the University of Memphis, argues that “recent disagreement among scholars of preaching has suffered confusion due to definitions of the subject that do not sufficiently consider the diversity of that interdisciplinary field of study. Titled “Redefining Preaching: A Beginning,” Gaines suggests that “instead of assuming singular definitions, a more enriching approach is to consider multiple ways in which preaching has existed and currently exists in various manifestations of religious experience. In the article, “after illustrating scholarly disagreement by exploring two contrary views,” Gaines “provides a summary of historical perspectives that leads to suggestions for investigating what preaching is and does.”

Throughout the article, he maintains that:

Students of preaching should investigate, analyze, and write more broadly and diversely than we traditionally have. We need to widen our scope by expanding our definitions of preaching, by exploring rhetorical practices by women and members of cultural minorities, by engaging with non-Christian religions’ understandings and practices of preaching, and by privileging close reading over theological and philosophical reflection. When we think beyond our own religious traditions and move from prescriptive theologies and philosophies to descriptive analyses of diverse homiletical artifacts, we can transform our understandings of preaching, learn from previously ignored perspectives and experiences, connect with our globalized (and globalizing) cultures, and avoid anachronistic reasoning.

You can read the full article here.

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