The presidential address introduces the 2018 conference theme through rhetorical, political, spiritual, and biblical understandings of fear as well as communicative and homiletical strategies for addressing fear in preaching. In addition to Aristotle’s Rhetoric, the prevalence of fear amid current U.S. political discourse is examined in light of the rhetorical analyses of Martha Nussbaum, professor of law and ethics at The University of Chicago. To develop an appropriately reverent fear of God while addressing the myriad anxieties around us, we may query our fears to better understand what is at stake in ignoring or addressing socio-political concerns. Beyond the rhetoric of fear, the spiritual writings of Julian of Norwich as well as numerous biblical texts (including the Book of Job and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount) suggest communicative strategies that invite a homiletical poesis of divine love and compassion, including musical and theopoetic expressions of faith.

Text in German, summaries in German and English / Mit der vorliegenden Arbeit wird Ijob 28 in der Perspektive einer ästhetischen Theologie des Alten Testaments, wie sie vornehmlich Helmuth Utzschneider vertritt, untersucht. Entspre-chend der Grundbedeutung der Begriffe Ästhetik und Theologie stehen die Wahrnehmung im Allgemeinen und die Wahrnehmung Gottes im Besonderen im Zentrum der Betrachtung. Hierfür werden im Großen die ästhetische Gestalt und der theologische Gehalt (die Literari-zität und die Theologie, die literarische Ästhetik und die ästhetische Theologie) von Ijob 28 beleuchtet, wobei der Fokus auf dem theologischen Gehalt liegt. Die Untersuchung folgt der These, dass die Analyse von Ijob 28 in ästhetisch-theologischer Blickrichtung einen neuen Verstehenshorizont des Kapitels eröffnet. Dabei birgt das Ergebnis das Potential, Strukturen des Lebens zu heben und bewusst zu machen, um desgleichen deren Erneuerung im Horizont der Gottesfurcht herauszufordern. / This dissertation is an examination of Job 28 from the perspective of an aesthetic theology of the Old Testament, as represented primarily by Helmut Utzschneider. Following the basic meaning of the terms aesthetic and theology, the perception at large and the perception of God specifically are at the core of this exploration. Therefor the aesthetic form and the theo-logical content (the literary aspect and the theology, the literary aesthetic and the aesthetic theology) of Job 28 are examined although a greater focus is on the theological content. The thesis presented here is that an analysis of Job 28 from an aesthetic-theological perspective opens up a new level of understanding this chapter. The result has the potential to recover structures of life and make them more apparent, as well as to provoke their renewal in the light of the fear of God. / Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies / M. Th. (Old Testament)