“A time to keep silence, and a time to speak” (Eccl 3:7b) Preaching and keeping silent in times of the COVID19-pandemic

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.

The purpose of this article is to reflect on homiletics and Christian preaching in the context of Latin America, in the current times of transition. In order to provide a better understanding of the approach, initially aspects of the Latin American religious and cultural context will be analyzed. Then there will be considerations on aspects of the development of Christian preaching, creating a space to think about the relationship between Christian preaching and theologies that are relevant to the context, such as liberation theology. Finally a few challenges to Christian preaching in times of transition will be pointed out. Due to the delimitation of the article, it will focus on the homiletic development of the historical Protestant churches on the continent, above all in the Brazilian context.

Este artigo tem por objetivo refletir sobre a homilética e a pregação cristã no contexto da América Latina, em tempos atuais de transição. Para tanto, afim de propiciar uma melhor compreensão da abordagem, analisar-se-á aspectos do contexto religioso e cultural latino-americano, num primeiro momento. Em seguida, refletir-se-á sobre aspectos do desenvolvimento da pregação cristã, dando espaço para pensar a relação entre a pregração cristã com teologias relevantes para o contexto, como a Teologia da Libertação, para, finalmente, apontar alguns desafios para a pregação cristã em tempos de transição. Devido a delimitação do artigo, o enfoque estará concentrado no desenvolvimento homilético das igrejas protestantes históricas do continente, sobretudo do contexto brasileiro.

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In this paper, a brief overview is given of two research projects that were done in South Africa during 1987 (a particularly difficult time under apartheid), and 1994 (the year that the first democratic elections took place), respectively. Some of the findings are discussed under the keywords: silence, transition, reservation, new vision. Reference is made to a historic sermon preached by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in St. George’s Cathedral in Cape Town only three days before the first democratic elections were held in South Africa on the 27th of April, 1994. The paper concludes with a reflection on an artwork by the South African artist, Willie Bester.

In this article, I present insights from an empirical study of a congregation which consists of a medley of refugees from the Middle East who have recently converted from Islam and ethnic Danes whose families have belonged to the Lutheran Church for generations. The empirical material is analyzed in light of Søren Kierkegaard’s category of repetition, in the sense of receiving anew, because this phenomenon appears crucial, not only to the genre of preaching but to preachers and listeners alike – especially, in times and situations of transition. I suggest that the Kierkegaardian notion of repetition may be useful as a homiletical category with regard of scholars’ method, preachers’ preparation and listeners’ appropriation of preaching.

This article deals with the derasha, the Jewish sermon and offers an inventory of the key dimensions of the Jewish sermon as practiced today and in the past from a reformed Jewish perspective. It shows its connection to the particular moment, its functions (further distinguished as contextual, intentional, educational, and symbolic), its message, sources, structure, and the techniques involved in its delivery and gives a brief example of one of the author’s own derashot from July 2015.

Summaries in German and English / Die vorliegende Arbeit ist innerhalb der Praktischen Theologie den interdisziplinären Forschungsrichtungen „Christian Leadership" und Homiletik zuzuordnen, weil sie das Thema Verkündigung aus dem Aspekt der Leitung betrachtet. Es wird erklärt, dass die Predigt ein Akt der Kommunikation des Evangeliums und daher eine gute Botschaft in Form und Inhalt ist. Sie wird aber nicht selten als eine Motivationsrede genutzt, die inakzeptablen Druck auf die Hörer ausübt und ethische Fragen rund um Macht und Manipulation veranlasst. Um diese ethische Fragen zu berücksichtigen, werden fünf Predigten aus Freien Evangelischen Gemeinden in der Schweiz nach der „Heidelberger Methode“ der Predigtanalyse untersucht unter Beachtung der Wirkung von sprachlichen Stilmitteln. Die Analyse ergab, dass die Verkündiger ihre Hörer motivieren wollen – dies geschieht aber nicht immer auf eine dem Evangelium angemessene Art und Weise. Oft werden zu viele unterschiedliche Themen angesprochen und auch undurchführbare und überfordernde Aufträge an die Hörer vermittelt / The aspect of motivating through preaching is researched within the disciplines of Christian Leadership and Homiletics in Practical Theology. It is argued that the sermon is an act of communication, proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ in form and content, but it also can be used as a motivational speech, often transforming the gospel one-sidedly into a law and putting pressure on the listeners. This brings certain ethical questions, such as the use of power and possible manipulation of the hearer, into the equation. With a view to these ethical questions, five sermons from pastors in Free Evangelical Congregations in Switzerland are analysed by means of an adapted version of the “Heidelberger Model of Preaching Analysis”, looking at the use of rhetoric and linguistic styling in order to motivate the listeners. The analyses show that preachers do not always succeed in motivating the listeners in a way that is appropriate to the gospel and that listeners sometimes are overloaded with impracticable or overtaxing expectations. / Practical Theology / M. Th. (Christian Leadership)

A história moderna da neurociência ainda está sendo escrita.1 A neurociência possui uma longa tradição quando se focaliza seu objeto.2 No entanto, enquanto ciência com status próprio, ela é recente.3 Seu campo de atuação é amplo, contribuindo com várias áreas do saber, como a biologia e medicina (contribuições na área do mapeamento das atividades cerebrais, estudos sobre a regeneração do cérebro lesionado, a atuação de drogas sobre os neurônios etc),4 psicologia (contribuições na área do comportamento humano), 5 educação (estudos que ajudam a compreender como o cérebro aprende),6 Filosofia/Teologia (reexaminando a identidade do ser humano, como se forma a consciência, a fé etc)7 e, recentemente, o marketing e a inteligência artificial.8 No âmbito da neurociência concorrem duas visões distintas de abordagem metodológica, sendo a primeira aquela que procura encontrar e associar a cada ação ou comportamento humano um neurônio específico. Nesse caso há um reducionismo do ser humano a fenômenos eletroquímicos no cérebro. A segunda visão percebe o sistema nervoso muito mais em sua dimensão holística. O objetivo, nesse caso, não seria primeiramente perguntar pelo “por que”, mas perguntar pelo “como”. Ambas as visões não são excludentes.