This dissertation examines the manner in which Benjamin Keach used metaphors in his published sermons. The first chapter provides a thorough introduction to the dissertation, including the research objective, methodology, and source materials. Chapter 2 concerns Keach's role as a preacher. In particular, the chapter assesses the formative influences upon Keach's preaching, including the political and religious environment of England in the mid-seventeenth century. Keach's preaching in rural Buckinghamshire as well as his pastoral ministry in London are explored. Chapter 3 contains a survey of Keach's published sermons. These messages are organized into three primary groups: pastoral, doctrinal, and parabolic. Each sermon or collection of sermons is examined for general themes and textual basis. Chapter 4 considers Keach's own understanding of metaphors in general, which is necessary in order to demonstrate the ways in which Keach employed metaphors and perceived the relationship of metaphor to the task of preaching. Keach's Tropologia contains substantial material pertinent to this investigation. Chapter 5 explores the various ways in which Keach interpreted specific metaphors, both metaphors from Scripture and those from his personal experiences. His interpretive method was informed heavily by a commitment to the authority of the Bible. Chapter 6 details the manner in which Keach specifically used metaphors, and his sermons provide many supporting examples. The use of established rhetorical criteria makes possible the task of locating, categorizing, and evaluating the material. Chapter 7 synthesizes the pertinent information from the previous chapters and draws specific conclusions from the research. These conclusions support the thesis of the study and bring the dissertation to an appropriate end. This work contends that Keach utilized metaphors in his sermons as a primary means to enable a greater understanding of the biblical text and to connect readily with the intellect and emotions of his audience. / This item is only available to students and faculty of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. If you are not associated with SBTS, this dissertation may be purchased from <a href="http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb">http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb</a> or downloaded through ProQuest's Dissertation and Theses database if your institution subscribes to that service.

The dissertation focuses on preaching in the context of selected African indigenous churches. The aim of the study was to explore sermon texts as a genre of oral communication. The gathering of data was guided by the hypothesis that the sermons that are preached in the African indigenous churches are composed orally and communicated orally. Three church groups were identified for the purposes of this study. Although the intention, at the planning stage of the study, was to study a mixture of Ethiopian, Zionist and Messianic-type churches, practical considerations and also because of socio-political factors, the study was limited to church groups of the Zionist and Messianic types. The research was carried out through the method of participant observation of services of worship, extended interviews with church leaders, preachers and congregants and also through the use of audio cassette recordings during nine months of field work in Edendale in Pietermaritzburg, Port Durnford near Mtunzimi and Ndabayakhe near Empangeni. A central finding of the study is that in the African indigenous churches a sermon is prepared and has a form (structure). The structure of the sermon is that of an oral text. The oral texture of the sermon is influenced by the following contexts: an oral tradition; the Bible which is a written source with a repertoire of texts' church tradition which is orally transmitted; and the life setting and experience of the congregants. It was also found that the sermon text is presented as a 'performance' involving both the preacher and a live, active, close audience. The study concludes that the communication of the sermon is influenced by the structural form of the sermon text, the ability of the preacher to use literary products and visual resources, and also by the participation of the audience. / Thesis (M.A.) - University of Natal, Durban, 1992.

Vadstena abbey was one of the most powerful religious institutions of Sweden in the Middle Ages. This thesis analyses two specific aspects of this position: the position of Vadstena abbey as an agent in the political space of the late Middle Ages, and the political ideals propagated by that institution. Sermons written for the feast days of Nordic saints constitute the central source material for this study. Sermons were the most efficient mass media of the medieval world and at an institution like Vadstena, preachers could hope to reach thousands of people from all social groups. Using the sermons I have analysed the political ideals propagated by the abbey. In the beginning of the period, the abbey taught an ideal close to that of Bernard of Clairvaux, an ideology of the supremacy of religious institutions over temporal ones, the priests as the lights of society and the unique authority of saint Birgitta. They berated the temporal powers for not following the dictates of the church and maintained that such behaviour would lead to ruin. Towards the middle of the 15th century a significant change occurred. The brothers began to teach that an evil king and tyrant was still legitimate, since his misrule was part of God’s plan. This change in the political ideals is related to a change in the position of the abbey in relation to temporal powers. After being relatively autonomous the abbey gradually became less so. This, I argue, is due to the strengthening of the institution of monarchy during a period otherwise seen as simply chaotic.

This dissertation analyzes the public and private discourse of Birdie Mitchell Smith, a Church of God preacher who enjoyed a long, distinguished career between 1901 and 1967, during a time period when woman were not allowed to preach in most American churches. Case study methodology was used to examine an archival collection of Smith's sermon outlines, letters and journal entries in context of her religious group's community discourse, particularly in context of the dissonance between the group's public rhetoric, which has historically supported a woman's right to preach, and their women preacher's stories of discrimination.Chapters Two, Three and Four set the context for analyzing Smith's texts. Chapter Two examines references to Birdie Smith in Church of God literature to evaluate her role in her religious community and her community's recognition of that role. This chapter illustrates that although Smith was at the center of her group's discourse community for many years, her work has been largely ignored by Church of God writers. Chapter Three uses six criteria developed by John Swales to analyze the Church of God as a discourse community: shared public goals, a mechanism for communication, information exchange, discoursal expectations, specialized terminology, and members with discoursal and content expertise. This chapter places Smith in the context of a religious discourse community whose discourse gradually changed during her long preaching career. Chapter Four situates Smith in context of a discourse community which has historically supported women's right to preach but has not always afforded women preachers universal acceptance or approval.Chapters Five and Six analyze Smith's sermon outlines, letters and journal entries in context of Church of God discourse practices. Both chapters show Smith to be a fully participating member of her discourse community. These chapters also place Smith solidly within her discourse community on the topic of women preachers, for although she hints at the kinds of gender-related problems which she and her sister Church of God preachers faced over the years, she does not speak out against discrimination. She simply performs her roles as missionary, evangelist and pastor without calling attention to herself or letting problems of gender get in the way of her call. / Department of English

Thesis (D. Min.)--Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, 2007. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 128-134).

Etudier l'image de Louis XIV n’est pas nouveau. Explorer le discours sur sa personne l‘est davantage. La thématique « comment parle-t-on de Louis XIV? » sera préférée à la sempiternelle question « comment Louis XIV a-t-il fait parler de lui? ». Le processus (célébrer le roi) compte autant que le résultat (l'image du roi). Ce phénomène est souvent réduit à une vaste opération de communication. Contester que celui-ci produit une image serait une erreur. Néanmoins, réévaluer sa dimension d’hommage au roi parait indispensable. Le terme « célébration » rend compte, mieux que toute autre, de cette dualité. La célébration de Louis XIV peut être étudiée en s’écartant des matériaux traditionnels, grâce aux sermons et oraisons funèbres. En les confortant aux divertissements, la louange au roi apparait alors dans son étendue et sa complexité. Un premier chapitre définit la louange entre promotion du roi et rituel socioculturel, examine comment celle-ci a pénétré tel ou tel type de divertissements, de sermons et d‘oraisons funèbres, notamment grâce à un univers culturel commun par-delà leurs différences respectives. Un second chapitre s'intéresse aux acteurs de la louange, tente de les identifier, de pénétrer leurs motivations sans omettre le roi qui dansa dans les ballets et montra son intérêt pour les divertissements. Enfin, une étude des destinataires, souvent les mêmes dans les différents genres, complète ce panorama.Un dernier chapitre porte sur le portrait du roi, tel qu’il ressort de la louange. Celui-ci peut être approche avec la théorie du double corps du roi ou par l’idéal du roi absolu s’épanouissant sous Louis XIV. La réception de cette image, par ceux à qui elle était destinée, mérite d’être posée, ouvrant différentes problématiques, telle la possibilité d’un regard critique ou les modalités d'accueil des différents textes et de la louange elle-même. / The study of Louis XIV’s image is not new. Exploring the speeches on his Person is it more. "How do people talk about Louis XIV “will be preferred to the age old question” how did Louis XIV get himself talked about". The way it proceeds (celebrating the king) matters as much as the result (the image of the king). This phenomenon is often contemplated and reduced to a vast operation of communication. Challenging that it gives rise to an image (representation) would be wrong. Nevertheless it appears essential to reassess its contribution to the homage to the king. The term "celebration" highlights that duality. The celebration of Louis XIV can be studied irrespective of traditional work materials but through preaches and funeral orations. Together with entertainments, the praise to the king then appears in all its extent and complexity.The first chapter describes the praise as a way to promote the king as well as a social cultural rite. It focuses on how the praise has penetrated some entertainments, preaches and funeral orations in a common cultural universe beyond their respective differences. A second chapter investigates more specifically the actors of the praise with an attempt to identify those actors, to penetrate their motivations without forgetting that Louis XIV has danced in the ballets and took pleasure and interest in entertainments. Finally a study of the public often comprising the same people complete the study. The last chapter is devoted to the portrait of the king in the praise. It is possible to come close to this portrait with the theory of the king's two bodies or by the widely spread idealized image of an absolute monarch. The feeling of those people for whom the image was intended deserves to be asked. It thus leaves room for certain issues such as a possibility of critical analysis by public or patterns of acceptance of the various texts and of the praise itself.

Current scholarship on the devotional practices of late medieval England has emphasized two representations of Christ. The first, considered the dominant trend, is that of the suffering Christ; the second, a minor, but important trend particularly for female audiences, is the maternal Christ. Both are revealing of the nature of late medieval Christo-centric devotion. This project contributes to the understanding of late medieval Christocentric devotion in England during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries by examining the representation of Christ in a martial role, as presented to clerical and lay audiences through the medium of popular sermons. It is a new contribution to the scholarship of late medieval devotion in its demonstration of a multifaceted Christ; the martial Christ echoes, but in many ways also contrasts, the images of the suffering and maternal Christ, in order to provide its audience with a more complex rendering of the human Christ, one which may have been more accessible to a lay populace seeking to form a relationship with him. This project also contributes to the growing field of sermon studies, intended to be comprehensive in nature. It uses a different approach to sermon studies, in that the entire corpus of nearly 4,500 sermons was reviewed. This was done in order to provide the most complete picture of the martial Christ. As a result, this project examines Christ in various martial roles, as well as his modelling of knighthood for kings, knights, preachers, and the laity. These representations were utilised by preachers to instruct their audiences in devotional practice, specifically forms of affective meditation; it was used as a didactic tool to teach the laity the complex doctrines of redemption and atonement; and finally, it was employed as a means to demonstrate the importance of right living in order to fulfill what Christ had promised on the cross, that is eternal salvation.

Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D.Th. (Practical Theology)

Johnny Derrick Yelton, Ph.D. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2013 Chairman: Dr. J. D. Payne This dissertation examines the evangelistic content of the pastoral preaching of Adrian P. Rogers during his thirty-two years of ministry at Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. Chapter 1 introduces the thesis and explains the purpose, goals, limitations and methodology of this study. Chapter 2 examines the significant events and people in the life of Rogers that influenced and shaped his passion for evangelistic preaching. This chapter provides a brief biography of Rogers that discusses his conversion and call to the ministry, his education in college and seminary, his pastoral ministry, his broadcast ministry, and his denominational leadership. It also identifies the characteristics demonstrated by Rogers that contributed to his effective evangelistic preaching ministry. Chapter 3 examines the sermon preparation, organization, and delivery skills of Rogers. The objective of this chapter is to identify the homiletical style of Rogers' sermons with a focus upon his expository methodology. This chapter provides a study of the functional elements of Rogers' sermons, and identifies nine characteristics of evangelistic preaching reflected in Rogers' preaching. Finally this chapter considers the hermeneutical integrity of the sermons of Rogers in order to determine if he forced an evangelistic meaning into a text and thereby twisted the intent of the original author of the text. Chapter 4 examines the evangelistic invitation of Rogers. This chapter provides a brief background regarding the origin of the evangelistic invitation and the criticism of some evangelicals regarding its historical and modern usage. The focus of this chapter, however, is upon the methodology of Rogers. This chapter addresses any problems and concerns regarding the evangelistic invitations of Rogers and it identifies the components and characteristics of Rogers' evangelistic invitation. Chapter 5 is a study of the evangelistic content of Rogers' sermons. The goal of this chapter is to determine how often Rogers actually preached an evangelistic sermon from the pulpit of Bellevue Baptist Church. This chapter begins with a definition of evangelistic preaching, and provides a methodology for measuring the evangelistic content of Rogers' sermons based upon this definition. Next, this chapter offers an evaluation of the evangelistic content discovered in the sermons of Rogers, and gives a critical analysis of the evangelistic preaching ministry of Rogers based upon these findings. Finally, this chapter provides recommendations for an effective evangelistic preaching ministry. Chapter 6 gives a conclusion to this study. This chapter addresses the importance of evangelistic preaching in the church. Furthermore, it introduces the discoveries made from this study and gives a summary of those discoveries. It also outlines an application of the strengths of Rogers' evangelistic preaching ministry. Finally, it identifies areas for further study in the future. This dissertation also contains two appendices. The first appendix includes significant material regarding one hundred sermons by Rogers including an outline of each sermon and an assessment of the evangelistic content of each sermon. The second appendix provides an example of a gospel presentation and sinner's prayer used in the publication materials of Love Worth Finding Ministries.

Fundação Mary Harriet Speers / Num primeiro momento, destaca-se a história da IPIB, desde sua origem teológica em Calvino até sua constituição, demonstrando a influência norte-americana na teologia da Igreja. Na segunda parte, apresenta-se a metodologia através da qual foram analisados os discursos. Para tal análise, foi escolhida a ética reformada como parâmetro de discussão. Por fim, foram examinadas as prédicas a partir do viés ético, contrapondo-as com a história da IPIB, juntamente com os documentos oficiais da referida igreja. Como hipótese, foram identificados dois grupos de ação na IPIB: um evangelical carismático e outro ecumênico. Percebeu-se, também, que não é possível construir uma ética na IPIB apenas através dos preceitos calvinistas, sem uma atualização que vise urna hermenêutica inclusiva em Jesus Cristo. / This dissertation offers an analysis of sermons preached in the Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil (IPIB) in search of its theological profile. The first chapter presents IPIB's history, from its theological origins in Calvin until its constitution, highlighting the North American influence on the theology of IPIB. The second chapter explains the methodology by which the sermons will be analysed. Ethics in a Reformed perspective was chosen as the discussion's parameter. Finally, selected sermons are investigated in this ethical perspective, contrasting them with IPIB' s history, together with the official documents of this church. As a hypothesis, two groups acting within IPIB are identified, an evangelical-charismatic and an ecumenical one. It is also noted that it is not possible to construct an ethics within IPIB merely in calvinist terms, without renewing it in the light of an inclusive hermeneutics centred in Jesus Christ.