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.

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.

The modern history of neuroscience is still being written.1 Neuroscience has a long tradition of focusing on this object.2 However, while science with its status, it is recent.3 Its field of activities is broad, thereby also increasing several areas of knowledge, such as biology and medicine (contributing to the survey area of brain activities, regeneration research about the injured brain, the affect of drugs on mirror neurons, etc.),4 psychology (contributing to the survey area of human behavior),5 education (contributing to research that helps to understand how the brain learns),6 Philosophy/Theology (reconsidering the human’s identity, how conscience, faith is formed, etc)7 and, recently, artificial marketing and intelligence. In the area of neuroscience two distinct visions with correlating methodological approaches compete. The first seeks to find and associate a specific neuron with each human action or behavior. Here there is a reductionism of human beings to electrochemical phenomena in the brain. The second view perceives the nervous system with a much more holistic dimension. The objective, in that case, would not be to ask “why” first but to ask “how.” Both views are not mutually exclusive

The International Journal of Homiletics will publish scholarly, peer-reviewed articles from homileticians around the world and will work on the establishment of an interactive component to stimulate ongoing dialogue among homileticians from different national and cultural contexts. At the same time, our journal is – as stated – not only international, but also ecumenical and even inter-religious. This is reflected in the composition of the editorial board, which consists of Christian and Jewish homileticians from five continents. The journal is co-edited by Marlene Ringgaard Lorensen (Professor of Practical Theology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark) and Alexander Deeg (Professor of Practical Theology, University of Leipzig, Germany) with the help of Ferenc Herzig (Wiss. Assistant, Leipzig University), our managing editor.

Welcome to the second issue of the International Journal of Homiletics! For our first two issues we have chosen to focus on the theme Preaching in Times of Transition. We invited some homiletical scholars to submit an article, but we have also accepted unsolicited articles addressing the theme. As a consequence, the present issue consists of seven articles from authors from India, the Netherlands, Fiji, the United States, Germany, as well as a joint article from scholars from Norway, Sweden and Denmark. The homiletic focus on transition uncovers the many shifts of perspectives and changes of traditional practices that characterize the theology and practice of preaching across the globe. At the same time this focus shows how different cultures and nations share the challenges of trying to cope with various groups of people in exile and transition. Since preaching is a boundary transcending genre in itself, we find that these different international contexts shed light on some common and some very distinct international homiletical insights. For the next issue of the International Journal of Homiletics, we invite unsolicited articles on any theme within the research field of homiletics – regardless of faith tradition. All articles will be peer reviewed and must be written in English. However, we are very keen on publishing articles in the author’s native language in addition to English. The articles in this issue In her article on “Exodus or Exile” Jerusha Matsen Neal analyzes hermeneutic shifts in a Fijian Methodist Church trying to cope with the effects of globalization, climate change, and military coups in the Fiji Islands. Through sermon analysis, Neal points to the potential of preaching as a way of making room for new understandings of place and direction in a world in transition. In another article, Theo Pleizier explores the development of homiletics in the Netherlands as a case-study for recent international homiletic thinking. Based on the material of doctoral theses published since the turn of the century, Pleizier focuses on the role of pneumatology, language, and empirical research in the development of recent international homiletical research. Leonora Tubbs Tisdale analyzes developments of historical transitions as she traces the itineraries of Early Women Preachers in the United States who were preaching long before women were officially ordained into ministry. Based on her study of Quaker, evangelical, and Holiness Women in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, Tisdale reflects on this history in relation to preachers on the margins today. Bryan Nash discusses the practice of topical preaching in light of postmodern transitions. He analyzes the potential of a topical preaching approach that embraces otherness and conversation rather than allowing only one text to be heard at the exclusion of all others. Preaching among contexts of growing numbers of refugees runs as a common thread through several of the articles in this issue. In his portrait of an Indian context, Alfred Stephen, analyzes the challenges of refugees who are forcefully dislocated from their home countries outside India and relocated in Tamilnadu. Stephen suggests a three dimensional narrative approach to preaching as a way to address the existential experiences of trauma and alienation. Two other articles that focus on the situation of refugees in relation to preaching are interrelated: firstly Alexander Deeg presents a new European research project in which homileticians from Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Denmark have collected sermons from various European countries and analyzed them with regard to the so called European ‘Refugee Crisis.’ Deeg provides a brief overview of each of the seven studies. Thereafter, the results of the three Scandinavian studies are presented in a joint article written by Tone Stangeland Kaufmann, Carina Sundberg, Marlene Ringgaard Lorensen and co-authors from Norway, Sweden and Denmark. The research project touches upon the fraught topic of preaching and politics as it traces the influence of public discourse on preaching as well as the reverse influence of preaching on public discourse. Finally the group of articles are rounded off with a ‘homiletical squib’ in which David M. Stark discusses the dilemma of “Preaching Politics” in light of the current North American presidential administration seen from the perspective of Germany where Stark has spent the past year as part of his Ph.D. studies. We are also very glad to welcome David Stark as the the English language editor for the IJH.

We, the co-editors of the International Journal of Homiletics along with the entire Editorial Board, are glad to present the third volume of our journal – containing six articles and a “Homiletical Squib” written by scholars from the United States, Korea, and South Africa.

For our first two issues we chose the theme Preaching in times of transition, and we asked homiletical scholars from different parts of the world to write an article related to this theme and to their specific contexts. We as the editors were happily surprised by the different approaches of our authors: Júlio Cézar Adam presents critical challenges in the current societal and ecclesial situation in Latin America, connecting homiletical reflections with basic Latin American theological insights, especially liberation theology. Instead of importing homiletical models and methods from the ‘North,’ Adam seeks to develop an “incarnational and incultured” theology and homiletics. Johan Cilliers looks back to the great transition in South African history in the late 20th century and reflects on homiletics and hermeneutics in late apartheid times (1987), as well as in the year in which the first democratic elections took place (1994). He presents and analyzes a sermon by Desmond Tutu, showing how preaching can help people enter a new situation without denying the painful past or present-day problems. Addressing one of the most significant transitions in Europe today, Marlene Ringgaard Lorensen presents the results of an empirical study of a significant Christian congregation in Copenhagen that is composed of both refugees from the Middle East and ethnic Danes. Through the use of Søren Kierkegaard’s category of repetition she describes preaching as a genre of both authentic repetition and significant interruption. She broadens the perspective by also stressing the importance of music and liturgy. Michael Marmur, Jewish scholar, teacher, and preacher from Jerusalem, shares insights into Jewish preaching in Reformed contexts today by presenting and analyzing one of his own sermons. Through his analysis he develops the notion of the sermon as a “sanctification of time”. Marmur’s essay connects directly to Donyelle McCray’s article, which concentrates on the spirituality of time and its importance for the sermon’s ecclesiology, pneumatology, and performance. In every issue of our journal we intend to present a homiletical squib – a short and sharp text presenting one idea or insight that is of special importance for the author. Charles Campbell is convinced that “God is not afraid of new things” – and thus preachers should not be afraid of standing with their congregations in the perpetual liminal and transitional movement from the old age to the new creation. Our first issue shows that preaching in times of transition is a theme for homileticians in different contexts all over the world and a fruitful starting point for our discussions. Our second issue will continue this theme and present more voices from other homiletical contexts.

This article examines how the phenomenon of sound-and-light shows fulfills the purposes of preaching and, as such, can be perceived as a form of public proclamation. Originating in France but now offered all over the world, these shows use large-scale video projection to display images on the facades of historic buildings, many of which are religious in nature, set to sound effects and music. The author begins by addressing three purposes of preaching that arise within homiletical discourse: testimony of God’s story, empowering transformation, and engendering encounters with God. Drawing from recent qualitative research into spectators’ experiences at sound-and-light shows, the author then examines how three specific shows serve as case studies that demonstrate that, while not sermons, they can indeed fulfill each of the purposes of preaching. As such, these spectacles can be seen as a vibrant form of proclamation amidst contemporary public settings.

A preacher’s spirituality of time may seem like a peripheral issue, but this realm is one where much is at stake. In this article I argue that the preacher’s approach to time scaffolds the overall endeavor. I begin by considering the church’s unique position in time, arguing that the church is fundamentally an event or a happening rather than an institution. Then, I explore ways preaching can foreground the church’s identity as an event. After describing preaching as the narration of a theological moment in the church’s life, I turn to practical implications. In addition to homileticians, my primary interlocutors for this piece include two renowned spirituality scholars, Evelyn Underhill and Abraham Joshua Heschel. I conclude that ecclesiology, pneumatology, and performance are all profoundly shaped by a preacher’s appreciation for the holiness of time.

This article dwells with ‘Preaching in Times of Transition’ by focussing on the existential reality of the ‘Refugees’ (as we call them) from different parts outside India and relocated in Tamilnadu, from the perspective of their socio-cultural and familial dislocation that has created for them a new world in which they are forced to live. Dislocation from the home-land can result in multi-dimensional disturbances and interruptions. In my opinion, dislocation from their land is like uprooting a fully grown tree from its original place of sprouting and germination and planting it in a new place. Relocation of these people into a new context that is different in every possible way is an experience of humiliation and dehumanization. In most cases relocated peoples are unwelcome, discounted, overlooked, irritated, and rejected, In the process of dislocation and relocation, they not only go through alienation from their own land but also experience psycho-traumatic outbursts. I propose that a story method of preaching would lead to a psycho-therapeutic experience. The theory I propose here is three dimensional narratation.