Homiletics Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Relation to secular rhetoric== Some assert the independent character of homiletics and say that it is independent in origin, matter and purpose. The upholders of this view point to passages in Scripture and in the Fathers, notably to the words of [[Paul of Tarsus|Paul]];<ref>1 Corinthians 2:4: "And my speech and my preaching was not in the persuasive words of human wisdom, but in shewing of the Spirit and power"; also to I Cor., i, 17; ii, 1, 2; and II Cor., iv, 2.</ref> and to the testimony of [[Cyprian]],<ref>Ep. ad Donat.</ref> [[Arnobius]],<ref>''Adversus Nationes''.</ref> [[Lactantius]],<ref>''Institutionum divinarum''.</ref> and to [[Gregory of Nazianzus]], [[Augustine of Hippo]], [[Jerome]] and [[John Chrysostom]]. The last-named says that the great difference may be summed up in this: that the orator seeks personal glory, the preacher practical good.<ref name=CE/> Paul's own sermons are in many cases replete with oratory, ''e.g.'', his sermon on the [[Areopagus]]; and the oratorical element generally enters largely into Scripture. Lactantius regretted that there were so few trained preachers,<ref>''Institutionum divinarum'', V, c. i,</ref> and Gregory, as well as Chrysostom and Augustine, made use of rhetoric in preaching. Gregory censured the use in the pulpit of the eloquence and pronunciation of the theatre. [[Demetrius]], ''On Style'', uses many of the tricks of speech.<ref name=CE/> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page