This is the third in a series of conference papers on rhetorical criticism. Held in July 1995 in London, the conference included participants from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the Republic of South Africa. Part I is concerned with the past, present and future of rhetorical analysis; Parts II, III and IV are concerned with rhetorical analysis of scriptural texts; and Part V provides a conclusion reflecting on a number of questions raised in Part I. Most of the participants would characterize themselves as advocates of rhetorical criticism; but there were others less convinced that rhetorical criticism is developing as it ought.>

Rhetoric, Scripture and Theology aptly describe the contents of this collection of essays from the 1994 Pretoria Rhetoric Conference. The conference marked a significant dialogue among scholars gathered from many nations to consider how rhetoric engages with the study of scripture and theology. South Africa provided a suitable context for such discussion. Although the contributors are not only from South Africa, the addressing of issues pertinent to a South African context shows through in many of the essays. Those that do not address particularly South African issues raise equally important issues regarding the topic of rhetoric and its relation to contemporary theological discourse.

Composed in 1809 in order to organize and direct a loosely assembled network of Scots-Irish Presbyterians on the Western Pennsylvania frontier, the Declaration and Address of the Christian Association of Washington never quite achieved the immediate objectives that compelled its composition. Yet the document's lofty vision of a unified Christian Church, restored to the peace and purity that the New Testament had preached and promised, has for generations fueled the imagination and fired the commitment of millions of Christians worldwide with, often, quite contradictory results. Emerging from the work of an international online seminar, this truly monumental volume presents a definitive text with critical apparatus for a landmark document in the history of American religion and worldwide Christian ecumenism, along with eighteen insightful, incisive studies of the document's historical provenance, its theological and ecclesiological significance, and its continuing influence.

Synopsis: Thomas H. Olbricht grew up in Churches of Christ, has taught in several of their universities, and has given religious lectures on six continents and in most states in the United States. He has met most leaders in Churches of Christ globally. He has been active in several religious and rhetoric societies and has worked with leaders in all these organizations to bring about changes over the past sixty years. C. Clifton Black and Duane F. Watson wrote about Olbricht, "Tom Olbricht possesses a memory of elephantine proportions. Not only does he have at his fingertips the names and places and dates; better than most he understands how the study of rhetoric has flourished among, while cross-pollinating, multiple disciplines in the humanities, classics, English, speech communication, and religion." Endorsements: "Tom Olbricht has mentored thousands through his long career as a teacher, writer, and church leader and continues to do so powerfully through this volume. In this frank and unassuming account, Olbricht provides rich insights not only into his own formation and life in Churches of Christ, but also into the complex development of that body in the twentieth century. Olbricht's immense influence on theological education in Churches of Christ makes his story a vital resource for understanding the development of this significant American, and now global, religious movement." -Douglas A. Foster Professor of Church History and Director, Center for Restoration Studies Abilene Christian University "Olbricht travels a path from his childhood to the present. His personal reflections with incredible detail weave together his dedication to scholarship and the church. Along the path one hears about his meetings, personal and intellectual, with leading twentieth-century New Testament scholars and leaders in his religious tradition. His thoughts exemplify the kind, energetic, and focused gentleman all of us have come to appreciate. His autobiography is not an expose but a thoughtful, respectful adventure." -Kent Richards Executive Director Emeritus, Society of Biblical Literature Pastor, First United Methodist Church, Mystic, Connecticut "As a fellow Southwest Missourian, fellow Harding University and State University of Iowa alumnus, and longtime colleague at Pepperdine University, I find Tom Olbricht's account of his personal and professional journey immensely intriguing and enlightening. But even those who have traveled very different paths will find that this is a journey that both amazes and inspires. So many places . . . so many people . . . such constancy of commitment to his Church and his profession " -John F. Wilson Dean Emeritus of Seaver College Pepperdine University "Tom Olbricht has taught several generations of students, church members, and colleagues that the best antidote to spiritual lethargy is intellectual depth; that it is not shameful to know more; that the greater shame is to know less; and the greatest shame of all is to know more and love less; that vital faith makes us probe the mystery of God more deeply; it makes us think harder, argue better, and write more clearly." -Carl Holladay Charles Howard Candler Professor of New Testament Candler School of Theology, Emory University Author Biography: Thomas H. Olbricht is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Religion, Pepperdine University. He has taught at the University of Dubuque, Pennsylvania State University, Abilene Christian University, and Pepperdine. He has written or edited twenty-two books and has published over a hundred essays in books on biblical studies, rhetorical analysis of the Scriptures, and church history. He has lectured on six continents and in most of the fifty states. He lives in retirement in South Berwick, Maine.

Description: ""We offer this collection as a token of our affection and admiration of our friend and colleague James Weldon Thompson. . . . His studies of the letter to the Hebrews and of Paul in their intellectual contexts (especially Middle Platonism) have contributed significantly to the ongoing quest for placing the New Testament in its socio-intellectual setting. Although his publications in this area date back more than thirty years, his best work is occurring now, and we may anticipate path-breaking contributions ahead. His more recent work on preaching and pastoral care in Paul both situate the Apostle in his own world and, just as importantly, offer correctives of some contemporary ministerial practices and invitations for improvements. Since 1993 Thompson has served as the editor of Restoration Quarterly, a significant venue for research in biblical studies, church history (especially of the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement), and contemporary theology. His more popular works make available to a lay audience thoughtful, well-informed, and spiritually rewarding interpretations of much of the New Testament. ""His achievements, however, do not end at the printing press. For more than thirty years, he has taught ministers and others at the Institute for Christian Studies (now Austin Graduate School of Theology) and Abilene Christian University. Students of the past and the present speak of him as a prepared, stimulating, and creative teacher unafraid of experimentation for a new generation of learners. At both institutions he also served as an administrator, first as President of ICS and then as Associate Dean of ACU's Graduate School of Theology. His colleagues respect his ability to enlist them for work as needed and otherwise to get out of their way, certainly a too rare set of skills in university administrators "" --from the Preface About the Contributor(s): Mark W. Hamilton is Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible at Abilene Christian University and author, most recently, of The Body Royal: The Social Poetics of Kingship in Ancient Israel. Thomas H. Olbricht is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Religion at Pepperdine University. He is the author and editor of numerous works including, most recently, Lifted Up: Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Community in John. Jeffrey Peterson is Wright Professor of New Testament at Austin Graduate School of Theology. He is the author of many essays on early Christianity and its applicability to contemporary life.

This volume contains 28 essays in honor of Abraham J. Malherbe, whose work has been especially influential in exploring modes of cultural interaction between early Jews and Christians and their Graeco-Roman neighbours. Following an introductory essay on the problems inherent to such comparative studies in the history of New Testament scholarship, the essays are grouped into five topic areas: Graphos - semantics and writing, Ethos - ethics and moral characterization, Logos - rhetoric and literary expression, Ethnos - self-definition and acculturation, and Nomos - law and normative values. Some key examples are studies dealing with The Greek Idea of "Divine Nature" and its relation to the "Divine Man" tradition; Compilation of Letters in Cicero's collection; Radical Altruism in Paul; Greek Ideas of Concord and Cosmic Harmony in 1 Clement; The Rhetorical Use of Friendship Motifs in Galatians in comparison with Second Sophistic Orators; Wills and Testaments in Graeco-Roman perspective.