Retoriek, retoriese analise en prediking

In characterising rhetoric, its persuasive intent should be highlighted because the persuasive element is true of all three rhetorical genera. Graeco-Roman pupils were well-trained in the rhetorical arts and it can be accepted that Paul also had a working knowledge of rhetoric. Rhetorical analysis of the New Testament attempts to study the texts of the New Testament in the light of rhetorical features, as developed by the classical theorists and refined by a modern scholar like Perelman. Since the 1970's rhetorical analysis of the New Testament has flourished, although approaches have varied considerably and not all efforts were convincing. Nevertheless, it has become clear that the rhetorical approach can enrich our understanding of the New Testament, and especially of its letters, considerably. Examples from Romans and Galatians are presented to underscore this point. Since preaching, like rhetoric, aims at convincing and persuading an audience, rhetoric can provide us with important stimuli for the praxis of preaching, as can be demonstrated from the five prescribed phases of preparing a public speech, as well as from the three modes of persuasion: logos, ethos and pathos