Search Results (44)

This study analyzes confessionally conditioned self-image and mutual perception of the Catholic and Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Upper Hungary in the context of the second confessionalization process. Based on comparative research of the contemporary press, including either the printed or handwritten homiletic and catechetical literature, predominantly from the area of Upper Hungary, the study examines which phenomena and processes taking place since the 1830s until the end of the 1850s signaled a renewal in confessional identities in both the Catholic and Evangelical Churches. A particular emphasis has been placed on indicators of the second confessionalization, such as the debate on mixed marriages, a rising number of conversions, or legislative interventions in the freedom of religion. Through discourse analysis, the study explores how the image and self-image of the Catholic and Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession evolved as a result of the expansion of the catechetical literature and apologetic works and identifies the narrative strategies employed in their respective confessional discourses. The Catholic discourse stressed maintaining dogmatic integrity and Church authority in particular, whereas the Evangelicals more frequently accentuated a thorough biblicality and rationality as a counterposition to Catholic piety. Both traditions claimed exclusive access to “true religion” and used apologetic genres to defend and enhance their identity. Polemical texts also served as tools to form confessionally conditioned collective consciousness, as well as a part of contemporary cultural and political debates. Full article

This article examines the epistemological and homiletical implications of postmodernity for Christian preaching. It addresses the communicative crisis introduced by postmodern skepticism toward metanarratives. It proposes a constructive theological response through the re-articulation of the gospel as a coherent, storied, and transformative metanarrative. Drawing on interdisciplinary scholarship in theology, homiletics, epistemology, and cultural theory, this study argues that a thoughtful engagement with postmodern critique can serve as a catalytic force for ecclesial renewal. The article advocates for a homiletic method that re-engages Scripture’s narrative form while emphasizing relational epistemology, incarnational witness, and contextual sensitivity. By utilizing narrative theology, post-critical epistemologies, and performative models of preaching, this study proposes a recalibrated approach to gospel proclamation, adapted for fragmented and skeptical audiences, while safeguarding theological orthodoxy. Full article

This article discusses the dominant understanding of the concept of repentance in the thought of the Jewish philosopher Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, and the original interpretation he offers of this religious idea. It explores how his interpretation of the way repentance operates upon the human soul is based on Max Scheler’s thought regarding remorse, while adding another layer of meaning grounded in Henri Bergson’s philosophical conception of time as “durée”. Against this background, the article argues that Soloveitchik’s identification with the notion of time as “durée” stems both from a philosophical perspective that runs through significant parts of his thought, and from a personal biographical stance and his understanding of the religious experience of the talmid chacham (Torah scholar)—one who internalizes Torah study and dialectical reasoning in essential life concerns. This stance structures both the mental experience that enables repentance, contingency, and reversibility in time, and the homiletical–intellectual performance that affirms and constructs a Hegelian dialectic between past and present, ultimately forming a synthesis that is repentance. Full article

This study examines Eusebius of Emesa’s De arbitrio, voluntate Pauli et Domini passione (Homily I), a fourth-century homily rediscovered in the twentieth century, to elucidate its contribution to the theological debate on free will within early Christianity. While Eusebius, a bishop of the Antiochene school, has been historically overlooked, his homily offers a nuanced defence of human moral agency against the deterministic paradigms prevalent in late antiquity. Through a critical analysis of the text, focusing on key biblical episodes—the conversion of St Paul, the election of Jeremiah and Jacob, and the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart—this article demonstrates how Eusebius reconciles divine sovereignty with free will by prioritising literal exegesis and emphasising humanity’s God-given capacity for self-determination. The methodology combines close textual analysis with contextualisation within broader theological controversies, particularly addressing Stoic fatalism, Gnostic predestination, and Manichaean dualism. The results reveal that Eusebius’s arguments, though pastoral in intent, are philosophically rigorous, asserting that free will underpins moral responsibility and virtue, while Christ’s voluntary Passion exemplifies divine respect for human freedom. The study concludes that Eusebius’s homily not only refutes deterministic worldviews, but also affirms free will as a theological cornerstone, bridging scriptural interpretation and doctrinal orthodoxy. Full article

This study proposes multicultural preaching across generations as a means of effective preaching in the time of the Great Dechurching. Young generations, represented by Millennials and Generation Z, are the least religious of all age groups, showing the strongest intention to leave the church. The author argues that the failure to form a Christian identity, rather than the church’s failure to adapt culturally, is the main cause of the Great Dechurching among young generations and that preaching to a generation-segregated congregation, tailored to a target generation, contributes to the failure of forming a Christian identity, as it obstructs the sharing of faith experiences intergenerationally. Based on empirical evidence from multiple surveys, I demonstrate that preaching is influential in the dechurching of young generations, and that the faith gap across generations, rather than the cultural gap, contributes to the dechurching of young generations. Then, by analyzing preaching models in relation to generation, the author points out the problems in generation-blind and -separated preaching and suggests multicultural preaching across generations as a desirable homiletical model for overcoming the dechurching of young generations by formulating a Christian identity through intergenerational conversations around faith. I describe this as conversational preaching that seeks mutual listening and learning based on equal and reciprocal relationships across generations, as well as the recognition of cultural differences across generations. Full article

Cognitive warfare is a matter of concern due to its impact on people’s minds and decision-making. The manifestation of wars and the deliberate attempts of nations to use AI technologies to their advantage in outsmarting people’s minds cannot be ignored from a homiletical perspective. This article argues that AI (Artificial Intelligence), GAI (Generative Artificial Intelligence), and ChatGPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) offer tremendous possibilities to enhance interplay with humans. Viewed through the lenses of philosophy and ethics, it becomes evident that people providing AI technologies with data engage with technology from an intrinsic worldview. The provision of information and decision-making through AI technologies prompts us to consider people’s reasoning and responsibility. The harmful consequences of killer robots and the use of facial recognition to reach human targets raise deep ethical questions. The author contends that listeners to sermons are exposed to the age of homo digitalis and are tasked with making sense of what is happening in the world. When homiletical praxeology remains silent on the injustices and undignified practices of cognitive warfare and drone use, without proclaiming the values of the gospel and the Kingdom, listeners become reliant on alternative sources of information. In the normative section of this article, the importance of demolishing arguments and pretensions that oppose the knowledge of God and taking every thought captive to make it obedient to God’s will is emphasised. The article concludes with a call for homiletics to engage with AI technologies rather than ignore them. By utilising technological advantages without undermining the paramount value of preaching within the unique contexts of faith communities, listeners may become more open to the gospel and experience transformation in their minds, particularly regarding warfare. Full article

This study explores the transformative potential of the traditional Korean concept of uri (we) and the Confucian principle of ren (compassion and resistance), integrated with the biblical tradition of lament, as a theological framework for addressing the marginalization of contemporary Korean American Protestant churches and their members. Critiquing the limitations of current theological models focused on marginality, the article reimagines the Korean American self through the lens of uri and ren. This perspective enables compassion and resistance to deconstruct the notion of the marginalized self and reconstruct an authentic identity. The article proposes a pastoral–prophetic homiletical praxis that fosters solidarity among Korean American churches and empowers these churches to claim their prophetic voice within the multicultural American context. This approach has the potential to transform Korean American churches into a space for hope, communal restoration, and resistance amid socioecclesial challenges. Full article

This article examines the complex linguistic phenomenon of Hebrew–Yiddish diglossia within Hasidic homiletic literature, particularly focussing on sermons from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. While previous scholarship has emphasised Hebrew’s dominance in Hasidic written works, this study demonstrates how Yiddish has played a crucial role in preserving and transmitting Hasidic teachings. Through analysis of primary sources, three distinct models of Hebrew–Yiddish integration are identified: parallel texts in both languages within the same volume, limited Yiddish passages integrated within predominantly Hebrew texts, and a complete amalgamation where the languages become nearly inseparable. Analysis indicates that Hasidic authors and editors deliberately preserved Yiddish elements to maintain the authenticity of the tzaddik’s original oral teachings while adhering to Hebrew’s traditional status in religious literature. This linguistic practice elevated Eastern Yiddish’s cultural position concurrent with similar (but different) developments in Haskalah literature. Furthermore, the study demonstrates how Hasidic literature’s incorporation of spoken Yiddish into sacred texts contributed to the language’s legitimisation as a medium for religious discourse. This examination offers new perspectives on linguistic hierarchies in religious Jewish texts and illuminates how Hasidic literature developed innovative solutions to balance authenticity and tradition in religious writing. Full article

Preachers cannot assume the mere presence of different cultures or diversity means a congregational context is multicultural. Fostering an environment conducive to multiculturalism can be difficult, partly due to the persisting colonial structures. The colonial systems created spaces where different cultures and diverse groups interacted, yet these interactions were destructive. The goal of integrating, especially understood through assimilation, cultures into the existing system limits multiculturalism. This article outlines three inter-related foci for preaching, especially preaching where both the preacher and the congregation have social privilege, to foster healthy multiculturalism. Drawing from the works of Jared Alcántara and Matthew Kim, I recognize the need for preachers and congregations to increase their intercultural competence and hermeneutical tools for recognizing, interpreting, and ethically navigating biblical and modern cultures. Because some preachers and congregations have taken their cultural formation for granted, intercultural development is a critical step toward preaching in multicultural contexts. The article discusses Homi Bhabha’s The Location of Culture as the second major movement. His notions of hybridity and the distinction between diversity and difference are particularly helpful for pushing against colonial limits. Preaching in multicultural contexts needs to be approached as more than the sum of diverse cultures present and absent. Through the work of Bhabha, I conceive of preaching in multicultural contexts as fostering interstitial spaces which embrace difference, while resisting the objectification of culture. Turning more directly to the homiletical theory in the final section, I argue that O. Wesley Allen’s conversational model, guided by the concepts of interstitiality and hybridity, can develop preaching in multicultural spaces by emphasizing open-ended relational discovery rather than singular objective understanding. This conversational approach actively seeks relational participation where individuals are committed to mutual growth through critical interactions which account for culture as a general concept and particular cultures. This conversational reframing invites growth through multicultural understanding. Full article

The central question of this article is, how can preachers in multicultural congregations develop an interculturally competent homiletical framework for explications of racial–ethnic identity? This question will be answered in two parts with a special interest in how identity is shaped in minoritized communities: first, through the recognition of intercultural identity construction in dialog with social psychology of race and intercultural communication theory, and, second, through the redistribution of knowledge and wisdom in these fields to build an interculturally competent homiletical framework. In the conclusion, we will consider the implications of this study and discuss opportunities for further research. Full article

This paper examines legends on the origins (aetiologies) of places and placenames in Benjamin of Tudela’s travel account. Origin stories are prevalent in medieval travelogues, but Hebrew travel accounts employ a unique form that is embedded in placenames. Midrash Shem (מדרש שם), as this form is known in Jewish tradition, is the homiletical interpretation of names, typically characterized in some measure by wordplay. I suggest that these legends and placenames serve Hebrew travel literature both as an evidential tool and as an artistic means of expression, contributing to the construction of “known” and “foreign” lands and peoples, and consequently to the formulation of group identities. En route to the foreign and unknown, yet “own”, holy Eretz Yisrael, Benjamin of Tudela encounters Jewish communities and records a variety of aetiologies throughout the Middle East. In retelling the origins of the travelled landscape, he transmits local mythical, theological and historical content as well as particular Jewish-diasporic socio-political realities. Diversely told origins of Roman architecture, scattered across most of Benjamin’s account, show how these local traditions varied. Some aetiologies fuse traditional with foreign content to affirm a sense of belonging under foreign rule, while others actively undermine established non-Jewish narratives or even oppose competing Jewish narratives. Full article

This article seeks a way for preachers to use Martin Luther’s theology today without succumbing to Luther’s anti-Semitism. Its place in the discipline of homiletics is of hermeneutics and general sermon direction. I argue that Luther’s anti-Semitism is theological, and that in order to avoid anti-Semitism, Luther’s theology must be changed. I also argue that the concept of decoloniality offers a way forward, specifically in hybridizing Luther’s theology in today’s world. Full article

This essay will contribute to the ongoing conversation related to postmodern homiletics by engaging with the elements of learner-centered teaching. Recognizing that modernist methods have diminished effectiveness for the postmodern hearer, learner-centered preaching holds potential value by realigning preaching with the cultural shift in theological beliefs about authority, power, and community. Learner-centered teaching, represented by Maryellen Weimer, is a pedagogical approach rooted in democratic and egalitarian values that focuses on these changes in the classroom: the role of the teacher, the balance of power, the function of content, the responsibility for learning, and the method of evaluation. This essay will present the advent of learner-centered teaching and outline its elements. Next, the relationship between teaching and preaching will be examined. Then, an exploration of the context of learner-centered preaching. After that, each learner-centered teaching element will be considered focusing on how they have been utilized in preaching and offering proposals of how they could be integrated. Finally, conclusions will be drawn about the power of learner-centered preaching for the transformation of speaker and hearer. The end goal of learner-centered preaching is a change in Christian practice; therefore, more than just discussing the theory of learner-centered preaching, this essay will provide praxis for immediate implementation. Full article

Preaching has always been a means of congregational formation, and it is most effective in this endeavor when the homiletic matches the expectations of the audience. Modernism’s solo, authoritative clergy voice and postmodernism’s inductive New Homiletic responded to the needs of listeners in their respective eras. This paper proposes a homiletical paradigm that responds to metamodernism—a movement emerging in the U.S. over the past 10 years—and imagines this paradigm’s contribution to Christo-formation in the faith community. After the introduction, this paper traces how modernism and postmodernism affected America’s homiletic and subsequent congregational formation. This is followed by a description of metamodernism, its place within postmodernity, and its effect on church members’ expectations. Next, I present a shared pulpit culture, where the congregation hears a myriad of preaching voices, as a formative response to metamodern demands for more complex truths to be discerned within trusting communities. The paper ends with experiences from a faith community that practices a shared pulpit to show how the practice forms the vocational preacher, the members who preach, and the church at large. Full article

Every preacher has a unique homiletical theory evident in their preaching, regardless of whether it is understood through scholarly examination. Homiletical theory is the academic examination of disciplines in the understanding of the methodological functionality in preaching. Historically, theology and rhetoric constitute frames of reference in homiletical theory. However, as the field evolves, other frames of reference emerge, including pastoral care. In this paper, I argue that homiletical theory is a pedagogical paradigm in which the lead partner, either rhetoric or theology, determines the point of departure for teaching, with emphasis on the rhetorical situation or the theological implications. Therefore, understanding one’s homiletical theory can lead to a pedagogical experience that translates to more effective preaching by developing a coherent delineation from theory to praxis. As a case study, I use my approach to teaching students how to preach funerals with a rhetorical point of departure that focuses on answering the existential question: how then shall we live now that our loved one has died? Full article