The Rhetoric of the Reformation
Overview
Peter Matheson has written the first study in English of the Reformation as a literary phenomenon. This book traces the first emergence of a “public opinion” in European history. Using insights from social history, religion and literature, Professor Matheson explores the connection between the “communal Reformation” and the outpouring of pamphlets in the early 1520s. These pamphlets helped to create a dynamic and subversive network of communication where language and structure were of equal importance. He also examines the relative strengths of polemical and dialogical approaches in winning adherents, the motivations of the authors, and the expectations of audiences.
Top Highlights
“pamphlet literature has always indicated a struggle for the mind. It is thought tailored to action.” (Page 6)
“The Bible gave the ordinary person access to a norm by which he could form his own opinions” (Page 35)
“The Christian God is a polemical God, but effects transformation without physical violence” (Page 13)
“implistic polarisation of clergy and laity, Pope and Luther, Rome and the Empire.” (Page 93)
“the Gospel, truly preached, always creates uffrur, turns things upside down” (Page 13)
Representing two decades of probing into the various components of the Protestant tradition, this volume is hardly recommended for those who are seeking instant theological gratification… This collection, directed to students of history and theology, is a rich mine of theological reflection.
—Rodney L. Peterson, Trinity Journal
- Title: The Rhetoric of the Reformation
- Author: Peter Matheson
- Publisher: T&T Clark
- Print Publication Date: 1998
- Logos Release Date: 2007
- Pages: 280
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: Reformation
- ISBNs: 9780567085931, 0567085937
- Resource ID: LLS:RHETORICREF
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T20:46:35Z