Sacred Rhetoric

by Robert Lewis Dabney

Publisher:

Presbyterian Committee of Publication

, 1870

Overview

Following in the footsteps of Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Horace, Quintilian, and countless other preeminent thinkers, Sacred Rhetoric: A Course of Lectures on Preaching marks the great Southern theologian Robert Lewis Dabney’s deft foray into the utmost concern of all preachers—the eloquent oration of God’s Word. This non-denominational textbook, based on Dabney’s years of teaching Pulpit Rhetoric in Union Theological Seminary, advances the practices of the classic rhetoricians while emphasizing the specific needs of the Christian preacher.

Still in print after nearly 140 years (under the title Evangelical Eloquence), Sacred Rhetoric guides the reader through every aspect of effective oration in 24 lectures. Sermon craft, argument, persuasion, style, action, preparation, and much more is covered in detail. All the while, Dabney remains steadfast in insuring that “the necessity of eminent Christian character is urged throughout as the foundation of the sacred orator’s power, and that a theory of preaching is asserted, with all the force which I could command, that honours God’s inspired word and limits the preacher most strictly to its exclusive use as the sword of the Spirit.”

Contents

Top Highlights

“Opposers should always be treated with fairness and courtesy, except where their own insolence or wickedness demands chastisement.” (Page 211)

“But in selecting an illustration you must observe two rules: one is, that it should be more simple and familiar than the thing to be illustrated, otherwise it gives the hearer no aid; the other is, that it must not only be apt and logically fair, but of a dignity and seriousness coherent with the topics of the pupit.” (Pages 200–201)

“I wish you to infer hence this most momentous of all conclusions, that the prime qualification of the sacred orator is sincere, eminent piety. Consider: nothing is an oration which does not directly move the hearer to act. The main action urged in every sermon is to believe and be saved. Eloquence we saw is the emission through speech of all the soul’s virtuous energies, of thought, of sensibility, and especially of will. Now, unless the preacher’s will is ardently directed toward this end, the salvation of the hearer, the main element of his power is lacking. But what is this direction of the will, save love for souls? And this is pre-eminently the spirit of Christ.” (Page 40)

“When we analyze the sources of our mental convictions, we trace all our beliefs ultimately to two fountains, self-consciousness and intuitive judgments. By consciousness we mean that knowledge which the soul has immediately of all its states as states or affections of itself.” (Page 182)

“Last, the preacher should see to it that his proof is unanswerable. Nothing should be advanced which is not solid, and all should be so perspicuously and forcibly put as to silence every mind which is not perverse.” (Page 207)

Product Details

• Title: Sacred Rhetoric
• Author: Robert Lewis Dabney
• Publisher: Presbyterian Committee of Publication
• Publication Date: 1870
• Pages: 361

About Robert Lewis Dabney

Robert Lewis Dabney (March 5, 1820–January 3, 1898) was an American Christian theologian, a Southern Presbyterian pastor, and Confederate Army chaplain. He was also chief of staff and biographer to Stonewall Jackson. His biography of Jackson remains in print today. Dabney and James Henley Thornwell were two of Southern Presbyterianism’s most influential scholars. They were both Calvinist, Old School Presbyterians, and social conservatives.