Not with Wisdom of Words : Nonrational Persuasion in the New Testament

Many texts in the New Testament do more than simply explain the main tenets of the Christian faith; they invite believers to imagine and experience their theological claims. In Not with Wisdom of Words Gary Selby examines how the New Testament writers shift their mode of discourse from explaining or arguing points of doctrine to representing those doctrines poetically, bringing the realities of the faith, as the ancient writers put it, “before the eyes” of their audience. Bridging the disciplines of rhetorical studies, biblical studies, and theology, Selby draws on two central concepts from the classical tradition of poetics — mimesis, or representation, and phantasia, or visualization — to demonstrate how the New Testament writers understood the connection between faith and visionary, poetic language. This unique perspective on reading New Testament texts will be important not only for scholars and students but also for homiletic and liturgical practice in the contemporary church.“Gary Selby is well-read in classical rhetoric and the New Testament. . . . This work offers much-needed recognition of the dramatic and imaginative world of Paul’s rhetoric.” — Anthony C. Thiselton, University of Nottingham