Rhetorical appeal and the uncertainty of hope
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Date
2013
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch University
Abstract
The article examines an article that Dirk Smit wrote about rhetoric and theology against the
background of other of his articles, particularly about the Confession of Belhar. It argues
that Smit�s article is �judiciously sceptical� about rhetoric because he is committed not only
to faith, but also to the uncertainty of hope. This commitment is, it is argued, compatible
with rhetoric, but only with a certain type of rhetoric. Such a hopeful rhetoric, which does
not accept the closure of tragedy, reaches out to others across tragic divisions as the Confession
of Belhar did. The final section examines how Smit�s article is itself a rhetorical act and
tries to identify the particular appeal he makes on readers.
Description
Keywords
Rhetoric, Theology, Christian confession, Christian doctrine, Christianity, Hope
Citation
Lawrie, D.G. (2013). Rhetorical appeal and the uncertainty of hope. Nederduitse Gereformeerde Teologiese Tydskrif (NGTT), 54 (3&4):1-9