I really struggled with this book. On the one hand, I love the premise. I studied communication in college, and so rhetoric is a topic that is near and dear to my heart, and I believe that Christians should be more in tune with it. Beitler did a great job outlining why Christians should be familiar with and use the art of persuasion, and I loved his points on the topic. I also loved the 'case studies' he used in this piece. C. S. Lewis, Dorothy L. Sayers, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Desmond Tutu, and Marilynne Robinson are all people who I greatly admire for both their faith and their communication, and Beitler did a great job highlighting these parts of their lives.

The reason that I struggled was that the writing style resembled that of an incredibly academic research paper. As I mentioned above, I studied communication and am quite familiar with the theories involved, and on top of this I have two masters degrees and have read countless dense research papers. Despite this though, I still felt like a lot of the content was way over my head and was quite dense to read. I would have loved to see this book written for the average reader instead of the academic theologian.

Overall, I love the premise, but I wish that it had been written in a more accessible way,

What has rhetoric got to do with Christianity? Is learning rhetoric a strategy of unholy manipulation? What can we learn from history with regard to Christian witness using rhetoric? According to author, James E Beitler III, we need more, not less "rhetorical reflection." In arguing for more of the training and theological reflection on rhetoric, he first debunks some myths surrounding the topic. For those who use the Bible to avoid the use of rhetoric, we learn that there is a place for right speech that uses the skills of persuasion. He states: "Rhetoric and truth are not opposites;
rather, presentations of the truth are always rhetorical." Going through the list of rhetorical experts is in itself a treat: Plato's and Socrates' works on rhetoric; Cicero's five canons of rhetoric; Peter Ramus's modification of Cicero's; Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals; and several contemporary authors such as Kevin Vanhoozer, David Cunningham, and André Resner Jr. Then there are several theologians who offer theological backing for the study and use of rhetoric as "some of the most persuasive forms of Christian witness."


Beitler presents this book about rhetoric in two ways. Firstly, he chooses a particular person in history to highlight a particular rhetorical framework. Secondly, he adopts the Church calendar as a theological counterpart for reflection. In doing so, he is able to hold both of these emphases together to present the art and theology of using rhetoric in the Church worship setting.

CS Lewis on "Preparing the Way" (Advent; Rhetoric of Euonia)
Dorothy L. Sayers on "Professing the Creeds" (Christmastide; Rhetoric of Enargeia)
Dietrich Bonhoeffer on "Preaching the Word" (Epiphany; Uniting Rhetoric of Ethos and Pathos)
Desmond Tutu on "Calling for Repentance" (Lent; Constitutive Rhetoric)
Marilynne Robinson on "Hosting the Guest" (Eastertide; Rhetoric of Ethos).

The author goes to CS Lewis's Church in Headington Quarry, Oxford to get a better sense of the worship environment of the famous philosopher and apologist. Personality wise, Lewis does not let his fame get to his head. His persuasiveness in his writings speak volumes about the way he uses rhetoric to drive home truth. While most of his writings tend to be dialectical, scholars have noticed that Lewis's approach is similar to "Quintilian's rhetorical counsel" as well as ethos. In Beitler's words, Lewis tends toward "goodwill toward one's audience" or a "rhetoric of goodwill." He also makes multiple connections between Lewis's rhetoric and the Advent season. For Dorothy L. Sayers, the challenge of her day was to deal with the barriers of Christian witness: Creeds. Despite the negative perceptions of dogmas and the mistakes of the past, she argues that the problem is not the creed per se, but how they had been communicated or non-communicated. He calls "silence, distortion, and cant" as failures of Christian witness. Sayers urges for the practice of both calling and creed through dogma. Performance is her key rhetoric. Using plays and storytelling, we can add vividness to the gospel witness. On Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the theme is learning Christian witness via life together. His rhetoric of "self-restraint" is an interesting term. He speaks as one with a two-pronged objective: Hide himself and reveal Christ. The season of Epiphany is a powerful way to illuminate Christ through ordinary times. Desmond Tutu's rhetoric is that of merging the worship of Christ and applying it to his struggle for social and political justice. Beitler admits that Tutu's rhetoric may be problematic at times when it becomes mixed with powers and political struggles. Yet, his version of "constitutive rhetoric" is immensely helpful to the "rhetoric of interdependence" and the freedom struggle. Marilynne Robinson's "Ethos of Eastertide" asks about how her bestselling book Gilead could teach us about the rhetoric of Christian witness. Her rhetoric of ethos, engages Christian orthodoxy with humanistic values. Chapter six brings all of these examples of various rhetorical styles together under the umbrella of "Heteroglossia of Pentecost." The language of rhetoric is a powerful way to deliver truth.

My Thoughts
The language in this book tends to more technical for laypersons. However, if you are familiar with the study of rhetoric, you would recognize many of the rhetorical terms and concepts used. part from the technical language used, there are at least three takeaways for readers here. First, the book is briefly biographical. It presents a snapshot of the life of the famous individual, albeit from a rhetorical perspective. Using a known historical character brings the art of rhetoric down to a personal level. These individuals are giants in their respective fields. One reason for their influence is their ability to communicate. CS Lewis is well known for his apologetics; Dorothy Sayers for her literary skills in drama and plays; Dietrich Bonhoeffer for his leadership in Church as well as theological depth; Desmond Tutu for social justice; Marilynne Robinson for literature. More importantly, Beitler helps us see that rhetoric is not something to avoid but to be embraced. For it is a powerful way to witness God's truth. As a preacher, this study and application of rhetorics challenges me to expand my repertoire of rhetoric.

Second, there is a powerful theological component in the description of the rhetoric of these individuals. Beitler puts it as witness, and shows us how the conviction of Scripture underlines the foundations of each individual's life work. Beitler assists us by explicitly linking the seasons of the Church calendar with a theological angle. He also shows us the contexts of each individual's theological development; how their background and upbringing affect their witness. It is a subtle challenge to each of us not to belittle the opportunities that we have. If these people could create waves in their respective contexts, we too could learn to embrace opportunities presented to us. Through the book, Beitler gives us a gamut of the different ways theology informs rhetoric.

Third, worship. The last chapter is an important one. Beitler ties all the individual rhetorical styles together under the umbrella of Church and the working of the Holy Spirit. We are encouraged to pursue any of these styles, and to develop our own. The liturgical component helps us bring together the diversity of theology, rhetoric, and communication styles under the umbrella of worship. This is in a way telling us that we too ought to do the same with our own lives.

James E. Beitler III is associate professor of English at Wheaton College.

Rating: 4 stars of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Inter-Varsity Press and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

Review of Seasoned Speech: Rhetoric in the Life of the Church, by James E. Beitler III

James E. Beitler III is an associate professor of English at Wheaton College, so it isn’t surprising that he should write a book on rhetoric, or persuasive speaking. Beitler looks at rhetoric in the church as he examines five prominent Christian thinkers and writers of the last hundred years (C.S. Lewis, Dorothy Sayers, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Desmond Tutu, Marilynne Robinson, plus worship). Beitler matches each of those thinkers with a season of the church calendar from Advent to Pentecost.

The title of Seasoned Speech was likely inspired by Colossians 4:6 English Standard Version: Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. Seasoned Speech is replete with footnotes and content notes, the notes sometimes taking up more space than the text which the note is referencing.

Beitler spends a great deal of time in the beginning of the book defining rhetoric, and discussing how he is using it in this book. In society today, and especially in the news media, rhetoric has taken on a decidedly negative connotation. Beitler uses it in a positive sense, as persuasive speech that may cause one to choose to become a Christian.

My personal favorite master of rhetoric examined in Seasoned Speech is Desmond Tutu. He boldly proclaimed his faith at a place and time when racial tensions put his life in jeopardy. His words were persuasive and his personality charismatic. In a church where armed soldiers lined the walls, Tutu was able to rouse the frightened congregants into a worshiping, dancing crowd that made the soldiers feel no threat.

Beitler believes rhetoric is rarely used in the church, and if it is used at all it is by the clergy. He hopes that will change. Rather than the lay-person using a simplified formula and failing at witnessing, Beitler would like to see all Christians trained in the use of rhetoric, for aren’t all Christians called to witness?

This was more literary than I expected, very good book, but not a good fit for our library patrons. I will likely only recommend this one to our more serious-minded religious patrons or those working in the field.

Seasoned Speech
Rhetoric in the Life of the Church

by James E. Beitler III


InterVarsity Press

IVP Academic

Christian , Religion & Spirituality

Pub Date 07 May 2019


I am reviewing a copy of Seasoned Speech through Intervarsity Press and Netgalley:



Seasoned Speech points out that the Christian Faith requires a degree of persuasion.


In one of Apostle Paul’s early letters to the church he wrote "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone" (Col. 4:6) Still Rhetoric and the art of persuasion has been largely ignored by most Christians.



In Seasoned Speech James Beitler seeks to renew an interest in Christian Rhetoric by looking closely at the works of five Christian Communicators which include C.S Lewis, Dorothy L Sayers, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Desmond Tutu, as well as Marilyne Robinson.



This book reminds us that being an authentic Christian includes using Rhetoric.


I give Seasoned Speech five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

The book Seasoned Speech focuses on five significant authors - CS Lewis, Dorothy Sayers, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Desmond Tutu, and Marilyn Robinson - and examines how they utilize rhetoric in their writings. The first basis for the book is how they all use the Aristotelian idea of ethos and then develop it into their own contexts. I agree with the book that rhetoric should be more closely examined in the book. I also appreciated the brief examinations of the themes of all five of these authors. However, I thought that the book's connections between the authors and times of the liturgical year were weaker. Of course, this could be because I am from a low-church tradition, where liturgical seasons are less important. Still, I hope this book will begin important conversations about rhetoric and how the Holy Spirit can work through our words for the Gospel.