IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/sagope/v12y2022i1p21582440221085589.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Discourse-Rhetorical Strategies of Pauline Epistles: Rhetorical Situation Theory Approach to the Book of First Thessalonians

Author

Listed:
  • Simeon Ndubuisi Chidume
  • Isaiah I. Agbo

Abstract

This work on Pauline Discourse-Rhetorical Strategies for Community Building in the Book of First Thessalonians is carried out to examine how Apostle Paul deployed language in communicating his thoughts to the Thessalonian church in order to encourage them in their faith in Christ while establishing them as a strong community within the Thessalonian society. Previous research works on the book of First Thessalonians have either centered on theme, structure, and arguments on date and authorship in analysing the book. Discourse-rhetorical strategies for community building have not been investigated. This study uses the following discourse-rhetorical theories in its analysis: elements of Aristotelian Rhetoric, particularly Logos, and Bitzer’s Rhetorical Situation Theory. The data is composed of 14 utterances, purposively selected through careful reading and observation. The study finds that the rhetor responded politely to the exigence of the tendency to fall away from faith because of persecution by deploying identification strategy. He presented his exhortations, command, and instructions by deploying logos and use of persuasive strategies. The study concludes that rhetorical analysis is a very useful tool for discovering potent strategies political or religious leaders employ in communicating their thoughts and ideas to their audiences.

Suggested Citation

  • Simeon Ndubuisi Chidume & Isaiah I. Agbo, 2022. "Discourse-Rhetorical Strategies of Pauline Epistles: Rhetorical Situation Theory Approach to the Book of First Thessalonians," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(1), pages 21582440221, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:12:y:2022:i:1:p:21582440221085589
    DOI: 10.1177/21582440221085589
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/21582440221085589
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/21582440221085589?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nahuis, Roel & Moors, Ellen H.M. & Smits, Ruud E.H.M., 2012. "User producer interaction in context," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 79(6), pages 1121-1134.
    2. Darek Klonowski, 2012. "Private Equity in India in the Context of Emerging Asia," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Darek Klonowski (ed.), Private Equity in Emerging Markets, chapter 0, pages 241-248, Palgrave Macmillan.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Planko & Jacqueline Cramer & Maryse Chappin & Marko Hekkert, 2014. "Strategic collective system building by firms who launch sustainability innovations," Innovation Studies Utrecht (ISU) working paper series 14-04, Utrecht University, Department of Innovation Studies, revised Sep 2014.
    2. Klein, Amarolinda & Sørensen, Carsten & Freitas, Angilberto Sabino de & Pedron, Cristiane Drebes & Elaluf-Calderwood, Silvia, 2020. "Understanding controversies in digital platform innovation processes: The Google Glass case," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    3. Schleich, Joachim & Walz, Rainer & Ragwitz, Mario, 2017. "Effects of policies on patenting in wind-power technologies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 684-695.
    4. Flipse, Steven M. & van der Sanden, Maarten C.A. & Osseweijer, Patricia, 2014. "Improving industrial R&D practices with social and ethical aspects: Aligning key performance indicators with social and ethical aspects in food technology R&D," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 185-197.
    5. Klerkx, Laurens & van Bommel, Severine & Bos, Bram & Holster, Henri & Zwartkruis, Joyce V. & Aarts, Noelle, 2012. "Design process outputs as boundary objects in agricultural innovation projects: Functions and limitations," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 39-49.
    6. Peine, Alexander & Rollwagen, Ingo & Neven, Louis, 2014. "The rise of the “innosumer”—Rethinking older technology users," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 199-214.
    7. Barnes, Stuart J. & Pressey, Andrew D., 2016. "Cyber-mavens and online flow experiences: Evidence from virtual worlds," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 285-296.
    8. Jean-Claude Boldrini & Nathalie Schieb-Bienfait, 2015. "Collectively exploring the potential of technology derived from university research: the NanoMem case," Working Papers hal-01208517, HAL.
    9. Peine & Ingo Rollwagen & Louis Neven, 2012. "Exploring new patterns of user involvement – baby boomers and the future of consumption," Innovation Studies Utrecht (ISU) working paper series 12-09, Utrecht University, Department of Innovation Studies, revised Sep 2012.
    10. Ricottilli, Massimo, 2015. "Innovation through local interaction, imitation and investment waves," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 58-70.
    11. Radaelli, Giovanni & Lettieri, Emanuele & Frattini, Federico & Luzzini, Davide & Boaretto, Andrea, 2017. "Users' search mechanisms and risks of inappropriateness in healthcare innovations: The role of literacy and trust in professional contexts," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 240-251.
    12. Jiang, Xiaoxian & Jin, Ruijie & Gong, Min & Li, Mingzhu, 2022. "Are heterogeneous customers always good for iterative innovation?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 324-334.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:12:y:2022:i:1:p:21582440221085589. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.