The preacher as artist : metaphor, identity, and the vicarious humanity of Christ
Abstract
This thesis explores how metaphors of identity shape the practice of preaching and can
encourage or limit attempts to witness to Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. It asks the
question: Is there an identity that will encourage a faithful homiletic practice by
embracing the full range of human capacities and gifts without asking the preacher to
rely on him- or herself? It suggests that the homiletic identity of THE PREACHER AS
ARTIST can lead preachers to understand their task in relation to the life and ongoing
ministry of Jesus Christ and so give space to divine and human action in the event of
preaching the word of God. The argument begins with an account of the present cultural
moment and the suggestion that preachers should consider an identity that takes the
imagination seriously in light of shifting cultural assumptions and expectations. It then
describes the significance of metaphor for identity before looking at two established
homiletic identities, THE PREACHER AS TEACHER and THE PREACHER AS
HERALD. Accounts of these two identities highlight the tension between divine and
human agency in the task of preaching. The thesis then examines the metaphor of THE
PREACHER AS ARTIST. This attempt to re-describe the identity of preachers draws
on a theology of communion and the doctrine of the vicarious humanity of Christ to
relocate the identity and practice of the preacher in the creative and ongoing ministry of
Jesus. The metaphorical association of the preacher and artist understood within the
artistic ministry of Jesus Christ frees the full range of human capacities, including the
imagination. It connects preachers to the person and work of Jesus Christ, who took the
raw materials of the human condition and offered them back to the Father in a
redemptive and imaginative fashion through the Holy Spirit.
Type
Thesis, PhD Doctor of Philosophy
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