The Once and Future "Pulpit": Hearing Gerhard Ebeling Again
Abstract
The hermeneutical theology of Gerhard Ebeling has been tremendously influential upon New Homiletic preaching. This influence has been rightly critiqued. Ebeling’s theology, when pushed too far, invites pastors to overconfident and irresponsible uses of language and reinforces a hierarchical gap between preacher and hearer. Nevertheless, Ebeling’s encouragement to vigorously engage secular life with a public homiletic is a crucial aspect of his thought. This aspect was present in some early writings of the New Homiletic, but has been largely ignored by subsequent practitioners. Developing a more public homiletic prevents proclamation from becoming ingrown and calls preachers to a greater linguistic engagement beyond church walls.For articles: All articles published in Homiletic are the exclusive property of the Journal. All copyright rights to the article shall be owned by and be in the name of the Academy of Homiletics. The Academy of Homiletics in turn grants all authors the right to reprint their articles in any format that they choose, without the payment of royalties, subject to giving proper credit to the original publication with Homiletic. The Academy of Homiletics also permits articles to be copied for non-profit educational use provided proper credit is given to Homiletic. Authors may self-archive their articles in an institutional repository or other online location, provided proper credit is given to Homiletic.
For reviews: All reviews commissioned by Homiletic are the exclusive property of the Journal. Reviews are considered a work made-for-hire, and, as such, all copyright rights to the review shall be owned by and be in the name of the Academy of Homiletics. The Academy of Homiletics in turn grants all review authors the right to reprint their reviews in any format that they choose, without the payment of royalties, subject to giving proper credit to the original publication with Homiletic. The Academy of Homiletics also permits its reviews to be copied for non-profit educational use provided proper credit is given to the review author and the Journal. Authors may self-archive reviews in an institutional repository or other online location, provided proper credit is given to Homiletic.
