Faith seeking creative understanding: From propositional to aesthetic and dramatic preaching

The aim of this project is to investigate how to do homiletics as a theological-aesthetic task that is faithful to the Scripture, yet creative to the new situation. This project takes seriously the seeming polarity of theology and aesthetics in preaching. Some homiletic theories seem to polarize theological dependence on God and aesthetics (rhetoric) for communication. The goal here is to combine theology and aesthetics (rhetoric) without denying the power of God on the one hand, and without ignoring human persuasiveness on the other. That is, how might one fully affirm a dependence on God in preaching and yet call for the full use of all human aesthetic resources? That is the question to be studied. In this sense, the project seeks to illumine the dramatic nature of preaching as a means of faith seeking creative understanding. Put another way, dramatic theory links between theology and aesthetics. Theological aesthetics, which is on behalf of God, might be developed as theological drama.;The thesis assumes that the gospel is foremost understood as divine speech and action revealed through the Scripture as well as living and creative communication between God and people. Likewise, the ministry of preaching is a faithful and creative performance based on the Scripture for humanity's participation in the drama of God. Moving from a study of metaphor to the studies about John's Gospel and the New Homiletic, and employing the theologies of Horace Bushnell and Kevin Vanhoozer, this project argues that preaching as a theological-aesthetic task is intrinsically dramatic. It is a means of formation of faith that seeks creative understanding. That is, dramatic preaching regards Scripture as the divine Script and responds to our new situation by combining the best of the New Homiletic.