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This book is generally understood to be the first homiletic textbook of the modern era. Borrowing heavily from Augustine, Broadus offers a strong rhetorical approach to the practice of preaching. The book counsels clarity, reason, and proper arrangement of ideas in the pursuit of a convincing case for the gospel. Some excerpts…
The importance of arrangement may be further seen by observing the principal qualities of good arrangement. They appear to be unity, order, proportion, and progress. (81)
There is in preaching a frequent need for explanation. Numerous passages of Scripture are not understood or are even misunderstood by our hearers, and many have become so accustomed to passing over these that they are no longer aware that they present any difficulty. Some of the most important doctrines of the Bible are in general very imperfectly understood; those who believe them need clearer views of what they profess to believe, and those who object to them are often in fact objecting to something very different from the real doctrine. (129)
Every preacher, then, ought to develop and discipline his powers of argument. If averse to reasoning, he should discipline himself to practice it; if by nature strongly inclined that way, he must remember the serious danger of deceiving himself and others by false arguments. One who has not carefully studied some good treatise of logic should do so. It will make his mind sharper to detect fallacy, in others or in himself, and will help him to develop the habit of reasoning soundly. (143)
The importance of developing the reasoning powers is clearly enough involved in all the preceding discussions, yet some suggestions as to how it may be done might be helpful. Study books on logic. Study other books logically. There are many books of distinctively argumentative character which the preacher must read with care. He should make it his business to follow the arguments carefully, criticising, comparing, approving, or refuting, as the case may require. Besides this challenging reading, even general literature should for the most part be read observantly, analytically, and thoughtfully. And practice argument frequently. Disciplined thinking on the preacher’s own part is a necessity; he should think subjects through, working out processes of reasoning in his mind. (161)