Bartow, Charles L. God\u27s human speech: a practical theology of proclamation. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997

Langknecht, Henry

English

Wilfrid Laurier University

ConsensusVolume 25Issue 1 Contextual Perspectives in Pastoral Care andCounsellingArticle 235-1-1999God's human speech: a practical theology ofproclamationHenry LangknechtFollow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensusThis Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationLangknecht, Henry (1999) "God's human speech: a practical theology of proclamation," Consensus: Vol. 25 : Iss. 1 , Article 23.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol25/iss1/23Book Reviews 137The weakness of the book is that it gives the impression that this is theway that all Catholics do moral theology. She fails to present the complexityof Catholic moral theology and does not present the strong emphasis ondeontology and natural law. Also, her vignettes raise ethical dilemmas but donot come up with an answer. Certainly, in this era of ecumenical dialogue,this book is worthwhile to read for a more positive view of Catholic moralityin the 1990s.Thomas St. James O’ConnorWaterloo Lutheran SeminaryGod’s Human Speech: A Practical Theology of ProclamationCharles L. BartowGrand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997xiv +189 pages, $22.50 SoftcoverMuch ink has already been spilled describing the conditions of post-modernism and then either lamenting how it has eroded the authority ofGod’s Word read and preached or celebrating the new homileticalconfigurations which have been stirred up by the flood. Charles Bartow, inGod’s Human Speech: A Practical Theology of Proclamation, resolutelybinds these two streams together. In echoes of Calvin and Barth, he refusesto compromise God’s prerogative to remain the God revealed in Scriptureand yet he articulates a way for us to press human experience and pluralisminto God’s service. Sola scriptura need not inhibit our entanglement with theworld because the “reformative or transformational thrust of our kerygmaticexpectation... if far from simply...keeping up with the temper of the times. Infact, it has little if anything to do with establishing the gospel’s relevance tothe world as we construe it and experience it on our own terms. But it haseverything to do with the gospel’s keeping i75 relevant to the purposes of Godwhatever the vicissitudes of life” (55). And about these purposes of GodBartow is clear; his statement of the Christian kerygma rings throughout thework: “In Christ Jesus, God takes us as we are and presses us into the serviceof what God would have us be.”Bartow hangs his theology of God’s Word on analogies made with threefigures of speech, oxymoron, metaphor, and metonymy. God’s Word isoxymoron (contradictions held in tension) when it comes in its strangenessrevealing itself in discontinuity with our lived experience. Metaphor (wherethings are both like and unlike each other) is God’s device for simultaneouslyconfirming our life experience without allowing a collapse into total138 Consensusidentification with it. Metonynny (where a part stands in for the whole) isBartow’s figure for the sacramental nature of the Word. “As the bread andthe cup serve metonymically to draw attention to the real presence of Christin communion, so the Holy Scriptures of the Old and NewTestaments... direct the hearts and minds of the faithful to Christ Jesus whoalone is the one Word of God which we have to hear” (20).Bartow’s theology of performance demonstrates his most creativeexploitation of the tension between Word and world. He investigates theimplications of how our vocal performance of texts, including tone of voiceand embodiment, are indeed exegeses of texts. Consequently, for preachersand public readers of Scripture to work at developing imaginative, empathic,vocal, and physical gestural virtuosity is not to devote time to what is besidethe point. It is “to condition one’s total self (not just one’s mind throughstudy, but also one’s body through drill) as a site for the acquisition ofknowledge” (74). Every performance (that is, every occasion when the “formcomes through”) of a passage—and indeed every sermon on a passage—contributes to the church’s understanding of it.There is, finally, a strong practical aspect of the book. In the finalchapter, Bartow offers a clear and profound five-point method for critiquingour own preaching. He suggests that our sermons must (1) have a present-tense tone, (2) emphasize divine initiative, (3) offer a clear, Christianinterpretation of life, (4) be in the indicative mood, and (5) feature a“dexterous use of a variety of sermon strategies” and choose words whichaim at “cause, not at effect” (128-129).While it is appropriate for “people of the Book” to interpret their lives byway of literary analogies, the literariness of Bartow’s style makes this book achallenge. He is in constant conversation with dozens of poets andtheologians and quotes heavily from their work often at the expense ofcontinuity and intelligibility. It is hard to get a steady sense of his “voice”.Surprising, too, is the fact that the sample sermons included from his owncorpus are quite literary. This author tried to preach them aloud (as Bartowrecommends) but was unable to create an oral voice adequate to the task.Henry LangknechtEmmanuel College

God\u27s human speech: a practical theology of proclamation

Scholars Commons

Consensus
Volume 25
Issue 1 Contextual Perspectives in Pastoral Care and
Counselling
Article 23
5-1-1999
God's human speech: a practical theology of
proclamation
Henry Langknecht
Follow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus
This Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by an
authorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.
Recommended Citation
Langknecht, Henry (1999) "God's human speech: a practical theology of proclamation," Consensus: Vol. 25 : Iss. 1 , Article 23.
Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol25/iss1/23
Book Reviews 137
The weakness of the book is that it gives the impression that this is the
way that all Catholics do moral theology. She fails to present the complexity
of Catholic moral theology and does not present the strong emphasis on
deontology and natural law. Also, her vignettes raise ethical dilemmas but do
not come up with an answer. Certainly, in this era of ecumenical dialogue,
this book is worthwhile to read for a more positive view of Catholic morality
in the 1990s.
Thomas St. James O’Connor
Waterloo Lutheran Seminary
God’s Human Speech: A Practical Theology of Proclamation
Charles L. Bartow
Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997
xiv +189 pages, $22.50 Softcover
Much ink has already been spilled describing the conditions of post-
modernism and then either lamenting how it has eroded the authority of
God’s Word read and preached or celebrating the new homiletical
configurations which have been stirred up by the flood. Charles Bartow, in
God’s Human Speech: A Practical Theology of Proclamation, resolutely
binds these two streams together. In echoes of Calvin and Barth, he refuses
to compromise God’s prerogative to remain the God revealed in Scripture
and yet he articulates a way for us to press human experience and pluralism
into God’s service. Sola scriptura need not inhibit our entanglement with the
world because the “reformative or transformational thrust of our kerygmatic
expectation... if far from simply...keeping up with the temper of the times. In
fact, it has little if anything to do with establishing the gospel’s relevance to
the world as we construe it and experience it on our own terms. But it has
everything to do with the gospel’s keeping i75 relevant to the purposes of God
whatever the vicissitudes of life” (55). And about these purposes of God
Bartow is clear; his statement of the Christian kerygma rings throughout the
work: “In Christ Jesus, God takes us as we are and presses us into the service
of what God would have us be.”
Bartow hangs his theology of God’s Word on analogies made with three
figures of speech, oxymoron, metaphor, and metonymy. God’s Word is
oxymoron (contradictions held in tension) when it comes in its strangeness
revealing itself in discontinuity with our lived experience. Metaphor (where
things are both like and unlike each other) is God’s device for simultaneously
confirming our life experience without allowing a collapse into total
138 Consensus
identification with it. Metonynny (where a part stands in for the whole) is
Bartow’s figure for the sacramental nature of the Word. “As the bread and
the cup serve metonymically to draw attention to the real presence of Christ
in communion, so the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New
Testaments... direct the hearts and minds of the faithful to Christ Jesus who
alone is the one Word of God which we have to hear” (20).
Bartow’s theology of performance demonstrates his most creative
exploitation of the tension between Word and world. He investigates the
implications of how our vocal performance of texts, including tone of voice
and embodiment, are indeed exegeses of texts. Consequently, for preachers
and public readers of Scripture to work at developing imaginative, empathic,
vocal, and physical gestural virtuosity is not to devote time to what is beside
the point. It is “to condition one’s total self (not just one’s mind through
study, but also one’s body through drill) as a site for the acquisition of
knowledge” (74). Every performance (that is, every occasion when the “form
comes through”) of a passage—and indeed every sermon on a passage
—
contributes to the church’s understanding of it.
There is, finally, a strong practical aspect of the book. In the final
chapter, Bartow offers a clear and profound five-point method for critiquing
our own preaching. He suggests that our sermons must (1) have a present-
tense tone, (2) emphasize divine initiative, (3) offer a clear, Christian
interpretation of life, (4) be in the indicative mood, and (5) feature a
“dexterous use of a variety of sermon strategies” and choose words which
aim at “cause, not at effect” (128-129).
While it is appropriate for “people of the Book” to interpret their lives by
way of literary analogies, the literariness of Bartow’s style makes this book a
challenge. He is in constant conversation with dozens of poets and
theologians and quotes heavily from their work often at the expense of
continuity and intelligibility. It is hard to get a steady sense of his “voice”.
Surprising, too, is the fact that the sample sermons included from his own
corpus are quite literary. This author tried to preach them aloud (as Bartow
recommends) but was unable to create an oral voice adequate to the task.
Henry Langknecht
Emmanuel College


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