Arguing like a Mere Human Being Galatians 3. 15–18 in Rhetorical Perspective
The foregoing excerpt from Watts' Logicke is remarkable in a number of respects, not the least of which is the suggestion that Enlightenment Christians engaged in rhetorical criticism of the Bible by applying to it various canons of ‘logic’ or ‘rhetoric’ developed in conversation with the rheto...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
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| Published: |
Cambridge Univ. Press
1988
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| In: |
New Testament studies
Year: 1988, Volume: 34, Issue: 4, Pages: 536-549 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | The foregoing excerpt from Watts' Logicke is remarkable in a number of respects, not the least of which is the suggestion that Enlightenment Christians engaged in rhetorical criticism of the Bible by applying to it various canons of ‘logic’ or ‘rhetoric’ developed in conversation with the rhetors of classical antiquity. To my knowledge, this chapter in the history of biblical hermeneutics has yet to be written. For interests at hand, however, what calls for notice is Watts' remark about Paul's use of a particular rhetorical figure. According to Watts, when Paul says, ‘I speak like man’, he marks his argument as ad hominem. This means that he adopts a premise of his interlocutor, a premise which he himself may not affirm, in order to make a point. No doubt Watts had in mind Rom 3. 5, Gal 3. 15, and 1 Cor 9. 8, where Paul's λ⋯γω (λ⋯λω) κατ⋯ ἄνθρωπον suggested to him the Latin expression argumentum ad hominem. As we shall see, Watts was mistaken in this identification but correct in his judgment about at least one of the arguments in which Paul says, ‘I speak like a man.’ |
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| ISSN: | 1469-8145 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: New Testament studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/S0028688500021111 |