Physical experience of "taking in"

Mental experience of being taught

Heart/soul experience of gaining wisdom

Speech that is "different" than ordinary speech; "set apart"

Words of a deity, spoken or written

Words of holy person, e.g., prophet, sage, saint; spoken or written

Words of the above in the mouth of the believer

Or, words that cause a certain kind of "inner movement"

Bowen’s questions:

Is a sermon better if it is carefully crafted before hand, or is it better if it is spontaneous (inspired "on the spot" by the Holy Spirit?

Can a prayer or a sacred meeting or the recitation of sacred speech work directly on the universe or is it only a request to a deity or god?

Comes from a word meaning to "recite"

Speech is most sacred in the context of the Qur’an

Uses classical Arabic

So beautiful no human could recreate it

Not a narrative text

Sura of Joseph

Parallels the Hebrew account of Joseph and his migration to Egypt

Repetitive and lack of structure

Lack of structure celebrated as one of the essential mysteries; a reason the Qur’an is glorious.

Essential teachings are in any selection of the verses

Third chapter of Qur’an

Text pg. 152,3

The Qur’an is divided into Chapters or Suras and Verses or aya

Many do not see the format as inspired. Some do

114 chapters roughly arranged according to length; 6000 verses

Handed down orally and through writing

Some was written during Muhammad’s lifetime

The written Qur’an was corrected by the oral tradition. Oral recitation is still a huge part of worship practice

First written version about 15-20 years after the death of Muhammad

An official version; collected but not organized

300 years after the death of Muhammad

The standardized version of today

Always in Arabic; learn to recite

Recited on many occasions

Special occasions, e.g., weddings, funerals

Daily prayer (5 times a day); known as salat

Religious celebrations, e.g., Ramadan

Fasting is meant to teach the Muslim patience, modesty and spirituality.

Fajr (pre-dawn): This prayer starts off the day with the remembrance of God; it is performed before sunrise.

Dhuhr (noon): After the day's work has begun, one breaks shortly after noon to again remember God and seek His guidance.

'Asr (afternoon): In the late afternoon, people are usually busy wrapping up the day's work, getting kids home from school, etc. It is an important time to take a few minutes to remember God and the greater meaning of our lives.

Maghrib (sunset): Just after the sun goes down, Muslims remember God again as the day begins to come to a close.

'Isha (evening): Before retiring for the night, Muslims again take time to remember God's presence, guidance, mercy, and forgiveness.

Reciting well is a valued skill

Confers power on the speaker

Confers high status

Confers religious authority

Hafiz--one who has completely memorized the Qur'an

A Muslim should be clean and pure to handle the Qur'an

Sometimes divided into 30 equal parts for recitation; done by end of month

Sometimes divided into 7 parts; recited in one week

When people gather to recite

One verse or a whole part

When finished, a special moment when prayers are said.

Ends with the Fatiha—the first surah and the first few lines of the second.

Recitation can be very moving for all, even those who do not understand Arabic.

Listen to recitations

Fatiha (first sura and first few lines of the second sura)

A’udh bi llahi (take refuge from evil)

Bismillahi rahman i-rahim (in the name of God, the Merciful the Compassionate

A phrase used before eating, speaking, writing, etc.

Surah 97—Night of Power

empowers you to resurrect yourself into the eternal spirit

Regarding recitation

Lots of training in Arabic and in practicing the verses

Reciting is not singing; not to be considered entertainment or artistic performance

Even so, people can be stars of recitation

Contests

See handout on felt sense

From the Tao Te Ching (Taoism)

From the Hebrew scriptures

From Buddhist Poetry

From the Native American Sun Prayer and ritual

From Christian Poetry

Speech of everyday people can be touched by the grace of God and be divinely inspired

Reformation: Split between the Catholic and Protestant Christian churches

Scripture as authority vs. institution

Faith and grace for salvation vs. the sacraments

Speech and writing as a window to God’s truth

Luther: No one can understand God’s word unless he is moved by the Holy Ghost

2 Timothy 3:16

Charismatic or Pentecostal Church

Pentecost for the Christian was the day the Holy Spirit came to the apostles a few weeks after Easter.

Azusa Street Revival: April 14, 1906

Adherents want the same gift of the Holy Spirit that the apostles received

Speaking in toungues

From the film

These holiness churches believe that the Holy Ghost visits them and enables them to speak in tongues…languages they have not learned.

Why do they handle snakes and drink poison?

Mark 16:18 They will pick up snakes, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them. They will place their hands on the sick and cure them."

Purpose: To give witness to the reality of believing in Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Ghost

What is the role of speech here?

What is witnessing?

What does conversion mean?

How does Harding look at conversion?

Not the factors which lead to conversion, but what happens when someone is converting

For orthodox Protestants, it is the WORD that converts, not anything else

What is the vehicle for Conversion?

Rhetoric not ritual

Witnessing is not a monologue but a dialogue with the listener

Witnessing is the practice of conversion

Born again Christians

Witnessing and Preaching

Two different ways people speak the gospel (good news of salvation through Jesus Christ)

Witnessing may look like casual conversation, but the witness intends to be persuasive

A witnessing session includes the gospel story and an invitation to receive Christ

What does it mean to come under conviction?

To sense one’s one impurity and separation from God…one’s sinfulness, and that something has to be done about it.

What happens at the moment of salvation

A person experiences a release from the bondage of sin and reconciliation with God…a new self…begins to speak the language of Christ

 

Why is this rhetoric of conversion so effective?

How does language convict and convert the saved?

"Story" enlists the listener

Oral performance

Dependence of listener on speaker

"These stories are about you, too."

Inclusive pronouns "we", "our"

Speaker as "saved" to listener as "lost"

Instructing the listener "sideways" by reference to resistance and how it is overcome in the speaker

Modeling the use of "saved" language

God was just dealing with me

So I finally surrendered

There’s a heaven to gain and a hell to shun

Implying that there is something missing in the lost person’s life; that this is conversion to Christ

 

Implying that there is transforming power through the Holy Spirit; an inner relationship

Help to change not from God on the outside

Help from the Word, the spirit, of God, internalized when a person accepts Christ

Suggesting that the listener can be the instrument of God to another person

Enlists the listener through story

Defines the listener as lost and the speaker as saved

Answers questions of resistance

Implies God through the Holy Spriti will help and confirm

Assures the listener a new standing