Vivid Rhetoric and Visual Persuasion: Ekphrasis in Early Christian Literature

A major scholarly collaboration exploring vivid visual rhetoric in the New Testament

From Jesus’s miraculous walk on water to the graphic horrors of hell, New Testament authors make vivid and unforgettable images appear before their audience’s eyes. In the past decade, scholarship on early Christian use of ancient rhetorical techniques has flourished. One focus of rhetorical criticism of the New Testament has been the function of ekphrasis, or vivid visual description. In this landmark collection, leading New Testament scholars come together to probe the purpose and import of ekphrasis in early Christian literature.

The research in this collection explores the relationship between vivid rhetoric and genre, taking into account technical features, authorial intent, and audience response. Specific topics include:
- The New Testament’s rhetoric compared against Greco-Roman rhetorical handbooks
- Juxtaposition between vivid and non-vivid rhetoric
- The use of energeia in John’s Gospel to draw upon the reader’s multiple senses
- Aesthetics and the grotesque in Revelation
- The use of travelogue to create a virtual journey for the audience
- Vivid rhetoric in early martyr literature

Vivid Rhetoric and Visual Persuasion is a must-read for scholars of early Christianity and rhetorical criticism. Readers will find this collection indispensable in understanding a complex feature of the New Testament in its historical context.

Contributors

Contributors

Bart B. Bruehler, Diane Fruchtman, Meghan Henning, Martina Kepper, Susanne Luther, Harry O. Maier, Gudrun Nassauer, Nils Neumann, Vernon K. Robbins, Gary S. Selby, Aldo Tagliabue, Sunny Kuan-Hui Wang, Annette Weissenrieder, Robyn J. Whitaker

Meghan Henning is associate professor of Christian origins at the University of Dayton. Her previous books include Educating Early Christians through the Rhetoric of Hell and Hell Hath No Fury: Gender, Disability, and the Invention of Damned Bodies in Early Christianity.

Nils Neumann is professor of biblical theology at Leibniz University Hannover. His previous books include Armut und Reichtum im Lukasevangelium und in der kynischen Philosophie and Lukas und Menippos.