Philip Arthur Bence PhD Thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

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culture:7° This list documents the preacher's debt to
a broad spectrum of theological sources.
2. Selection of Material from Sources
From these sources, how should one select preaching
topics? As pointed out above, 'Lloyd-Jones'+'Rahner
lecturers' most frequently mentioned 'God' on several
survey questions. 71 The suggested correlation between
that fact and those lecturers' teaching of preaching is
in the premise that God or a God-given tradition
determines preaching content. If 'Tillich lecturers'
feel that no such (external) arbiter decides the content
of preaching, what criteria helps the preacher determine
his subjects?
It appears that relatively high statistics on
several questions relating to the congregation provide
the answer. On both questions relating to the purpose of
preaching, 'Tillich lecturers' gave concern for the
congregation higher than average priority (tables 26 and
28). Responses to other relevant questions lead to the
same conclusion (table 26: Contemporary world; 29:
Modification; 31: Congregation; 32: Relevance; and even
table 39, where lecturer opinion on the usefulness of the
arts and sciences points toward the importance of
extra-theological concerns).
Tillich often repeated his dictum that preaching
must answer the questions contemporary man is
asking. 72 Scientific and technological advancement
has brought society into an enlightened rational