Philip Arthur Bence PhD Thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

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offers the possibility of what the one God (not the many
hearers) may do. So, in this sense, Tillich did see the
preaching content (God himself) taking precedence over
particular preachers and congregations.
Tillich's view of the preacher's task? To analyze
his culture, so that he could proclaim the message in a
manner that enables hearers to receive it.
Only by embodying and preaching the new reality
on which it is based can the Church and its
ministry be relevant for our time. Any other
priority prevents him from concentrating on the
function which should make him relevant--that
of pronouncing and repeating the message of a
new reality.
III. Reconsideration of the Three Questions
Thus far, this chapter highlights key differences
among the four largest theologically based sets of
lecturers and the theologians with whom they identify.
These significant disagreements in theologies of
preaching and their effects on the teaching of preaching
preclude the statement of specific concluding statements
describing preaching, or the teaching of preaching,
today. But is it possible to locate any consensus
underlying these positions which would allow more general
descriptive statements?
After chapters two and three broadly set forth the
seven theological models, chapter four listed a number of
foundational consensus statements, common denominators
underlying all of the theologies. To some degree, that
can be done again in relation to the three questions