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A Text centred rhetorical analysis of Paul's Letter to Titus

A Text centred rhetorical analysis of Paul's Letter to Titus

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its negative impact with that <strong>of</strong> sound doctrine through the use <strong>of</strong> another<br />

short sentence, eijsi;n ga;r ajnwfelei`" kai; mavtaioi. In 10-11, he vilifies the<br />

person <strong>of</strong> the false teacher and uses name calling or labelling, like he did in<br />

1:10. The effect <strong>of</strong> all this criticism and commendation is that the chasm<br />

between sound and false doctrine is maintained, if not reinforced. It removes<br />

any possibility for compromise between the two parties. Clearly, the intent <strong>of</strong><br />

the author, <strong>to</strong>wards the end <strong>of</strong> his letter, is <strong>to</strong> hold before his audience two<br />

pictures, one <strong>of</strong> false doctrine and another <strong>of</strong> sound doctrine, showing them<br />

why they should comply with the latter and reject the former. They cannot but<br />

choose sound doctrine and reject the other, because this puts them in<br />

community with the apostle who authorises sound doctrine. Furthermore, it<br />

confirms their identity as those who believe in God when they order their<br />

conduct in line with sound doctrine. Other <strong>rhe<strong>to</strong>rical</strong> techniques employed<br />

include synde<strong>to</strong>n, polysynde<strong>to</strong>n, an<strong>to</strong>nyms, repetition, synecdoche,<br />

paranomasia and emphatic clustering.<br />

2.2.11 <strong>Titus</strong> 3:12-15: Adapting the conclusion <strong>to</strong> reinforce the<br />

notion <strong>of</strong> legitimate ministry<br />

Scholars regard the closing section as “standard” Pauline (Demarest,<br />

1984:331; Knight, 1992:356; Mounce, 2000:456, 459). While all the standard<br />

elements <strong>of</strong> a Pauline conclusion are present, the vocabulary and the rich<br />

network <strong>of</strong> cognate linguistic concepts suggest that Paul is adapting his<br />

normal conclusion for a more important purpose, namely <strong>to</strong> round <strong>of</strong>f his<br />

overall argument for compliance <strong>to</strong> sound doctrine, especially reemphasising<br />

the notion <strong>of</strong> legitimate ministry. This is the best opportunity since he has just<br />

in the previous section (9-11) addressed illegitimate ministry and dictated<br />

procedures for the treatment <strong>of</strong> the false teacher(s). The conclusion leaves<br />

the recipients in no doubt as <strong>to</strong> what constitutes legitimate ministry.<br />

PDF created with pdfFac<strong>to</strong>ry Pro trial version www.pdffac<strong>to</strong>ry.com<br />

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