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

f. Arguments based on the use of vilification of the opposition
Vilification is a technique that Paul uses very effectively to
influence the perception of his audience regarding the
opposition. In units 3 (1:10-16) and 10 (3:8-11), he sets out to
persuade his audience concerning the illegitimacy of the
doctrine of the opposition. The intention is to get the audience to
change their minds about the false teachers and their teaching
by raising doubts concerning their character and their teaching.
For example, he refers to their teaching as “things”, a} (1:11)
while the quote in 1:12 is used to cast doubt upon the character
of the false teachers, being yeu`stai, kaka; qhriva, gastevre"
ajrgaiv.
Lastly, attention should be focused on the wide range of rhetorical techniques
employed in the Letter to Titus. Most of these techniques are well known and
are listed here for reference purposes. (In the rhetorical analysis in Chapter 2
their function has already been discussed.) Furthermore, four additional
techniques have been pointed out in this study, which seem not to have been
identified by scholars thus far. They will be highlighted briefly in the second
half of this review.
1. Rhetorical techniques used most often in the letter, include:
a. Paranomasia: for example kosmika;" (2:12) and kosmw`sin (2:10).
b. Implicit contrasting:
An example of this technique occurs in chapter 1 with the
positive description of the elder-overseers (5-9) followed by a
description of the false teachers (10-16). The contrast between
the two groups is implicit rather than explicit since, there are no
indications of a simile being drawn. A more subtle example is
the comparison between the character of God and that of the
false teachers in 1:2 and 1:12 respectively. God is described as
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