Perceptive Book from New Press

Never have I ceased to commend for preachers the evaluation of sermons using Aristotle’s Canons of Rhetoric.  Any sermon, lesson, or speech can be evaluated succinctly by analyzing the ethos of the speaker, as well as the logos and pathos of his presentation.  Now Dr. Jerry Vines has provided a fabulous book for preachers entitled The Vital Role of Pathos in a Complete Text-Driven Interpretation of the Book of Jude. 

The focus of Vines’s book is a popular presentation of part of his doctoral dissertation from his PHD work at Southwestern Seminary.  But unlike most dissertations, this compressed volume is overflowing with cogent help for the preacher. 

Vines notes that pathos strokes the emotions of the listener.  Preaching cannot proceed without reason and intellectually accurate content or logos. However, even superior logos without ethos as a guarantee of the integrity of the sermon raises serious questions about the reliability of the information. Without pathos the impetus to internalize the truths of the message and then live in the prescribed way will almost inevitably be sacrificed. 

Jude offers a short but wide-ranging text as a perfect ground for practicing the art of pathos. From the Great War in heaven that resulted in the expulsion of Satan and his hosts to the warnings of God’s impending judgment on wicked men to an urgent admonition to pursue carefully and ardently the cause of evangelism, Jude provides a fabulous text brim full of information that an able preacher can bring to living color for an alert audience. 

And what a beautiful and appealing book published by the newest evangelical publisher—Northeastern Baptist Press. Unlike most denominational publishers that have either lost their way theologically or else abandoned the mandate of Christ to reach the world through deliberate evangelism, Northeastern Press incorporates evangelism in its own purpose.  The Vital Role of Pathos is pricelessly laid out and easy to read.  Vines and Northeastern are a match made in heaven and desperately needed in America.  I thank God for both.

If you're interested in purchasing your own copy, follow this link to learn more on the press's website.

Paige Patterson

Sandy Creek Foundation

Parker, Texas