Preaching the Inward Light

Michael P. Graves is Professor of Communication Studies in the School of Communication, Liberty University. He co-edited More Than Precious Memories: The Rhetoric of Southern Gospel Music. He lives in Forest, Virginia.

Preface Introduction Ch. 1 Cultural Constraints on Early Quaker Preaching Ch. 2 Presuppositions of Early Quaker Preaching Ch. 3 The Development of Seventeenth Century Quaker Impromptu Preaching Theory Ch. 4 Robert Barclay and the Grounding of Early Quaker Homiletic Theory Ch. 5 The Flowering of Early Quaker Homiletic Theory: Samuel Bownas' Manual for Itinerant Impromptu Preachers Ch. 6 Thematic Characteristics of Quaker Sermons, 1671-1700 Ch. 7 Key Metaphors in Early Quaker Sermons, 1671-1700 Ch. 8 Other Salient Characteristics of Quaker Sermons, 1671-1700 Ch. 9 George Fox Faces the Yearly Meeting in 1674: The Challenge of Legitimacy in a Culture that Values Impromptu, Inspired Discourse Ch. 10 Stephen Crisp and the Bedrock of Early Quakerism Ch. 11 ""This is my testimony unto you from the life of God"": The Theorist Tests His Own Advice Ch. 12 William Penn Preaches an Impromptu Funeral Sermon Epilogue Bibliography Appendices

"A lively analysis of Quaker homiletics. Both historians and students of rhetoric and preaching will find here many helpful insights." --John S. McClure, Charles G. Finney Professor of Homiletics, The Divinity School, Vanderbilt University More than religious history, Michael P. Graves has penned a multifaceted historical, theoretical, and textual analysis of impromptu speech that will be of great interest to communication and rhetorical scholars.... Through his careful scholarship and elegant prose, we catch a glimpse of the path these Friends followed, the meaning they built, the communities they formed, and the Light that illuminated their way. -- Jonathan J. Edwards -- Rhetoric & Public Affairs Preaching the Inward Light is an excellent resource not only for students of religious rhetoric, preaching, and history, but also for persons who would encounter a radically different approach to discerning God's living word amid the community of faith. -- Homiletic