“The Ethos of Mark Driscoll: A Summary of an Undergraduate Thesis”

by Benjamin Sherick | Xchanges 11.2

Theory & Method: Rhetorical Analysis and Interviews

Generating the Unit: Rhetorical Analysis

Rhetorical analysis is “the process of systematically investigating and explaining symbolic acts and artifacts for the purpose of understanding rhetorical processes” (Foss, 1996, pp. 6-7). Preaching is an oral form, and therefore qualifies under Foss’s definition of a symbolic act. Since the aim of this project was to understand the function of ethos in preaching, rhetorical analysis was a natural fit. This project used a generative criticism as described by Foss (1996), generating a unit of analysis using the theories and concepts of persuasion, identification, ethos, intrinsic ethos, and extrinsic ethos.

Persuasion

Rhetoric is primarily concerned with modes of persuasion. Simons (2011) succinctly defined persuasion as “human communication designed to influence the judgments and actions of others” (p. 24). In “What Are the Scriptures?”, Driscoll attempts to persuade the congregation that the Bible is an authoritative and trustworthy book and to engage in one simple act: read the Bible. In so doing, Driscoll attempts to persuade in a more subtle way — he hopes to influence their thinking about Christianity, to the end of seeing people converted.

Identification

Under the umbrella of rhetoric and persuasion is Kenneth Burke’s concept of identification. In A Rhetoric of Motives, Burke (1969) suggested identification was a necessary first step towards persuasion, famously writing, “You persuade a man only insofar as you can talk his language by speech, gesture, tonality, order, image, attitude, idea, identifying your ways with his” (p. 55). Burke showed that rhetorical communication depends on commonality.

Building on the work of Burke and others, Woodward (2003) concisely defined identification as “The conscious alignment of oneself with the experiences, ideas, and expressions of others: a heightened awareness that a message or gesture is revisiting a feeling or state of mind we already ‘know'” (p. 5). The concept of identification acknowledges that rhetoric is not a one-sided process. While the rhetor uses rhetoric to construct a persuasive argument, the audience must interpret the argument. Woodward (2003) states, “Audiences are the ‘judges’ of messages” (p. 6) and “Expectations affirmed are often identifications. Expectations denied are potential sources of alienation” (p. 14). Speakers must affirm their own credibility and gain identification by meeting the audience’s expectations in order to be persuasive.