When the Trumpet Call is Unclear: A Rhetorical Analysis of the Speech That Launched the Jesus Seminar

Authors

Mathew A. Cabot, San Jose State UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

January 2005

Publication Title

Journal of Communication and Religion

First Page

286

Last Page

306

Disciplines

Communication

Abstract

Since the Jesus Seminar has become almost iconic in religious media coverage, it merits academic scrutiny. This article focuses on the Seminar's inaugural address given by founder Robert Funk on March 21, 1985, at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. In that address, Funk set forth the Seminar's mission and method that has guided the association ever since. The main thesis of this article is that clues to the Seminar's successes and failures may be found in Funk's inaugural address, which may be uncovered through a "text-in-context" analysis of the speech.

Comments

Copyright © 2005 The Religious Communication Association (RCA).

Recommended Citation

Mathew A. Cabot. "When the Trumpet Call is Unclear: A Rhetorical Analysis of the Speech That Launched the Jesus Seminar" Journal of Communication and Religion (2005): 286-306.