The Gospel of Rhetoric

Acts 9:1–19

1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way [the name for Christianity at the time], whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord,” he answered.

11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord — Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here — has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

The conversion of Saul has been the greatest influence in the spread of Christianity. The Book of Acts chronicles his journey of traveling to different cities and countries, planting churches and revisiting them in two other trips. Luke, who wrote the gospel of Luke, also composed Acts, while Paul wrote most of the New Testament in the form of letters to churches. So by this point, you may be asking yourself, what does this have to do with rhetoric?

Well, rhetoric is Jesus blinding Saul on the road to Damascus and begging, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” In my eyes, rhetoric works the same way as Saul’s conversion (he dropped his Hebrew name of Saul, opting instead to use his Greek name, Paul. I’ll simply refer to him as his Greek name). We may physically be able to see, but are blind to language, the specifics of writing, and the meaning inherent in every paragraph, sentence, and word. We understand what we are doing when we say a particular phrase or sentence, but why are we doing it? This question can only be answered with the power of the rhetoric spirit, given to us by the rhetor or rhetorician, who acts as an intercessor (like Ananias) on our behalf. When we have this information, rhetoric can change our lives, as Jesus changed Paul’s.

The power of rhetoric can impact everything from your daily life to your writing. Studying writing the way we have so far has dramatically transformed how I write and see the revision process. For example, instead of waiting until the last minute to write my assignments, I have been writing them a couple of weeks or days in advance to give them distance before I return for revision. It has given my writing a dramatic improvement. I am also more aware of the style in which I write, and I ask myself, “why do I write this way?”

Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthian church, “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly — mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it” (3:1–2). A spiritual rebirth occurs when you give your life to Christ, and you grow in that relationship with Jesus. Paul is saying that this particular church was still young and had room for growth. They lacked spiritual maturity. Similarly, when we first learn to write, we are given the basic instructions in writing because we won’t be able to digest the complexities of rhetoric, which we are currently studying. Now, we have grown up and have been educated more on these topics. We are able to digest the solid food of rhetoric. It may be tough, like steak, but it’ll eventually go down.

Rhetoric is enlightening. It will be persecuted by people who don’t understand it or don’t know what it is. That is why people need to share the gospel of rhetoric with the world. The topic must be slowly introduced, spoon fed, so that people who are studying it will not be overwhelmed. When we become aware of the symbols hidden in our language and the intent behind particular kinds of speech or action, we will be more aware of ourselves. We become hyper-aware of our mistakes, our “rhetoric sins” if you will. A desire to transform takes over, and we search to define rhetoric in order to “worship” it. Once we start to mature, we realize that it doesn’t really matter that we can define it. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” We can’t see rhetoric just as we can’t see the Holy Spirit. But we feel its presence. We are certain that it’s there. In the journey of walking in its knowledge, we can improve ourselves, and maybe in the process, improve the world.