In The Antichrist, Friedrich Nietzsche attacks belief in God through a counter myth that is itself structured by the Bible. It is evolutionism, a story about the creation, fall, and redemption but with natural evolution playing the role of creator and Nietzsche playing the role of prophet and redeemer. This dimension of Nietzsche’s thought is often passed over because it is only fully visible to readers who are willing, as C. S Lewis has put this, to “look along” messages. Modernity has habituated readers to assume that it is only the reductive meaning they get by “looking at” messages that really matters. The habits of modernism do not void such mythic meanings; they merely make it difficult or impossible for critics to recognize their vitality.

This study contributes to an understanding of religious communication in institutional contexts, specifically, communicative elements of leadership theory and practice in Christian higher education. The research explored how 26 emerging leaders (10 men; 16 women) within the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) defined leadership and described themselves as leaders. All leaders highlighted authenticity, communicative influence, and relationships as pivotal to their leadership. No significant gender-based differences were found when analyzing the interview transcripts, although women’s language related to communicative influence showed characteristics of cooperation and mutuality, whereas men’s language was framed more directly in terms of influence. Leadership was also closely aligned with institutional mission and values and influenced by the cultural context of their institution.

This content analysis examines communication journal coverage of concepts and themes related to religion and spirituality from 2002 to 2012. The analysis of 468 articles from 29 journals over this 10-year period reveals that there are 15 main themes covered to varying degrees. During this 10-year period, there are particular years with more attention paid to religious and/or spirituality issues than other years. Moreover, the analysis details how the two most common journals for the academic discourse surrounding religious and spirituality issues are the Journal of Communication and Religion and the Journal of Media and Religion. Implications of these findings are discussed.

This study explores how and why contemporary preachers rely on intertext when preaching. The investigation, based on close reading of sermon manuscripts, semi-structured interviews with preachers, and frequency searches finds that (i) preachers use an intertextual reference approximately once every 90 seconds of preaching; (ii) intertextual sources are usually prominently foregrounded and the voice of the source frequently rendered directly rather than indirectly, suggesting that significant parts of the sermon are presented wholly from the perspective of the intertextual source; and (iii) preachers are sensitized to the multifunctionality of sermon intertext and exploit such functions in purposeful ways.

Maria Stewart (1803–1879) was a pathbreaking rhetor whose essays and speeches to 1830s Boston articulated early formulations of feminist and Black nationalist thought. Her subsequent expulsion from the public sphere has been discussed largely as a consequence of her race and gender. This essay shifts the focus to Stewart’s religious rhetoric, comparing her use of biblical authority and gospel message with Paul.

This study examines the nature of the relationship between evangelical Protestants and Catholics in light of the public discourse from prominent evangelical leaders surrounding the selection of the 266th pontiff—Pope Francis I. The rhetoric of evangelicals is analyzed by applying the work of Leslie Baxter in relational dialectics (Relational Dialectics Theory). I review the key tenets of Baxter’s conceptualization of dialogue in RDT and demonstrate the theory’s viable function as a means of rhetorical criticism, particularly in analyzing public discourse that constitutes a relationship.

Scientific and naturalistic assumptions dominate the field of communication theory, making theoretical engagement with spiritual modes of communication difficult. Current models of spiritual communication fail to elaborate on how, exactly, researchers from different traditions can engage with this new tradition. This study uses Craig’s (1999) constitutive metamodel to create a model of the Spiritual Tradition of communication theory, which views communication as mimetic of the atemporal. Situating the Spiritual Tradition within the metamodel will allow researchers to understand better the dialogical/dialectical tension created by different understandings of communication.

Constructing a utopian, fictional vision informed by Taoist values and constructed with Taoist rhetorical techniques, Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Dispossessed offers readers a detailed model for forming a Taoist spiritual practice. Le Guin’s novel epitomizes several of the values embedded in Lao-tzu’s Taoist teachings, such as equilibrium and flux, and some of the same rhetorical techniques, such as paradox. To unpack how this rhetoric functions, I examine three of the novel’s paradoxes (balance from instability, harmony in disharmony, and creation through destruction), detail how flux iterates in the society that Le Guin imagines, and suggest that the protagonist (Shevek) serves as a role model and guide both for Le Guin’s readers and for a group of revolutionaries in the novel. In short, I show how Le Guin uses The Dispossessed as a vehicle to demonstrate possible ways to craft a Taoist spirituality grounded in Laotzu’s teachings.