Mapping the Future of Homiletics. Resonance and Digitality in the Study of Preaching

Abstract

The field of homiletics has become a very complex field that studies the many aspects, dimensions, theologies and dynamics of preaching. This essay provides an approach to construct a map of the multi-faceted field of preaching by distinguishing between three levels, namely ‘homiletical reasoning’, ‘homiletical phenomena’, and ‘homiletical issues’. The concept of resonance is applied to understand the variety within and the relationships between the levels that make up the map of preaching. In the second part of the essay, the proposal for the map is tested against the future developments in the field of preaching as they emerge in the digital age. The essay concludes with a reassessment of the role of the preacher in the many practices of preaching.