PROCEEDINGS OF THE EIGTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RHETORIC AND SCRIPTURE

• Johannes N. Vorster University of South Africa

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7833/90-0-1049

Abstract

This volume consists of selected and approved Proceedings from the 8th International Conference on Rhetoric and Scriptures. It continues a proud tradition which originated in 1992 in Heidelberg, Germany. Tom Olbricht explains that in 1990 it occurred to me that while Americans interested in rhetorical analysis met with some frequency, non international conferences of rhetorical specialists had convened. Eventually with the support of Wuellner and Hester, the decision was made to hold the conference at Pepperdine University’s Moore Haus in Heidelberg in July of 1992’1 (Porter and Olbricht 1993, 9). The second conference took place in South Africa in 1994 and was, at least from a South African perspective, a huge success. Ten years later and the tradition still continues. Small scale, expertise enterprises do not always survive for a long period in the academic world. We owe it to the commitment of people such as Tom Olbricht, Jim Hester, Vernon Robbins and Wilhelm Wuellner that this tradition continued. Not only is the publication of these papers a tribute to these scholars, not only do the contributors want to commemorate the performance of Wilhelm Wuellner – who made an immense contribution to disclose the world of Rhetoric to those interested in the academic study of religion – and not only do we want to continue this tradition, but we also hope to present a publication that would do this tradition proud and would also effect an appropriate continuation.