HITZIG, hit'siH, FERDINAND: German exegete and Old Testament critic; b. near L6rrach (28 m. s.s.w. of Freiburg), Baden, June 23, 1807; d. at Heidelberg Jan. 22, 1875. He studied theology at Heidelberg, Halle, and GBttingen, and became privet-docent at Heidelberg in 1829. He first at-
of the congregation requires that in the sermon
the communion with God as established by
him be represented, and, after that, the attitude of
the congregation toward him as conditioned by that
relationship. In this sense the sermon, like Christian
worship in general, may be regarded as an expository
activity. Schleiermacher distinguishes between
an expository and an effective activity; but it is
impossible to exclude from the former the idea of
effective purpose. A homiletics which admits the
means of grace to be real powers of salvation can not
refrain from putting the sermon into the category
of effective activity. Thus the question is raised
in what the effect of the sermon should consist.
It has been shown that instruction is not simply
and solely the purpose of the sermon. But it must
be admitted that lack of knowledge is a prominent
and pervading defect of personal Christianity, to
remove which instruction is the only means, and
this is accomplished most effectively in preaching.
Moreover, the congregation has the promise that the
Spirit of truth will guide it into all truth (John xvi.
13). Homiletics must therefore find a designation
which does not exclude instruction. A comprehensive
designation offers itself in the word "to edify,"
which leaves room for instruction (I Cor. xiv. 4).
This indication of purpose was not unknown to the
older church, and has been correctly explained in
Mosheim's Anweisung erbaulich zu predigen, Vorb.,
� 2 (Erlangen, 1771): The hearers are (1) to be
confirmed in the knowledge of religion which they
have already obtained, and this is to be extended;
(2) to be awakened and exhorted to diligence and
growth in godliness. This confirmation takes place
through the exposition of Christian truth, which has
edifying power through the testimony of the Holy
Spirit. As a means of accomplishing this it is
evident that, above all, the subject-matter of the
sermon must be edifying. Thus Hyperius requires
that that should be preached which concerns faith,
love, and hope. To faith belong all those religious
subjects which are contained in the Apostles' Creed.
To love belong the doctrine of morals, the decalogue,
especially the second table, the doctrine of the
Church and of the sacraments. To hope belongs the
doctrine of the last things. Hyperius, like other
writers on homiletics, thus arrives at the catechism,
guided by the correct idea that that should be
preached which corresponds to the religious needs
of the congregation. But even though the subject-matter
be properly chosen, this does not guarantee that the
sermon is capable of edifying. The subject-matter
becomes edifying or unedifying according
to its treatment by the preacher. It was rationalism
which made the subject-matter responsible for
edification through the sermon, and as rationalism
discarded catechetics, it excluded from the sermon
the very matters upon which earlier times had laid
stress. Recent writers on homiletics again tend
toward the opposite extreme by trying to eliminate
from the sermon almost all social, economical, and
merely philosophical questions. But all such subjects
have a religious side, and are therefore subject
to sermonic treatment. Theoretical homiletics must
insist upon the fact that there is nothing which
a priori may be excluded from the sermon as
unedifying. Edification lies not in the quality of the
subject-matter, but in the quality of the sermon;
hence the doctrine of the edification of the sermon
must be distributed over both material and formal
homiletics.
But there are other problems which theoretical homiletics must try to solve. The congregation possesses in Holy Scripture an authoritative norm, inasmuch as the Spirit of God acts in it and through it. What, therefore, is the connection between sermon and Scripture? All theologians agree that the authority of Scripture is higher than that of the sermon, but a question which arises is whether the sermon is superfluous if Scripture is all-sufficient. The answer must be that the Bible, without detriment to its authority, belongs to the past, though destined for all times, while the sermon is a testimony from the present life of the congregation and in its immediate object applies only to the present. This testimony must agree with Scripture, but must have an independent form, corresponding to modern needs. Therefore the sermon is necessary alongside of Scripture. Theoretical homiletics also asks how far the preacher is bound to the confession of his Church. Protestant Church commmuties have in the past provided for their preachers certain norms of doctrine in which the sum total of Christian doctrine is expressed. These church communities were not contented merely to unite against the Catholic Church and to decide not to have anything in common with fanatics. They felt bound to explain why they dissented, to give to their better knowledge a definite positive expression, and this not merely from reasons of church polity, but because of pastoral interest in their own congregations. This is the deeper reason why preachers were always bound to teach according to such doctrinal standards. Homiletics may not surrender this obligation. It must admit, however, that not everything in the different confessional writings is to be regarded as an integrating constituent of the confession. But this concession does not involve the possibility that the Evangelical confessions will some time be abolished; for homiletics rests upon the presupposition that it is one and the same spirit, the spirit of Jesus Christ, who speaks in Scripture and leads his disciples to the knowledge of truth. From this it is self-evident that the preacher is to be personally devoted to the faith and confession of his Church. It would be too little simply to keep within the limits of the confession without personal fidelity to it, although the effect of the sermon does not depend upon the personal attitude of the preacher to that which he preaches.
From these fundamental conceptions concerning
the nature and purpose of the sermon in general,
homiletics passes to the treatment of
the quality of the individual sermon,
i.e., material and formal homiletics.
Since edification is the purpose of the
sermon, while the possibility of edification
through the individual sermon is
dependent upon its quality, the first question is,
What can homiletics teach in regard to the subject
[Page 348]
361 RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Homiletfos
Homilies
imp, ib. 1884; H. Bassermann,
Handbuck der
peiatlidlien
BeredeamkeiR Stuttgart,
1885; A. Stole, Honiletik, Frei
burg, 1885; J. A. BroaAus, Preparation and Delivery
of
Sermons, New York, 1888 (Professor Broadue earned a
wide reputation for his .kill in this branch); J. W. Etter,
The Preacher
and his
Sermon, Dayton, O., 1888; C.
Palmer, Evanpelische Homiletik, Stuttgart, 1887; A. J. F.
Behrends, The
Philosophy of
Preaching, New York, 1890;
A. T. Pierson, The Divine Art
of
Preaching, ib. 1892; T.
Christlieb,
Homiletik, Basel,
1893; R. F. Horton, Ve
bum Doi, Londop, 1893; W. B. Carpenter, Lectures on
Preaching, London, 1895; J. Jungmann, Theorie der paiat
lichen Beredamkeit, 2 vole., Freiburg, 1895; J. stalker,
The Preacher
and his Models, London,
1895; 1. Stoek
meyer, Homil6tik, Basel, 1895� Phillips Brooks, Lectures
on Preaching, New York, 1898; H. Van Dyke, Gospel for
an Age
of
Doubt, ib. 1898; J. A. Kern, Ministry to the
Congregation, ib. 1897; T. H. Pattison, The Making
of
a
Sermon,, Philadelphia, 1898; H. Hering, Die Lehre ton
der Predipt, 2 vole., Berlin, 1897-1904; J. S. Kennard,
Psychic Power in Preaching, Philadelphia, 1901; F. Bar
ton, Pulpit Power and Eloquence, 2 vole., Cleveland, 1901
1902; T. H: Pattison, Hist.
of
Christian Preaching, Philadel
phia, 1903; W. J. Fosell, The Sermon and Preaching, New
York, 1904; J. J. A. Proudfoot, Systematic Homiletics,
ib.
1904; A. S. Hoyt, The Work
of
Preaching, ib. 19M;
L. O. Brastow, The
Modern Pulpit,
ib. 1908; A. E. Garvie,
A Guide to
mss,
London, 19118; H. C. Graves, Lco�
lures on Homiletics, Philadelphia, 1908; W. Rhodes,
Homiletics and Preaching, Baltimore, 1908; P. T. Forsyth.
Positive Preaching
and the
Positive Mind, New York, 1907;
S. Horne, The
Ministry of
the Modern Church, London,
1904; P. Kleinert, Homildik, Leipsio 1907; H. Johnson,
The Ideal
Ministry, New
York, 1908; C. R. Brown, The
Social Message
of
the Modern
Pulpit, London, 1908.
For further literature see under PabACrr?Na, Harroa: or.