Oral Interpretation of the Bible

The living Word of God has the power to penetrate and change readers and audiences. As the Holy Spirit illumines understanding and empowers speaking, we can improve our oral reading through approach, attitude and technique. Ethical responsibilities, community experience of reading as worship, and individual reader orientation are all addressed throughout the book. Focused on understanding the biblical text leading to impacting both the person who reads and the audience, 'Oral Interpretation of the Bible' takes a rhetorical approach to the reading experience. This holistic method addresses hermeneutic practice, process and theory as well as communication procedure, philosophy and technique. Each chapter is followed by exercises to facilitate application of the material increasing the artistic performance of the Bible. The appendixes give helpful worksheets and exercises to sharpen the skills and broaden the applications of the text. A unique scoring system will assist those who use it to analyze, understand and orally interpret any passage with grace and power.

Daniel R. Berger is Professor and Chair of Speech Communication at Northwest Christian College, Eugene, Oregon. He received his B.S. from Western Baptist College in 1978, his M.Div. from North American Baptist Seminary in 1981, and his Ph.D. in Rhetoric from the University of Oregon, 1990. He is an ordained minister and has been a pastor of several churches.