Litfin bases his objections to this view of preaching as persuasion on Zechariah 4:6, "'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts" (all Scripture quotations are from the NASB); Psalm 127:1, "Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it;" and 1 Corinthians 2:4-5, "And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God."3

Using psychologist William McGuire (Handbook of Social Psychology, III, p. 173) as a focal point, Litfin observes that "human attitude change may be broken down into at least five steps or levels: 'attention, comprehension, yielding, retention, and action'" (italics his; Litfin, 1977, p. 16). Litfin asserts that traditionally homileticians have advocated the third step, yielding, as the preacher's goal, "that is, the preacher's goal is to induce the listener to yield to (and ultimately to act upon) a particular value, attitude, or belief" (Ibid). Instead of that, Litfin advocates "that the preacher's goal should not be viewed as the yielding step at all but simply the previous step, comprehension" (Ibid). We should note that his parenthetical comment, "ultimately to act upon," actually involves McGuire's fifth step, action, not merely the third.

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Following some clarification, Litfin then categorically asserts that the preacher "is not called upon to persuade the hearers to respond" (Ibid, p. 17). Litfin argues this same point in detail in his later book, St. Paul's Theology of Proclamation: 1 Corinthians 1-4 and Greco-Roman rhetoric [sic], in which he also quotes McGuire, concluding, ". . . the strategies of Greco-Roman rhetoric placed a heavy emphasis upon step three, yielding; that is, upon strategies designed ultimately to convince the audience. But the approach Paul advocated — straightforward proclamation as a herald — seemed to be aimed at step two, comprehension, leaving the third step to the Spirit" (Litfin, 1994, p. 261).

Having said that, however, Litfin also says, "This is not to say that the preacher must refrain from urging, entreating, exhorting, or beseeching his listeners to follow Christ . . . Nothing I have said is meant to deny the validity of straightforward encouragement or exhortation to receive the Gospel, and of an opportunity to respond during the service. After all, invitation itself can hardly be viewed as a persuasive technique designed to induce (i.e., to cause rather than simply be the agent of [italics his] yielding" (Ibid).

Unfortunately, Litfin's differentiation between "persuasion" and "straightforward encouragement or exhortation" and "urging, entreating, exhorting, or beseeching" is never explicated. Indeed, I question whether a difference does exist, or if it should exist. Concerning this matter, Hines asserts, "Although Litfin does list what some regard as questionable persuasive techniques [such as the pseudo-celebrity evangelist, pulpit-pounding style, or asking people to raise their hands and then following that by asking those who raised their hands to come forward; Litfin, 1977, p. 17], the contrast between 'secular persuasion theory' and 'straightforward encouragement' seems problematic. Those committing the abuses cited by Litfin would all probably represent their actions as 'straightforward encouragement'" (Hines, 1989, p. 11).