Earlier generations of preachers were taught to avoid biblical texts containing "elevated emotional character." Austin Phelps in the nineteenth century explained, "The aim of the rule was to insure simplicity in all the labors of the pulpit." 3 For too many preachers the distance from simplicity to apathy (meaning the lack of pathos, i.e., emotion) was a small step.

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones spoke directly to the problem: "[The] element of pathos and of emotion is, to me, a very vital one. It is what has been so seriously lacking in the present century, and perhaps especially among Reformed people. We tend to lose our balance and to become over-intellectual, indeed almost to despise the element of feeling and emotion. We are such learned men, we have such a great grasp of the Truth, that we tend to despise feeling." 4

A perceived overemphasis on the intellectual dimension of preaching has created a backlash in contemporary homiletical literature. Homiletician and pastor Frank A. Thomas wrote, "It is precisely because so much of Western preaching has ignored emotional context and process, and focused on cerebral process and words, that homileticians most recently have struggled for new methods to effectively communicate the gospel." 5 Lucy Lind Hogan and Robert Reid concurred then pinpointed the direction that modern approaches to preaching are taking. "[W]e would suggest that most of the strategies of preaching that have been proposed in the last quarter of the twentieth century are still reacting, in part, to a previous generation's overemphasis on logos. Many of the approaches that have been labeled the New Homiletics have distanced themselves from logos by emphasizing pathos in their interest to create an affective experience for listeners." 6

Unfortunately, recent attempts to enhance the listener-appeal of preaching by returning to the study of rhetoric and related communication theories has resulted in an undermining of the authority of the biblical text. Expository preaching has given way to existential concerns. The purpose of this article is to consider how the existential-emotional dimension of the actual biblical text as intended by the author and informed by his setting should affect the sermon.

The Bible pulsates with emotion. Few sermons that attempt to expound a biblical text ever seem to lay a finger on its pulse. Often the emotions provoked by the typical sermon, whether topical, textual, or expository, fail to grow out of the text. The preacher who desires to exegete the Scriptures accurately and attractively can do so by giving greater attention to the emotional dimension. The inspired text itself can establish the parameters for the emotional content and delivery of the sermon, meaning that the emotions of the sermon are informed by careful exegesis. An introduction to the classical rhetorical concept of pathos as dissected by Aristotle will prove invaluable in helping the preacher to identify his text's emotions and in suggesting ways to arouse them within the listening congregation.