While Revelation does not immediately recommend itself for analysis along the lines of Greek and Latin rhetoric, scholars have made considerable progress analyzing the persuasive strategies of Revelation from this methodological orientation. Energetic attention has been given to John's strategies for establishing authority for his message and deconstructing the authority of rival 'orators'. A number of articles have identified and analyzed implicit and explicit enthymemes in Revelation, the deployment of typical epideictic and deliberative topics, and the contributions of intertexture to rational persuasion. Study of John's style has demonstrated John's finesse and purposefulness in deploying standard figures of thought and diction, while investigation of rhetorical arrangement has generally proceeded in ways that have respected Revelation's complexity and its distance from the standard forms of oratory. Although critics generally affirm the importance of John's appeals to the emotions, this line of investigation has been the least developed.
An ancient proponent of a minority culture met the challenge of sustaining commit ment to the group through a number of distinct uses of honor discourse. The first half of this article establishes a method for analyzing the rhetorical impact of honor discourse in a text from the Graeco-Roman period and its potential for sustaining group values and commitment; the second half shows the method at work in 1 Thessalonians. Paul insulates the readers from concern for the opinion and approval of the non-believing world by censuring outsiders as unreliable guides to honorable behavior: society's censure of the believers thus should carry no weight. Paul directs their ambitions to the eternal honor to be gained by securing God's approval. The group members are called to reinforce one another's commitment to those distinctive Christian values that will result in honor on the last day.
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