Analysis at Work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analysis at Work - Essay Example The purpose is to show that the religion can transition, specifically to keep the initial spirit of Christianity alive. To do this, Spong uses repetition, anecdotes and prediction as rhetorical strategies, all which allow him to convince the audience of the need for a new reform in the church. Spong’s Audience When beginning to read this book, one can instantly define the audience as strong Christians in the church. The individuals are devoted to the religion of Christianity and what the church offers, specifically because of tradition, honest belief in God and the understanding of creating a specific relationship to God through a church. This is depicted from the various chapters about defining God in Spong’s book, as well as the first approach which is used in the book, which is to create a basis that everyone reading the book has an understanding of God and the divine presence. More important, this is one that goes outside of Christianity into the general idea of wha t God is, specifically to establish a connection between different types of Christians that are devoted to the sense of spirituality. â€Å"The God I know is not concrete or specific. This God is rather shrouded in mystery, wonder and awe. The deeper I journey into this divine presence, the less any literalized phrases, including the phrases of the Christian creed, seem relevant† (Spong, 4). This particular quote shows how the idea of God is one that is based both in Christianity and outside of the name and form which is often attributed to God. This is done specifically to speak to Christians who are devoted to the faith but which come from different walks of life. Another characteristic that is essential about Spong’s audience is with the belief that each is noting the need to change the church and the expression of believing in God. It is this main concept that Spong basis his book and various ideals. The main idea is to find devoted Christians that have lost faith in the present churches and the actions which have been taken, as well as the hypocrisy which is often associated with the church. The concept of the believers in exile is the first way which this is seen, with specific references to churches that aren’t acting on the belief in God. The second is with the continuous association with the main words of the Bible as well as the need to build a church of the future. There are phrases based on destroying the old church and building one that is new and creating a new religious understanding (pg. 227). These show that those reading the book are most likely looking for new answers about the functions of the church and what is needed for this time period. Rhetorical Strategies The audience that is defined is then able to easily be seen the different concepts which apply to the building of a new church, specifically because most aren’t looking for the same attributes as the current status of religion. The first way in which this is seen is through the use of repetition. The repetition includes specific words repeated over different phrases as well as repeating the same ideas throughout the book. For instance, there is constant repetition of â€Å"being in exile† and coming out of the exile with a â€Å"new church.† The repetition of these words then begin to influence the reader with the same belief