CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHURCH RHETORIC IN THE PROTESTANT EVANGELICAL TRADITION: THOMAS ADAMS AND T.D. JAKES

This thesis examines contemporary African-American church rhetoric within the Protestant evangelical tradition, focusing specifically on two influential preachers, one past and one present: Thomas Adams (1583-1652) and Thomas Dexter Jakes, also known as T.D. Jakes. I analyze sermons by both men to show common features in their strategic use of religious rhetoric. In particular, I focus on their organization of entire sermons around a guiding metaphor and on their creative use of references to various kinds of non-religious experiences to reach their targeted audience. Also, because this comparison has not been made before, I seek to discover the influential impact of early modern religious rhetoric on contemporary religious rhetoric in the church and its limitations. But finally, I argue that while Adams sees spiritual rebirth as the way to heaven, Jakes treats it as the beginning of a new life on earth.