Otherness and the rhetorical exigences of theistic religion

The emergence of the epoch of transcendence identified by John Angus Campbell can be better understood by a closer look at one of its constituting elements—the development of Hebrew monotheism. The rhetorical character of monotheism is a direct consequence of its symbolic engagement with the wholly Other. Out of this engagement emerges three distinctive rhetorical exigencies—prophecy, gospel, and praise—which call forth rhetorical acts. Rhetorical activity within monotheistic religion is continuous, since successfully addressing one exigence will typically intensify another.