Bøger af Stan A. Lindsay

A paradigm shift that took hold at the end of the 19th Century in academia effectively "shifted" the perception of the Bible from "the inspired word of God" to "the verbal creations of various humans." Logically, based upon this shift in perception and the resultant presumption of "human error" (with which, in all candor, the author does not agree), the book follows a logical progression, throughout successive chapters--so that readers of the book will be prepared to meet the skeptical audience on its own turf. Aristotle called this logical progression approach a "syllogistic chain" or a "chain of syllogisms." The 20th Century rhetorical giant, Kenneth Burke, called such a syllogistic chain: "syllogistic progressive form." What both geniuses are suggesting with these terminologies is that one must build arguments one upon another. This approach has certainly been used by philosophers, throughout the centuries and millennia. Such an approach was used by the father of Modernism, Rene DesCartes. Faith is a continuum. It runs all the way from the tiniest, faintest possibility that something is true to the almost certain probability that something is true. If we were convinced that there was no possibility that something were true, we would have NO faith in it. If we were fully 100% certain that something were true, we would cease to have "faith" in that proposition. What we "know for certain" is no longer faith. "Faith," as Aristotle explains it, must admit at least two possibilities. In his book, On Rhetoric, Aristotle teaches how rhetorical logic works. In rhetoric (as opposed to dialectic), the aim is not to provide absolute truth, but only possible or probable truth. It applies only to matters of which we cannot be 100% certain. Nevertheless, although certainty is impossible, we can logically conclude that something is "probably" or "possibly" true. Aristotle says that the goal of this type of logic is to achieve "faith." If there is no possibility, there is no faith. If there is only one possibility, we call it truth. There is still no faith, because it is absolute truth. The logic of Christianity is a faith-based logic. Interestingly, the Bible says: "Without faith it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11:6). Dr. Lindsay is Teaching Professor of Argumentation, Rhetoric, and Communication at Florida State University. He holds the Master's in Hebrew from Indiana University and the Ph.D. in Rhetoric from Purdue University. He is the author of 13 books, in addition to The Logic of Christianity. Some of his other titles are: ArguMentor, Implicit Rhetoric: Kenneth Burke's Extension of Aristotle's Concept of "Entelechy," Revelation: The Human Drama, Psychotic Entelechy: The Dangers of "Spiritual Gifts" Theology, The Expanded Kenneth Burke Concordance, Disneology: Religious Rhetoric at Walt Disney World, and The Essence of Rhetoric in Disney Music. Other forthcoming books are: Angels and Demons: The Personification of Communication and Hidden Mickeyisms: The Implicit Rhetoric of Disney Films. Dr. Lindsay has also published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national and international professional conferences of the Society of Biblical Literature, the American Academy of Religion, the Kenneth Burke Society, the National Communication Association, and the Rhetoric Society of America.

Angels and Demons: The Personification of Communication offers a solid, scholarly presentation of angelology and demonology from early Jewish and Christian sources from the Hellenistic period. It demonstrates the existence of a new category of fallen angel stories: Sinless Fallen Angels. It demonstrates that the New Testament (along with Rabbinic Judaism) generally rejects the three most common views of the Fallen Angel story, from the Hellenistic and Persian periods. Finally, it expands on G. F. Moore's formula: "God's will is made known or effectuated in the world not only through personal agents (ANGELS), but directly by his WORD or by his SPIRIT" (emphases Lindsay's). Applying to Moore's formula the "logological" views of Communication scholar Kenneth Burke, the book argues that angels and demons are presented in early Jewish and Christian sources as the personification of communication. Pop culture perpetrates several myths regarding angels and demons that are alien to the literature of the Old or New Testament and early Rabbinic period. This book, however, pertains only to the angelology in that literature. Here are corrections some of the myths:1.Lucifer is NOT the devil, Satan, or even a Fallen Angel or demon. Mentioned only in Isaiah, Lucifer (meaning "Shining One") is a nickname for the King of Babylon, who thinks he is god-like, but will die like any other man.2.Satan is not an "evil god" who is at war with the Good God.3.The fallen angel stories you have heard do not occur anywhere in the Bible.4.Demons, such as the ones in the Exorcist with Linda Blair, or even in the Rite with Anthony Hopkins, are incorrectly portrayed, according the literature of the Old and New Testaments and early Rabbinic period. There is no levitation, no spinning heads, etc. in demon possession stories in the New Testament.5.Demons, according to the Apostle Paul, do not even exist as actual entities; they are nothing: the equivalent of Idols or False Gods.6.Angels have no capacity for having sex or for reproduction.Dr. Stan A. Lindsay has served on the faculties of Iowa Christian College, Indiana University, Purdue University, Loyola University Chicago, and Florida State University, for which schools he has taught Classical Greek, Classical and Mishnaic Hebrew, Biblical Studies, Burkean Studies, and Rhetorical Studies. He holds an M.A. in Hebrew, and worked on multiple Ph.D. programs in Hebrew, Comparative Literature, Biblical Studies, and Rhetoric, before completing the Ph.D. in Rhetoric at Purdue University. He is an internationally renowned specialist in the communication theory of Kenneth Burke. In light of these credentials, Dr. Lindsay provides a unique perspective for viewing the Judeo-Christian cultural, logological, rhetorical, and communicative aspect of angelology. Other books that Dr. Lindsay has published are: Implicit Rhetoric: Kenneth Burke's Extension of Aristotle's Concept of Entelechy (University Press of America, 1998), The Twenty-One Sales in a Sale (Oasis Press/PSI Research, 1998), Revelation: The Human Drama (Lehigh University Press, 2001), A Concise Kenneth Burke Concordance (Say Press, 2004), The Seven C's of Stress: A Burkean Approach (Say Press, 2004), Psychotic Entelechy: The Dangers of "Spiritual Gifts" Theology (University Press of America, 2006), Persuasion, Proposals, and Public Speaking 2nd ed. (Say Press, 2009), Disneology: Religious Rhetoric at Walt Disney World (Say Press, 2010), The Essence of Rhetoric in Disney Music (Say Press, 2010), Basic Public Relations Documents: Implicit Rhetoric in Action (Say Press, 2010), The Expanded Kenneth Burke Concordance (Say Press, 2014), ArguMentor (Say Press, 2015), Making Offers They Can't Refuse: The Twenty-One Sales in a Sale 3rd ed. (Say Press, 2015), and The Logic of Christianity: A Syllogistic Chain (Say Press, 2018).

What do Osama bin Laden, Adolph Hitler, David Koresh, Jim Jones, Gene Applewhite, and the slayers of abortion doctors all have in common? All of them based their dangerous and destructive actions, to a large extent, on a message they believed they received from God. The receipt of messages from God is known by many religions as "spiritual gifts theology." In his earlier book, Implicit Rhetoric: Kenneth Burke''s Extension of Aristotle''s Concept of Entelechy, author Stan Lindsay presented the concept of psychotic entelechy, which is based on Burke''s writings. In this new work, Lindsay expands upon the concept of psychotic entelechy by analyzing the religious motives behind the dangerous behavior of some individuals and organizations. Psychotic Entelechy also illustrates the curative aspect of the Burkean methods and presents key indicators of psychotic entelechy. The hope, and ultimate goal, is that as readers learn to identify psychotic entelechy in their own lives and/or the lives of those whom they influence or who influence them, the dangers will be diminished.