"Come Let Us Reason Together": The Heritage of the Churches of Christ as a Source for Rhetorical Invention

Religion, the substance of culture, should impact another vital symbolic web of culture: rhetoric. Particular religious heritages should uniquely influence the rhetoric of individuals steeped within the culture of those traditions. The Churches of Christ, a group that values rhetoric, preaching, and public speaking, has emphasized reason, pragmatism, optimism, and restoration as rhetorical topoi. This essay illustrates these topoi in a diverse set of public figures impacted by this religious heritage.