Introduction: In Overhearing the Gospel, Fred B. Craddock makes the case for Kierkegaard’s communication method of indirect discourse (Craddock, 2002). The author seeks to answer this following question: “How does one person communicate the Christian faith to another?” (Craddock, 2002, p. 4). Craddock sets out to analyze the aspects of Kierkegaard’s method of communication and clarify the problems the 19th-century Danish philosopher’s indirect discourse approach faced in communicating the gospel during his lifetime (Beddingfield, 1978). Craddock also seeks to take Kierkegaard’s indirect method and expand on it by struggling with the same observation Kierkegaard had on religious communication in general and homiletics in particular (Lorensen,
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Critical Analysis: All in all, Craddock presents solid arguments with supporting evidence for his claims. He does a magnificent job at presenting and analyzing the observations of Kierkegaard and finds the answer to how we can communicate the Christian faith to another or effect a new hearing of the word to those who have been exposed to the word to the point of ad nauseam (Craddocck, 2002). He succeeds at unraveling Kierkegaard 's method of indirect discourse and rediscovered something, “that a perceptive thinker saw lying very close to the way things are and ought to be and he has offered it to us with contemporary challenge and promise” (Cox, 1979, p. 440). Even though, the author never presents any sort of statistical analysis to support the claim proposed in his argument, the sermons at the end of the book and his life’s work and role in narrative preaching (new homiletic) serve as evidence of his influence (Lorensen, 2013). Integration of Key Concepts into Field of Communication: Indirect communication is not solely limited to teachers and preachers; rather, is applicable to different types of areas of communication (Craddocck, 2002). As a business owner, I’ve had to deal with difficult employees with emotional barriers that detested disciplinary
Critical Analysis: All in all, Craddock presents solid arguments with supporting evidence for his claims. He does a magnificent job at presenting and analyzing the observations of Kierkegaard and finds the answer to how we can communicate the Christian faith to another or effect a new hearing of the word to those who have been exposed to the word to the point of ad nauseam (Craddocck, 2002). He succeeds at unraveling Kierkegaard 's method of indirect discourse and rediscovered something, “that a perceptive thinker saw lying very close to the way things are and ought to be and he has offered it to us with contemporary challenge and promise” (Cox, 1979, p. 440). Even though, the author never presents any sort of statistical analysis to support the claim proposed in his argument, the sermons at the end of the book and his life’s work and role in narrative preaching (new homiletic) serve as evidence of his influence (Lorensen, 2013). Integration of Key Concepts into Field of Communication: Indirect communication is not solely limited to teachers and preachers; rather, is applicable to different types of areas of communication (Craddocck, 2002). As a business owner, I’ve had to deal with difficult employees with emotional barriers that detested disciplinary