Authentic Communication

Part of the Christian Worldview Integration Series

Whether setting about to love our neighbor, to settle a dispute, to share in the suffering of others or to speak up on behalf of the marginalized, we inevitably must engage in communication. And what could be more natural, more human, than communication?

But we all learn quickly enough that good communication is not always natural. There is much to learn from Scripture and from the academic study of human communication. Tim Muehlhoff and Todd Lewis are able guides, aiding us in understanding the broad field of human communication in Christian perspective.

Here they offer readers a vital assessment of the power of words, perspective-taking, persuasion and conflict management--all in an effort to improve our abilities to communicate forgiveness and shape the world we live in for the good. Special attention is focused on the place of Christians as counterpublics--those who offer alternative perspectives to the dominant voices in society.

The Christian Worldview Integration Series, edited by J. P. Moreland and Francis J. Beckwith, seeks to promote a robust personal and conceptual integration of Christian faith and learning, with textbooks focused on disciplines such as education, psychology, literature, politics, science, communications, biology, philosophy, and history.



Todd Lewis (Ph.D., Louisiana State) is professor of communication studies at Biola University, where he teaches courses in history and practice of oral interpretation and has coached intercollegiate forensics.



Tim Muehlhoff (PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) is a professor of communication at Biola University in La Mirada, California, where he teaches classes in family communication, interpersonal communication, persuasion, and gender. He is the author of I Beg to Differ and Marriage Forecasting, and the coauthor of The God Conversation: Using Stories and Illustrations to Explain Your Faith and Authentic Communication: Christian Speech Engaging Culture. Muehlhoff and his wife, Noreen, are frequent speakers at FamilyLife Marriage Conferences, and he has served with Campus Crusade since 1986. They live in Brea, California, with their three boys.

Series Preface: Importance of Integration--J. P. Moreland Francis Beckwith


Acknowledgments


Introduction
Part I: Understanding the Components of Communication


1 The Power of Human Communication


2 Perspective-Taking: Engaging the Views of Others


3 Words! Words! Words!: We Can Only Imagine


4 Persuasion: Spiritual Power or Manipulation and Rhetorical Tricks?


5 Before the Sun Sets: Conflict and Christian Unity
Part II: Applying Communication


6 Communicating Forgiveness


7 Communicating About and Evaluating the Messages of Popular Culture


8 Resident Aliens: Christians as Counterpublics


9 Postmodern Times and Christian Counterpublics (Part 1)


10 Postmodern Times and Christian Counterpublics (Part 2)


11 Abnormal Communication: A Christian Response to the Argument Culture


12 Social Justice: Speaking for the Marginalized


Final Thoughts

"If you want to wed communication theory with practice in ways that promote authenticity, foster community and serve the needs of others, then this book will challenge you. If you want to respond faithfully to postmodern messages in ways that demonstrate your commitment to biblical truths and respect for others, then this book will serve you and those around you well. In engaging and accessible ways, Muehlhoff and Lewis help readers to think Christianly about communication by illuminating complex communication theories and concepts from biblical perspectives. This book is a reminder that Scripture treats words, and our use of them, very seriously."



"Authentic Communication pops with insights and ideas about how we can communicate more faithfully in a world filled with miscommunication. The authors practice what they preach too, courageously using their own lives as stories for us to learn from. I recommend the book highly."



"In Authentic Communication, Tim Muehlhoff and Todd Lewis perform a valuable service for Christian students of communication by bringing a biblical worldview to bear on key concepts in our field. I'm particularly struck by their chapter-length treatments of perspective-taking, conflict, forgiveness, social justice, postmodernism and the argument culture in which we live." weniger anzeigen expand_less