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Recurrent Themes and Forms of Support in Selected Speeches by Russell H South Dakota State University Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange Electronic Theses and Dissertations 1986 Recurrent Themes and Forms of Support in Selected Speeches by Russell H. Conwell and Robert H. Schuller Marty J. Birkholt Follow this and additional works at: https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd Recommended Citation Birkholt, Marty J., "Recurrent Themes and Forms of Support in Selected Speeches by Russell H. Conwell and Robert H. Schuller" (1986). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 4348. https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/4348 This Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. RECURRENT THEMES AND FORMS OF SUPPORT IN SELECTED SPEECHES BY RUS SELL H. CONWELL AND ROBERT H. SCHULLER BY MARTY J. BIRKHOLT ,, A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts Major in Speech South Dakota State University 1986 RECURRENT THEMES AND FORMS OF SUPPORT IN SELECTED SPEECHES BY RUSSELL H. CONWELL AND ROBERT H. SCHULLER This thesis is approved as a creditable and independent investigation by a candidate for the degree, Master of Arts , and is acceptable for meeting the thesis requirements for this degree . Acceptance of this thesis does not imply that the conclusions reached by the candidate are necessarily the conclusions of the major department . wayne E.-Hoo�straat --­ Thesis Adviser Date - Juditpvfi ivanovic ead, DepaFtment of Speech Date ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my appreciation to my adviser, Dr . Wayne Hoogestraat, for his patience and instruction throughout the course of this study . The support, love, and confidence of my parents, Frank and Fran, has been a constant source of encourage­ ment without which this work would have been impossible. Thank you . { Sincere appreciation is- extended to Harry and Helen Jones for the assistance, care, and concern they . have offered their new son-in-law. ,, Two special friends, Joel and Carol Hefling, deserve my lasting gratitude for their unending encourage­ ment throughout my studies. I would like to acknowledge Ila Asmus and Barbara Hagler for their aid and cooperation in the completion of this work . Finally, I am deeply indebted to my wife , Barbara , for her love and understanding which have made a trying and difficult time immeasurably easier . MJB TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION . 1 Origin of Study . 1 Purpose of the Investigation . 6 Methodology of the Inve stigation • . 7 Endnotes . 16 II . THE ORIGINS AND RHETORI CAL TRAINING OF RUSSELL H. CONWELL AND ROBERT H. SCHULLER 17 Russell H. Conwell . 18 Origins . 18 Education . 18 Activities Prior to Preaching 20 Work Within Congregations ....... 25 Speaking to a Broader Audience . 25 Robert H. Schuller .... 29 Origins . 29 Education . 30 Work Within Congregations ....... 31 Speaking to a Broader Audience . 33 Endnotes • . • . 35 III . THEMES AND CHOICES OF SUPPORT 39 "Acres of Diamonds" . 39 Accuracy of the Text . 39 Themes in "Acres of Diamonds " .... 41 Forms of Support in "Acres of Diamonds" 43 Three Sermons by Robert H. Schuller 54 Themes in "Human Values for Dynamic Living : Forgiveness" . 54 Themes in "Someday is Today " ..... 57 Themes in "Balance Your Wait to Fit Your Weight" ........... 58 Forms Qf Support in "Human Values for Dynamic Living : Forgiveness" . 5 9 Forms of Support in "Someday is Today " 67 Forms of Support in "Balance Your Wait to Fit Your Weight" . .. 73 Thematic Comparison . 77 Comparison� of Forms of Support ... 81 Reasons for Similarities .. 85 Endnotes . 89 Chapter Page IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 95 Summary • . • . • • 95 Conclusions . • . • . 96 Recommendations for Further Study 98 Endnotes . 100 APPENDIX A .. 101 APPENDIX B . 120 APPENDIX C 128 APPENDIX D 135 / BIBLIOGRAPHY 142 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Origin of Study Throughout American history, the preacher has been a signif icant social and rhetorical influence. In discussing the American preacher, DeWitte Hol land noted: I The Puritan fathers of our nation arrived in New England with a strong heritage in preaching. Since that time there have been shifts in emphasis and method, but the strong pulpit heritage continues, and weekly thousands of sermons are del ivered from Prote stant, Roman Catholic, and Jewish pulpits in America. Judged quantitatively, preaching then occupies . a very large place in the culture of· Arnerica. No other kind o f public speaking holds near ly as large ·a place . · Because of the long history of preaching and the strong appeal speakers of this kind are able to generate, an identification of the specific themes involved in this body of nis course should be of value to rhetorical scholars . Previous studies of homiletics have included inquiry into the rhetoric of individual speakers. Examples of these studies inc lude : Bjork, Daniel W. "Russell H. Conwell and the Crisis of American Individualism ." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Oklahoma, i9 73. 2 Gehring, Mary L. "A Rhetorical Study of the Lectures and Sermons of Russell H. Conwell." Ph.D. dissertation , Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College , 1953. Gill, Mary M. "Us es of Figures of Speech in Selected Speeche s of Jerry Falwell." M.A. thesis, South Dakota State University , 1982. SolomoJ1 , Martha. "Robert Schuller: The American Dream in a Crystal Cathedral." Central States Speech Journal , Volume 34, No . 3 (Fall 1983) :172- 186. Additionally , many studies have been made looking for the recurrenc e of tqemes and of forms of support II from the rhetoric of one spea�er to another and even from the rhetoric of one movement to another. The follow- ing illustrate investigations of this type : Alexander, Danny Lee . "A Rhetorical Analysis of Selected Television Sermons (Homi letics) ." Ph .D. dissertation , Te xas Woman 's Univer sity, 1983. Dupree, Jame s Vincent . "A Burkean Analysis of the Messages of Three Television Preachers: Jerry Falwell, Robert Schuller, and Jimmy Swag�ert ." Ph.D. dissertation, Pennsylvania State University, 1983. Logan , Ann Holt . "Themes Expressed in the Rhetoric of two Women ' s Rights Movements." M.A. thesis, South Dakota State University , 1974. �omi letics embodies a significant genre of rhetoric, and past scholarly investigation into the sermons of individual ministers has helped gain insight into the types of rhetorical strategies they employ . Studies looking for themes, forms of support, the recurrence of themes, and the recurrence of forms of 3 support within a body of rhetoric can determine similarities and perhaps indicate an inf luence one speaker · · or movement can have on another. In order to continue the study of themes and forms of support developed in sermons, it seemed profitab le to look at an earlier · ·speaker artd isolate speci fic themes developed by that speaker ; determine the theme s employed by a contemporary homilist; and ascertain if the themes occurring in the rhetoric of the former speaker recur in the rhetoric of the latter. This study , as an item of scholarly research, may partially fill the existing gap in research concerning the recurrenc e of themes and forms of support. Whether or not themes and forms of support recur from one speaker to another, this investigation may also provide insight into the practices of homilists . If themes and forms of support do recur from an earlier speaker to a later speaker , the study may be able to assign cause for such recurrence . Any conclusions that can be drawn explaining why themes and forms of support developed by one speaker . recur in the rhetoric of another speaker will prov ide additional insight for the serious student of homiletics. Among the earlier speakers , Rus sell H. Conwell seems to .stand out as having exerted considerable influence· 4 as a public speaker . In an attempt to calculate the extent of Conwell's influence , Robert Shackleton said: As careful an estimate as could be made gave a conservative result of fully eight million hearers for his lectures; and adding the number to whom he has preached , who have been over five million , there is a total of we ll over thirteen million who have listened to Rus sell 2 Conwell's voice! Conwell's most successful lecture was "Acres of Diamonds ;" Temple University was founded with the profits from this lecture . �n this lecture , as well as in his other addresses, Conwell stressed a theme contrary to what his audiences �ere accustomed to hearing from the plat form . Robert T. Oliver noted : Conwell proclaimed the value , even the duty , of getting rich, and then went on to declare and to illustrate that making money is not difficult for those who put their minds to it. As a salve for tender consciences, he always pointed out that the money earned should be put to charitable uses--and he himself notably donated his earnings to the education of poor boys . But the major emphasis was upon the two cardinal points: you ought to get rich--and you can do so with the opportunities that lie all about you , close at 3 hand . Audiences loved it. By developing a me ssage that advocated monetary gain as a moral duty , Conwell was able to del iver a message people wanted to hear . A contemporary speaker who has a large following is Robert H. Schuller . Martha Solomon stated., "Starting atop the refreshment stand of a drive-in theatre , Schuller has built his congregation to 9,000 members 5 4 housed in his Crystal Cathedral ." Additionally , Schuller 's television program , the "Hour of Power ," ·is syndicated on 149 stations in the United States and is regularly telecast on the Armed Services Network .
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