Christian practical theology concerned with persuading people of the Gospel
Elenctics, in Christianity, is a division of practical theology concerned with persuading people of other faiths (or no faith) of the truth of the Gospel message, with an end to producing in them an awareness of, and sense of guilt for, their sins, a recognition of their need for God's forgiveness, repentance (i.e. the disposition to turn away from their sin) and faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
Johan Herman Bavinck (1964:221) explains that:
The term "elenctic" is derived from the Greek verb elengchein. In Homer the verb has the meaning of "to bring to shame." it is connected with the word elengchos that signifies shame. In later Attic Greek the significance of the term underwent a certain change so that the emphasis fell more upon the conviction of guilt, the demonstration of guilt. It is this latter significance that it has in the New Testament. Its meaning is entirely ethical and religious.
Perhaps the most famous example of specifically elenctic literature in the history of Christianity is St. Thomas Aquinas' great work, Summa Contra Gentiles.
Elenctics, in Christianity, is a division of practical theology concerned with persuading people of other faiths (or no faith) of the truth of the Gospel...
invented the "Socratic" method. Plato famously formalized the Socratic elenctic style in prose—presenting Socrates as the curious questioner of some prominent...
definition of a concept, for example virtue or courage. Socrates then, through elenctic testing, shows his interlocutor that his answer is unsatisfactory. After...
of church history, though the English translation of his Institutes of Elenctic Theology is increasingly read by students of theology. John Gerstner called...
Francis (1679–1685). Institutio Theologiae Elencticae [Institutes of Elenctic Theology]. Retrieved 3 Mar 2023. XIV. Although certain ordinations of the...
protagonist. As a teacher, competitor intellectuals resented Socrates's elenctic examination method for intellectual inquiry, because its questions threatened...
Socrates uses the elenctic method to investigate the nature or definition of ethical concepts such as justice or virtue. Elenctic refutation depends...
Cult literature Diaries and journals Didactic Dialectic Rabbinic Aporetic Elenctic Erotic literature Essay, treatise History Genealogy Narrative People's...
Theology. (3 volumes). Turretin, Francis (3 parts, 1679–1685). Institutes of Elenctic Theology. Van Til, Cornelius (1974). An Introduction to Systematic Theology...
Geesink was by training a church historian, but taught philosophy, ethics, elenctics, and New Testament exegesis as well. Arie van Deursen notes that "as a...
Platonic philosophy. The dialogues of Plato’s Socratic period, called "elenctic dialogues" for Socrates’s preferred method of questioning, are Apology...
testamento dei, 1648), Francis Turretin (1623–1687) in his Institutes of Elenctic Theology, and Hermann Witsius (1636–1708) in The Economy of the Covenants...
physical features. The Socratic method (also known as method of Elenchus, elenctic method, or Socratic debate) is a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue...
Among his contributions to the theology of missions, are his views on elenctics. Der Einfluss des Gefulhs auf das Assoziationsleben bei Heinrich von Suso...
unbelievers as well as believers. The usus elenchticus sive paedagogicus, the elenctical or pedagogical use which confronts sin and points us to Christ. The usus...
only by the Greek interrogative elements practiced by Socrates of the elenctic (Greek for 'cross examination,' 'encounter,' 'inquiry'), aporia (Greek...
and a person actually believing. Francis Turretin in his Institutes of Elenctic Theology speaks of some who teach instead that justification was actually...
English translation: Dennison, James T. Jr., ed. (1992). Institutes of Elenctic Theology. Vol. 3 volumes. Translated by George Musgrave Giger. P & R Publishing...
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