{"id":20528,"date":"2025-05-06T04:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T08:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/?p=20528"},"modified":"2025-05-24T22:11:16","modified_gmt":"2025-05-25T02:11:16","slug":"speech-act-theory-scripture-and-the-holy-spirit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/article\/concise\/speech-act-theory-scripture-and-the-holy-spirit\/","title":{"rendered":"Speech Act Theory, Scripture, and The Holy Spirit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Speech act theory is an aspect of philosophy, particularly the philosophy of language.[1]<\/a><\/sup> It has been adapted for use by theologians and applied judiciously to the doctrine of Scripture to explain Scripture as divine speech acts.[2]<\/a><\/sup> In this article, I will give a concise explanation of the theory, make some observations about how it relates to God\u2019s word, and then give some brief applications. [3]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. This article reflects my earlier writings on speech act theory: Gregg R. Allison, \u201cSpeech Act Theory and Its Implications for the Doctrine of the Inerrancy\/Infallibility of Scripture,\u201d <\/span>Philosophia Christi<\/em> 18 (Spring 1995): 1-23; Gregg R. <\/span><\/a>Allison and Andreas K\u00f6stenberger, <\/span>The Holy Spirit<\/em>, Theology for the People of God series (Nashville: B & H Academic, 2020), 309-11, 320; and speech act theory video for the Compelling Preaching Initiative of the Center for Pastoral Theology.<\/span><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

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2. Nicholas Wolterstorff, <\/span>Divine Discourse. Philosophical Reflections on the Claim that God Speaks<\/em> (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995); Kevin Vanhoozer, <\/span>Is There a Meaning in this Text? The Bible, the Reader, and the Morality of Literary Knowledge<\/em> (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2998); Anthony C. Thiselton, <\/span>New Horizons in Hermeneutics: The Theory and Practice of Transforming Biblical Reading<\/em> (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992); Richard S. Briggs, <\/span>Words in Action: Speech Act Theory and Biblical Interpretation<\/em> (London: T & T Clark, 2001); Timothy Ward, <\/span>Word and Supplement: Speech Acts, Biblical Texts, and the Sufficiency of Scripture<\/em> (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002).<\/span><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

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3. For the historical roots of speech act theory, see John Austin and John Searle. J. L. Austin, <\/span>How to Do Things with Words<\/em> (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1962); John R. Searle, <\/span>Speech Acts: An Essay in the Philosophy of Language<\/em> (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1974); Searle, <\/span>Expression and Meaning: Studies in the Theory of Speech Acts <\/em>(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986). For a more contemporary discussion of speech act theory, see Daniel Fogal, Daniel W. Harris, and Matt Moss, eds., <\/span>New Work on Speech Acts<\/em> (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018).<\/span><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Speech act theory maintains that every communication between people consists of three aspects:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. a locution<\/em>, the content of the communication
    <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. an illocution<\/em>, the type of communication (assertion, command, promise, declaration, exclamation, warning)
    <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. a perlocution<\/em>, the anticipated response or desired effect of the communication<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Specifically, with a focus on illocutions and perlocutions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n