Phil on Aristotle

The post below was written by my friend Phil Richardson. He shared it with me during a phone conversation. It was so good I asked him to repeat it and explain it to make sure I understood. Then I asked him to send it to me an email. I wanted his thoughts in writing so I could think about it. I have thought about it - I carried a printed copy in my pocket for a week and read it many times. It has many implications for the church and personal relationships. It's something to remember. Something we can use. Below is what Phil wrote ... _________________________________________

Aristotle taught that one must have these three things in order for people to listen to what we say. Ethos - refers to an ethical nature. We must have credibility in order for people to take seriously our message. We must "practice what we preach" and "walk the walk." Pathos - refers to a caring nature. It's an appeal based upon emotion. "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." Logia (or logos) - refers to the logical appeal or message itself. If we have both Ethos and Pathos, people will be more apt to listen carefully and be persuaded by our message. In my opinion, one failure of the church is to demonstrate both Ethos and Pathos to the world. Many see the hypocrisy and failures of prominent leaders, or even people they know in their own world who act one way when they are being religious, but it never permeates into the rest of their lives. The failure to show Pathos has also put up obstacles to belief. Many have been hurt by the church and feel condemned by it, rather than drawn to it for healing. The church is viewed by some as very stern, but uncaring. We preach nice sermons and have nice church services. But we don't really extend ourselves to people in the world. And if we do, there are strings attached for our own benefit."