Persuasion Speech

Ever since the fall, mankind has had a voracious desire for power and influence. People witness this desire within the walls of the Capitol Building when the media exposes backroom deals. It also springs up whenever a politician uses a podium to persuade people that he makes the world work. Politicians possibly rely on persuasion because they crave the power. However, persuasion is a manipulative, unBiblical tactic of forcing others to accept a point of view by all means necessary.

To comprehend why persuasion is unBiblical, a working definition of persuasion is necessary. Persuasion is intently forcing someone to believe or do something by manipulating the freedom of choice. The word “intently” is chosen because people’s surroundings influence

First, the serpent asked Eve a loaded question: “Indeed, has God said, ’You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” Then, after the serpent obtained a specific answer, he attempted to change Eve’s perspective on God’s words “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The serpent was partaking in the first persuasion in the history of the world. He lied to, fielded, and tempted Eve to eat something she otherwise would not have

Instead, He merely told stories, and often stated “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” A famous instance of Jesus’s sheer truth telling was when He replied “then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” to the Pharisees seeking to trap him. To comprehend this statement’s brilliance, some background information is necessary. At the time, the Roman Empire, chiefly Herod, treated the Jews like second class citizens (Lendering, n.d.). Cognizant that the people would refuse to follow a Roman sympathizer claiming to be the Messiah who will enact a new government, the Pharisees tried to play a game of “gotcha” with Jesus. However, Jesus does not use persuasive tactics to sway the crowd to His side. Instead, He asks only two questions “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax… Whose likeness and inscription is this?” Then Jesus proceeds to tell them the truth once He heard their answer. “They said to Him, ’Caesar’s.’ Then He said to them, ’Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.’” Jesus did not employ manipulative tactics or strategies of swaying opinion in His reply. Instead, He only asked questions and spoke the truth, which caused the Pharisees to flee the scene. Thus, the Bible shows a stark contrast between persuasion, which the serpent employed in