A THEMATIC ANALYSIS AND RHETORICAI. STUDY OF
THE SERMONS OF DR. NORMAN VINCENT PEALE

Thesis. In? I?" 999960 of Ph. D. ,
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Allan R. Broadhurst
I961

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A TIEII’LATIC ANALYSIS AND RHETORICAL STUDY OF

THE SERMOIIS OF DR. NORMAN VINCENT PEALE

presented by

Allan R. Broadnurst

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ABSTRACT

A $11132me ANALYSIS AND RHETORICAL STUDY or
its saw-tons OF DR. NORMAN vmcmm 13mm;

by Allan R. Broadhurst

This study is divided into two main parts. The
first is an historical study of Dr. Peale's development as
a public speaker. The second is a quantitative analysis
of his sermon themes. In this second section answers
were sought to the following questions:

(A) What themes were advanced by Dr. Peale in
his Sunday sermons at the Marble Collegiate
Church?

(B) How often did these themes appear?

(0) What themes were determined by thematic
quantification to constitute the basic theology
of Dr. Peale?

(D) What patterns, types, or clusters of agreement
could be found among the themes present in Dr.
Peale's sermons?

The first chapters of this study consider
certain facets of Dr. Peale's biography relevant to his
development as a speaker, and published comments concern-
ing his "public image," both favorable and unfavorable.

The second part of the study considers the

themes of 249 of Dr. Peale's sermons dating from 1946

to 1960. From these sermons forty-one themes seemed to

Allan Broadhurst

emerge and constitute the basis of his preaching. These
themes were carefully defined and then submitted to a
test of reliability. They were then coded in reference
to their presence or absence in any given sermon, and
from this coding a rank order analysis and a percentage
of theme occurrence analysis was made. In addition, an
analysis of theme occurrence at three year intervals

was obtained.

The charts which showed the presence or absence
of any given theme in any given sermon were then
programmed for use in the "Mystic" computer at Michigan
State University and a contingency chart of co-occurrence
was made between the themes. This contingency chart was
then submitted to a linkage analysis test and the
themes were subdivided into patterns or clusters of
agreement.

From the historical method of research used in
this study it can be concluded that Dr. Peale's message
is not inconsistent with.his background. Neither are
his showmanship, nor even his unquestioned ability as a
speaker and writer, for these aspects of his life and

personality are also reflected in his biography.

From the quantitative method of research used

in this study it can be concluded that Dr. Peale makes

Allan Broadhurst

use of seven themes in 50% or more of the sermons
concerned. In addition, when analyzed over a fourteen
year period, these seven themes were found to remain
relatively constant ޤ%m year to year. Thus, it can
be said that Dr. Peale has consistently presented his
point of view throughout the entire period, 1946-1960.
The one characteristic theme which seems to
differentiate Dr. Peale's preaching from that of other
Protestant ministers is his emphasis of the Thought
("power of positive thinking") theme. Linkage analysis
has shown that, although the Thought theme is the focal
point of his message, it is not presented in isolation ,
but only integrated with other themes which are a part

of the more usual Christian message.

A THEMATIC ANALYSIS AND RHETORICAL STUDY OF
THE SERMONS OF DR. NORMAN VINCENT PEALE

by

cit"

Allan leBroadhurst

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Speech

1961

6223547

.I ‘ .I 4"“ . -.
US I! “(3 4/ {I .5...»

 

ACKNOWLEDGMLNTS

It is an author's privilege to acknowledge
the personal debts he has incurred while doing his
research, and although it is not possible for me to
list them all I record with pleasure my chief
creditors. As the director of this study, Dr.
Donald Ecroyd was always available, offering criti—
cism and guidance as it was needed. Jack Pratner
and Jim Clark assisted greatly in the programing of
the theme material for use in the Mystic computer.
To my wife, Mary, goes all my appreciation and
gratitude; for this study is as much her contribution

as it is mine.

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACMIO‘ZVYLE GITILI‘I-T S O O O O O O O O O O O O O i i
LISTOFTABLES.............iv

Chapter
I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . 1

II. THE GROWTH OF DR. NORMAN VINCEN
PEALE AS A SPEAKER . . . . . . 7

III. DR. PMLE'S PUBLIC IIIIAGE o o o o 67
IV. DR. PEAIJE'S SERIVION THEIVLES o o o o 90

V. AN ANALYSIS OF DR. PEALE'S
SERIVAOII TELEIVIES o o o o o o o o o 109

VI. CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . 130
APPENDIX A - Identification of Sermons . 148
APPENDIX B - Theme Occurrence . . . . . . 161
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

iii

LIST OF TABLES

Table ' page
1. Sermons Available . . . . . . . . . . 4

2. Reliability Test: Author/Coder
Percentile Agreement . . . . . . . 96

3. Rank Order of Themes . . .V. . . . . 110
4. Theme Probability of Occurrence . . . 113

5. Theme Placement in Probability
of Occurrence Category . . . . . 115

6. High, Low, Neutral Probability of
Occurrence Compared With Theme
Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

7. Percentage of Occurrence of Themes at
Three Year Intervals . . . . . . . 118

8. Themes Appearing in 50% or More of

The Sermons, Charted By Three

Year Periods . . . . . . . . . . . 119
9. Theme Contingencies . . . . . . . . . 121
10. Seven Major Theme Contingency . . . . 120

11. Sample Contingency Table . . . . . . 124

12. Linkage Analysis of Dr. Peale's
Themes 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O 127

iv

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

In 1932 Dr. Norman Vincent Peale delivered a
guest sermon at the Marble Collegiate Church in New York
City and was thereafter invited to take over the dwindling
congregation. He accepted and thus obtained the leader-
ship of the oldest chartered church in New York (1696),
located in the heart of the metropolis, in the shadow of
the Empire State Building.

Today, Dr. Peale preaches weekly to a capacity
congregation and is recOgnized as one of the most
influential Protestant preachers on the contemporary
American scene. His fame did not arrive over night, how-
ever, on the basis of one or two highly publicized sermons.
Rather, it was (and is) based on a long period of consist-
ent speaking with a unique point of view. As a writer,
preacher, and public speaker, Dr. Peale has slowly emerged
as a person in great demand.

But the road to the national limelight has not
been one of total glory. Like all other leaders of past
and present, Dr. Peale has made enemies as well as friends.

His critics have gone so far as to condemn his sermons

 

and books as a perversion of Christianity. They have
labeled him the leader of the new "cult of reassurance,"
or "cult of positive thinkers." The accusations of
some of the critics stem probably from chance reading,
the passion of emotionalism, and statements of opinion.
However, many of the critics are sincere scholars who
speak with the authority of the church behind them.
Despite the critics, though, Dr. Peale receives
thousands of letters weekly from people around the world

bearing testimony of their loyalty to him.

Purpose

In view of the controversial nature of the public
image presented by Dr. Peale, the central purpose of this
project is to analyze the content of his preaching. In
a more specific sense, this study will be devoted to a
thematic analysis of the sermons of Dr. Norman Vincent
Peale. By means of the detailed quantification of themes,
an effort will be made in this study to determine what
Dr. Peale said and the frequency with which he said it.
Answers, then, will be sought to the following questions:

(A). What themes were advanced by Dr. Peale in his
Sunday sermons at the Marble Collegiate Church?

(B) How often did these themes appear?

(C) What themes are determined by thematic quanti-
fication to constitute the basic theology of
Dr. Peale?

(D) What patterns, types, or clusters of agreement
can be found among the themes present in Dr.
Peale's sermons?

The forgoing questions concerned with themes are
regarded as the primary purpose of this study. Also of
importance in analyzing the preaching of Dr. Peale will be
a consideration of his growth and deveIOpment as a public

speaker. In so far as they may be determined, his ideas

concerning speechmaking will be included in this section.
" Limitations Imposed

Dr. Peale has not always followed the practice
of writing out in advance, or recording his sermons.
Therefore, this study will be limited to an analysis of
the sermons currently available. Dr. Peale's sermons
are now recorded each Sunday, and with no apparent ra-
tionale for selection some are then printed by the
Foundation for Christian Living, Pawling, New York. The
author has almost a complete collection of Dr. Peale's
printed sermons for the years 1953-1959. Itemized by
years the number of sermons available to the author are

as follows:

TABLE 1.--Sermons available

Year Number
1946 O O O O O O O O O 0 O 1
1947 o e c c a c c e o e c 8
1948 O O O O O 0 I O O O 0 10
1949 I O O O O 0 O O O O O 1
1950 O O O O O O O 0 O O O O
1951 o c c o e o c o o c o 3
1952 c c c o o o c o o o c 15
1953 O O O O O O O O O O O 26
1954 O O O O O O O O 0 O O 28
1955 O 0 0 O O O 0 I O O O 37
1956 c c o a a c o e e e c 32
1957 c e o e e c a c e e e 25
1958 . . . . . . . . . . . 20
1959 . . . . . . . . . . . 27
1960 c e a e e c c c a e o 16
Total 249

Besides a limitation imposed by the sermons
available, the arbitrary cut-off date of January 1, 1961
was set for this study. Though sermons preached after

this date are presently available, they will not be used.
Justification of this Study

As Pastor of Marble Collegiate Church in New York
City, the Reverend Dr. Norman Vincent Peale is possibly
the most highly publicized of metropolitan ministers.
He occupies an important position in national church lead-
ership and is well known to the public through his radio
lectures, £33.2§_Livin , which have been heard on a
national network for more than a decade. Two of his

books, The Power g£_Positive Thinking, and §_Guide §2_

5

Confident Living, have endured ten editions --- an
indication of their popularity. In addition, he has
several syndicated newspaper articles which appear daily
and weekly, along with articles appearing from time to
time in many current magazines. Also, his "Sermon
Publications“ are distributed monthly throughout the
United States to a mailing list of over 400,000 people.

Any study of such a man would seem to be justified
in view of his popularity, and the timeliness of its
potential contribution to a better understanding of
contemporary preaching. It is felt by the author that
Dr. Peale's sermons represent a larger sample of his
thinking than his books; it is for that reason that the
sermons were chosen for analysis.

This type of thematic analysis will enable a
congruity rating to be applied between the content of
Dr. Peale's message and the public image1 he presents.
As such it will possibly serve as a guide for future
studies where a comparison of content materials and

public image would be relevant.

 

1In this study the term "public image" is
taken to mean what people seem to think, as reflected
primarily in views available in print.

Materials or Sources

In general, the sources used would include
the current books, articles, and selected sermons of Dr.
Norman Vincent Peale. Dr. Peale has already expressed
a spirit of cooperation in assisting "to the best of my
ability" in the research for this study. Additional
sources will include speech books, similar dissertations,
social psychology texts, and texts in the field of

communication theory.
Method or Plan of Organization

This analysis is divided into two main parts.
The first part is an historical study of Dr. Peale's
development as a public speaker. The second section is
a quantitative analysis of his sermon themes. In this
section the themes are defined, analyzed, and interpreted.
The method to be employed in the second part of
this study will involve six procedural steps in thematic
analysis: (1) selection of materials, (2) designation of
categories, (3) thematic definitions, (4) coding procedure,
(5) reliability testing, and (6) method of tabulation.
Both parts of the study are necessary in order
to account for the phenomenon of Dr. Peale's tremendous

public influence.

CHAPTER II

THE GROWTH OF DR. NORMAN
VINCENT PEALE AS A SPEAKER

Introduction

A biography of Dr. Norman Vincent Peale has
already been written and published. It is, therefore,
not necessary to rewrite the life of’Dr. Peale. The
purpose of this chapter is to focus attention on those
aspects of Dr. Peale's life which seem.the most relevant

to his develOpment as a speaker and as a writer of

speeches.

Childhood Years

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale was born on May 31,
1898, in Bowersville, Ohio, a small rural town located in
the southwestern section.of the state. His father was the
townfis Methodist minister, and his.mother had a talent for
organization as well as a flair for public speaking. In
his later years, Dr. Peale often reflected back on the

tremendous enthusiasm possessed by his mother.

. . . she was one of the most enthusiastic persons
I ever knew. She got an enormous thrill out of the
most ordinary events. She had the ability, in a

7

marked manner, to see romance and glory in every-
thing.1

She particularly enjoyed the religious conferences held
at "Lakeside.” It was there that the family heard the
wonderful and exciting tales of foreign missionaries and
of the exotic lands in which they administered the word
of God. It was there, too, that laymen were encouraged
to enter public speaking contests, and Mrs. Peale emerged
the winner in more than one.2

By virtu- of his position as one of the town
ministers, Dr. Peale's father, Clifford Peale, was looked
to as a man of moral purpose and conviction. Besides his
many duties in the pulpit, he was frequently called on by
the townsfolk to speak at civic functions. In fact, he
delivered a Memorial Day oration the day before Norman
was born.

As a boy, young Norman looked to his father as
the embodiment of strength and leadership. "The fact that
in church his father led the congregation and spoke with
authority enhanced the aura."3 Sunday after Sunday

 

1Norman Vincent Peale, "Enthusiasm Will Do
Wonders For You," Sermon Publications, V, No. 11 (May

10, 1953), pa 1.
. 2Arthur Gordon, Norman Vincent Peale: Minister _t_9_
Millions (New Jersey: PrentIce-HEIITInc., I953), p. 13.

31bid., p. 21.

Norman witnessed the power of religion to change human
lives and personalities. One of his earliest recollections
was a service at which his father issued the familiar
invitation to ”come forward and surrender yourself to
Jesus Christ." Up went one of the town "toughs," noted
for his profane and hard-drinking ways. "He knelt at the
altar while the congregation, hushed and awe-striken,
tried to help him with their prayers, tried to 'pray him
through,’ as the saying went."4 The man did change his
ways, and young as he was, "Norman never forgot the
radiance of the man's face or the feeling of power that
came into the church, the mysterious power of religion to
reach deep into the human heart and in an instant produce
a miracle of personality regeneration."5
Dr. Peale lived always on the fringe of theology,

but this in no way meant that his life was destined to be
somber or prosaic.

[Mrs. Peale] . . . invented games that dramatized

bed making or dish washing. She recited poetry

while she swept or dusted. She kept the house
full of fun.

0 O O O O O C O C O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0

4Ibid., p. 19.

5Ibid.

1O

Clifford Peale's sense of humor included the
capacity to laugh at himaelf. 0n the back of a
rather glum photOgraph that showed him wearing
a formidable plug hat he wrote, ”Of course, if a
man has a grouch like this, he ought not have
his picture taken. If he insists, this is
certainly what he deserves!“ Bother snapshot,
partially light-struck, showed him with a sort
of nimbus in the general area of his head.
"Note the halo!” he wrote gleefully, "A trifle
prematurel"5

Dr. Peale loved his father dearly. To him,
Clifford Peale was the embodiment of love. "He had no
hatred in his heart: . . . . He could be firm sometimes,
but never mean. "7

Dr. Peale was a bright child, with a better than
average ability to memorize. His mind was retentive,
and focused on details which were quickly passed over
and forgotten by others. He was sensitive and painfully
shy, however, and ”a sharp word could reduce him to

8

gloom." His parents, being extrovertive by training

if not by birth, felt that this shyness and self-
consciousness was definitely a handicap to be overcome.
Dr. Peale recalls spending his summers, as a
youth, with his grandparents in a little town in southern
Ohio. In the backyard was a wonderful barn. In that

L

i

51bid., p. 34.

7Norman Vincent Peale, "Look Big at Life,"
Sermon PublicationsML. No. 5 (September 25. 1955). Po 9.

8Arthur Gordon, 0 . cit., p. 21.

11

town it was the custwm of the minister to make regular
cells among the people of his parish. Since the visits
were long, it gave the women a chance to let the.minister
sample their cooking, and it gave the men the chance to
talk over the problems of the day. In addition, there
was the custmm of showing off the children by making
them speak pieces for the minister.
I got so that whenever the minister came I was
unavoidably absent. I can remember.my uncle
coming around the barn where I lurked and taking
me by the ear. ”Norman," he said, “I am ashamed
of you. You are a disgrace to the family. The
.minister is here and you haven't been in to speak
to him.“ He led me by the ear, stood me in front
of the minister and told me to speak my piece;
which I did —- something about the boy stood on
the burning deck.9
This showing off of one's children was not
always confined to the visit of the local minister.
Often Norman's parents would call upon their bashful boy
to recite a poem to an admiring circle of friends or
relatives. On these occasions Dr. Peale had to be
dragged from.his hiding place to the living room, "where,
like an early Christian being thrown to the lions, he

was ordered to speak his piece . . . .”10

 

Lif ” SgNorman?X%§§ent Peale, "The Ha piest Day of Your
e ermone cations DI No. 9 Februa 24
1952 ’ pp. 9-10. ’ ’ ry ’

1olrtlmzr Gordon, op. cit., p. 21.

12

Dr. Peale's shyness was probably due, at least
in part, to three influences upon his life. First,
because his father was a Methodist minister, everyone
expected him to be a perfect-little-engel at all times.
The standards set for him were much higher than those
set for his playmates. In order to camouflage his
sensitiveness about being a preacher's son, he would
sometimes do stunts like smoking cigarettes or racing
his father's Rec automobile.“

A second influence contributing to his shyness
was his size. He was short and extremely thin ---
always smaller than (the other boys his age. Even as a
young minister in his middle twenties, Dr. Peale weighed
only 126 pounds.12 Comments were frequently made by
his parishioners that “we ought to take you home and
fatten you up. "

Then, too, Norman was always comparing himself tn
his brother Bob, two years younger. From the very start,

Bob was the more rugged, the more athletic of the two.

 

1"Eugene White and Clair. Henderlider, "What
Norman Vincent Peale Told Us About His Speaking,"

$1.9. W213 Journal of Speech, XL (December, 1954).

12Norman Vincent Peale, "What to do When 1' a

Go Badly,“ Sermon Publicationg, VII, No. 13 (January ,
1956), Po 4.

13

He was tough, aggressive, self-assured, ready for a
fight, and endowed with a competitive instinct. Though
Norman also had the desire to excel, "he lacked his
brother's heft and physique, and this troubled him."13
Despite the physical difference in her two sons,
however, mre. Peale had equal ambitions for them both.
Over and over again she would tell them "You've got to
love life. You've got to read everything, study every-

thing, be interested in everything. Ybu've got to be

citizens of the world."14

”Be somebod Abe," the dying mother of Lincoln
n53 said at the end of her own unhappy life. In
a thousand ways, consciously or unconsciously,
Anna Peale said the same thing to her own sons.

She tried to kindle their imagination.with fairy
tales and poetry. She thrilled them with “Hans
Drinker and the Silver Skates," and the immortal
story of the lad who saved Holland by plugging
with his finger the hole in the Dyke. She told
them the tales she had heard her Irish father
tell of elves and leprechauns and the strange blue
lights that flickered over the bogs of Killarney.
She dramatized the great triumphant stories of the
Bible: David slaying Goliath, Gideon and his gallant
three hundred, Joshua causing the trumpets to blow
that sent the walls of Jericho crashing down.

She told them of boys who rose from obscurity to
become great men. Hans Christian.Andersen, for

13Arthur Gordon, op. cit., p. 21.

14Ibid., p. 27.

14

example, who sat in his Copenhagen garret, poor

and unknown, and looked out at the moonlight

silvering the water and said to himself, "Some

day, Hans Christian.Andersen, you.will be the most

famous man.in all of Denmark!"

Inevitably, his ambition.was stirred. He loved

his mother, he wanted to please her, to win her

approval with achievement. And there ‘were

times when he felt that, like Andersen, he would

turn out to be a famoussman, if not in Denmark,

then at least in Ohio.

In response to his mother's guidance, Dr. Peale's
view of himself began to take shape in the midst of a
paradox. On the one hand he wanted to please his
mother —- to become a person of ultimate importance
——- yet on the other hand his feelings of self-doubt,
fear, timidity, and shyness stood in his way. "These
shadowy Siamese twins were to be his constant companions
until, years later, deepening spiritual experience made
it possible for him to rise above his own doubts . . . ."16
Dr. Peale's early understanding of life was also

affected by the religious and spiritual experiences
which played a dominant part in the life of most towns
in Ohio during the early years of the twentieth century.
Revivals were held regularly and with enthusiasm, and

the small town inhabitants anxiously awaited the coming

 

15Ibid.

Ibid.

15

of a great evangelist or other religious speaker.

These successors to Dwight L. Moody, and forerunners of
Billy Graham were judged by the fire and turbulence of
their preaching and the number of their conversions.
Depending on how successful the camp meetings were,
they sometimes lasted for several weeks.

."The emotional impact of these gatherings on
small-town life was enormous. Not only was religious
fervor 'revived, ' but human lives and personalities
were dramatically changed."17 As a boy, Dr. Peale saw
these effects take place. Since his father was a
minister, he had first-hand experiences which left their
imprint on his young and pliable mind.

Then, too, everyday religion ran like a steady
current through the family. There was always grace
before meals. In the evening the family gathered for
prayers and Bible reading followed by personal prayers
at bedtime. A minister's home was always open to his
parishioners, and visiting churchmen frequently stopped
in for a talk or a meal. Inevitably, questions and
answers were argued and prepounded --- vigorous

conversation being the order of the day. As Mrs. Peale

 

171bid.

16

once said, "the whole world seemed to troop into our

dining room."18
High School and College Years

As a student in high school, Dr. Peale's grades
were "above average," but neither he nor his brother
showed signs of fulfilling their mother's exhortations
to put scholarship ahead of everything else. Dr. Peale's
first public speech was delivered in the auditorium of
the Greenville, Ohio, High School, which he attended.
After rehearsing endlessly in front of mirrors, and
deliberately memorizing the speech word-for-word, panic
still seized him as he walked toward the platform.19

When I stood up, I became literally stiff with
fear. I couldn't get the first words out. In
this embarrassed silence, a little girl in the
front row giggled to her mother, "Gosh, look at
his knees shake," That made me so angry t t I
found my voice and gave a spirited speech.

As the author of Dr. Peale's biography points
out, the "shaking knees” were significant. Not only

did they prove that their owner cared about the impression

 

181mm, p. 24.

191b1do , PO 360

p 403 20Eugene White and Clair Henderlider, 339i ~. a

17

he was making, but they hinted that he cared so
desperately that only two alternatives were possible.
"Either he would avoid public speaking entirely ---
like the little boy who once hid in the attic when he
saw visitors coming. Or else he would conquer his fears
and force himself to excel at it."21

Because of his physical size, he could not find
recognition on the athletic field --- though he did
eventually make the high school track team.

As time went on he began to see, dimly, that if he
was going to make a mark anywhere, if he was going
to "be somebody" as his mother wanted and accomplish
something worthwhile in life, he was going to 12.339
to do it with his head -- and with his tongue.

Many years later, in an interview with Eugene
White and Clairs Henderlider, Dr. Peale said:

I doubt that anyone was ever less likely to become
an effective speaker than I. I definitely was

not endowed with superior linguistic skill. In
fact, as a boy in Ohio, I was exceedingly shy and
inarticulate.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 O 0
Much of any man's life consists of attmpts to
overcome his shortcomings. My own difficulties
with speech probably stimulated me to want to
become a skilled speaker. As far back as I can

A

21Arthur Gordon, op. cit.,-p. 36.

Ibid.

18

remember, I wanted to grow up to be an orator.

I wanted to be a great political spellbinder and
hold thousands of listeners magnetized, I even
dreamed of becoming the governor of Ohio and of
having my statue placed along with those of
Garfield, McKinley, and Sherman on the Capitol
grounds at Columbus.23
Young Norman, little by little, realized his
ambition to become an effective speaker. In high school
he won some fame as a debater while brother Bob's
football ability began to be noticed.24 It was largely
due to his speaking ability that Norman was also elected
President of the Boy's Congress of Ohio, an organization
of boys with similar religious backgrounds. The Ohio
Boy's Congress numbered several thousand members and
offered Norman his first real test in the area of leader-
ship and speech-making. “He traveled about the State,
speaking to conventions of the organization and presiding
at business meetings."25
After graduating from high school, young Norman

decided to enter college. There was no selection of

colleges available to him, for Clifford Peale, his father,

 

23Eugene White and Clair Henderlider,-19.0. cit.,

h

P0 4080
24
Arthur Gordon, op. cit., p. 43.

25Ibid., p. 38.

19

knew that Ohio Wesleyan‘University was the inevitable
choice for any Methodist minister's son in Ohio.
Clifford Peale wanted his son to get the education which
he, himself, was denied -—— thus he entered Ohio
Wesleyan in.the autumn of 1916.

In his freshman year at college, he found a new
freedom, a life relatively free from the restrictions
placed on.him as a minister's son in a small rural town.
Perhaps his grades are‘an indication of the freedom he

enjoyed. For the first semester his grades did not show

a single ”A" or "a."25

The liberal arts course at Ohio Wesleyan required
no mathematics and little science. It stressed
English, Oratory, a certain amount of History with
emphasis on Bible study and the History of
Christianity, and Economics. It also called for a
nodding acquaintance with at least one ancient and
one modern language. Norman already had some
knowledge of German, and he did well with Spanish
and French, when he got around to them. But his
grades in Greek were almost as dismal as his records
in required gym, where he earned straight F's.

The one bright spot in his freshman record was the
A he achieved in Oratory -- for extemporaneous
speaking.27

During the four years at Ohio Wesleyan, Dr. Peale

took two courses in.elocution under Professor Charles

 

26Ibid., p. 48.

27Ibid., p. 50.

20

Newcombe. Newcombe was a teacher who later became an
outstanding luncheon speaker, speaking a.number of times

before the Executives' Club inChicago.28 As Dr. Peale

later reported:

In those classes we got no practice in preparing
original speeches, but spent our time delivering
declamations. Newcombe stressed communication of
ideas and emotions; so the clafises were not so
artificial as they might seem.

But Dr. Peale still suffered from the shyness
that had plagued him throughout his younger years. This
self-consciousness was particularly evident if he was
called upon, unannounced, to recite in class. He was so
bent on.making the best impression possible, that he
became stiff, unnatural, and paralyzed with fear. In
a sermon.delivered some forty years later’Dr..Peale
stated that as a student at Ohio Wesleyan:

I was, without any doubt, the shyest, most retiring
boy who ever lived in the state of Ohio. I had an
enormous inferiority complex. I hated to go into a
group of people. When I started to say something
and wasn't saying it right, I would blush; and
people would look at me and laugh. I hated to get
up in.the classroom to say anything because even

‘when I thought I knew.my fact , I was afraid I
‘would make a fool of myself.3

 

28Eugene White and Clair Henderlider,100. cit.,
p. 409.

29Ibid.

3oNor-man Vincent Peale, "What to do When Yen are

Criticized," Sermon Publications, IX, No. 12 (December 8,
1957) e P0 90

21

On one occasion, after having been called upon
to recite in class, the professor asked him to remain
after class. As the other students departed, the
professor said to Dr. Peale, "Why don't you stop thinking
about yourself?” "Why do you think you freeze up the
way you do when called on in class? Why do you get
confused and tongue-tied and red in the face? Because
you're stupid? No. Because you're lazy? No. It's
because you're so full of you that there isn't room for
anything else!"31

The professor had made his point. With new
insight into his problem, Dr. Peale took a healthier view
towards his studies. By the fall of his s0phomore year,
Dr. Peale's grades began to rise. "Except for his old
nemesis, Greek (and of course required gym). Dr. Peale's
grades were respectable by the end of his sophomore
year."32 The state of his grades gradually improved until
his final report in the spring of his senior year which
showed four A's and two B's.

In the spring of his junior year, Dr. Peale was

among those nominated for class president. "He didn't

 

31Arthur Gordon, op. cit., p. 53.

32Ibid., p. 56.

.22

win but he ran fourth with sixty-three votes, a respect-
able showing.”33 It was during this time that he was
particularly interested in.a remark made by Professor
"Rollie" Walker, who taught Bible. Professor Walker
said: ”Gentlemen, if you're interested in reaching large
numbers of people, you'll do much better from behind an
editor's desk than you will from.a pulpit."34 Dr. Peale
knew that he possessed a certain verbal fluency, and he
wondered also if his talents included the field of
journalism. With his interests thus aroused, he became
a staff member of the Transcript, the weekly student
newspaper.

His interest in journalism was no passing fancy.
He began to think seriously that a newspaper job might
be the best stepping stone to a political career, the
vocation for which he was grooming himself. By his
senior year, he was made Editor of the Transcript, a

recognized training ground for future journalists.35

 

33Ibid., p. 59.
34Ibid.

35Ibid., p. 61.

23

In the weeks that followed, Norman.went through a
dozen changes of heart and mind. At times he was
sure that politics was his ultimate destiny, that
a newspaper job would act as a springboard, and
that once he took the plunge his gift for oratory
would carry him far. He worked feverishly to
improve this gift. He and another glib classmate,
Oliver Jaynes, used to go out into a pasture at
night, sit on the fence, and -- fortified by a
little elderberry wine -- deliver impassioned
orations, mostly on political themes. Then they
would origicize each other's technique, pulling no
punches.

Before graduation day, Dr. Peale was to undergo
one other experience which bespeaks of his oratorical
skill and organizational abilities. With the coming of
the presidential election of 1920, the country was in a
spirit of “buoyant optimism."

In.0hio, Hiram Johnson, Warren Harding, and General
Leonard Wood joined battle for the Republican
nomination, and the excitement spread even to the
cloistered halls of Ohio Wesleyan. One reason it
spread was that Norman.was busy spreading it. The
manager of Wood's campaign conceived the idea that
straw ballots on various campuses might be influential
and useful -- provided his candidate won them.

He let it be known that funds might be available

to any trustworthy undergraduate who would organize
a "Win.with.Wood" campaign under the elms and
capture the college vote.

Down to Columbus went Norman with.his friend and
classmate “Joe“ Joseph, both burning with.newly
acquired political fervor. They sought —- and got
-- an interview with.Wood's campaign manager.

And they must have talked loud and long, because
when they emerged from.his office they were the

6
3 Ibid., p. 62.

24

official organizers of a “Win.with.Wood” campaign
designed to sweep the campus back in Delaware.
Even.more astounding, they had been given the
unheard-of sum of one hundred dollars with which
to win friends and influence straw voters.37
Norman and Joe did carry the "Win with Wood"
campaign to a campus victory. Because of their efforts,
they were invited to Columbus to sit on a platform with
other distinguished guests to hear General Wood address
a great rally. It was an experience to remember —-
something to talk about in future years. But now Norman
had other things on his mind. He had arranged, upon
graduation, to go to work for the Findlay Republican

as a cub reporter -- salary, fifteen dollars perweek.38
The Journalist

The Publisher of the Findley Morning Re ublican,
Findley, Ohio, was Lowell Heminger; the City Editor was
Anson Hardman. Dr» Peale's first assignment was in a
department where people are least likely to complain about
treatment received at the hands of the press --

obituaries.39 It was during this assignment that Dr.

37Ibid., p. 60.

381bid., p. 64.

39Ibid., p. 66.

25

Peale saw the impact of death and sorrow on a household.
It was his job to interview the survivors of the deceased,
and when his father accompanied him, as he sometimes
did, he saw the strength and hOpe that religion had to
offer in such times of need. As he proved himself in
obituaries, he progressed to covering police and fire
activities.

After a few months apprenticeship on the Findley
Morning Republican, Dr. Peale was offered a job on the
Dgtrgit Jgurnal. Grove Patterson, the Editor, interviewed
him and asked a few probing questions:

"If you were writing for both a college professor
and a ditch digger, to which one would you address
your copy?" I was smart enough to answer that
question. . I replied that I would simplify my
material so that the ditch digger could get it;
then I would know that boXB readers could under-
stand what I had written.
Grove Patterson taught Dr. Peale a great deal in regards
to the techniques of reporting. Mr. Patterson was the
newspaperman who said that the greatest literary device
is a period. His philosophy about journalism was to
keep all writing simple, uninvolved, and never obscure.
"Use simple Anglo-Saxon words,“ he said, "And keep your

sentences short . ”41

 

40Eugene White and Clair Henderlider,@. cit. ,
P- 409-

41Arthur Gordon, op. cit., p. 69.

26

”There's almost no subject," Patterson went on,
“However complex, that can't be made understand-
able if the writer will just think clearly and
*write simply. There are precious few writers who
can do this. maybe you're one of 'em. I don't
know. Let's try it for a while and see.”42

In later life, Dr. Peale stated that he felt his
newspaper experience offered valuable training for his
career as a speaker. He commented:

There's not a great deal of difference between
writing a column and preparing a speech. The
same basic advice applies: keep it simple,
interesting, and brief.43

It did not take long, however, for Dr. Peale to
realize that he did not possess the qualities needed in
order to be a successful reporter. Looking at his
fellow workers, he saw that they exhibited a certain
toughness, aggressiveness, a ruthlessness, that he knew
he did not have, nor want. The following incident
crystallized this for hrm.

He was sent with another reporter -- a girl,

as it happened -- to the home of a man who had
been involved in some sort of scandal and there-
fore was newsworthy. Their assignment was to
interview the man's wife, and as they waited for
her in the livingroom, Norman was already feeling
squeemish.about this intrusion on privacy.

Suddenly the girl noticed on a table a photograph
of the husband. She nudged Norman and pointed

 

42Ibid.

4dragons White and Clair Henderlider,lpp. cit.,
p. 409.

27

"Slip that under your coat," she said.
"What do you mean?" asked Norman startled.
“I mean steal it,“ she said. “It's a good
picture. No other paper will have it.”
When Norman still refused , shz gave him.a scornful
look -- and stole it herself. 4
Still uncertain as to his vocational choice,
Dr. Peale decided to enter Boston University to pursue
a master of.Arts Degree in the graduate school and

possibly take some courses in theology on the side.45

The Preacher

Dr. Peale located himself in one of the oldest
parts of the city of Boston -- Louisburg Square. From
the very first, he was fascinated by the city: "The
sense of antiquity, of respect for and continuity with
the past, the great religious traditions, the tacit
assumption of cultural superiority . . . ."46 His
four years at Ohio Wesleyan had left much to be desired
in the realm.of classical music and art. He compensated

for these deficiences by going to concerts and museums.

 

4‘tArthur Gordon, 0p. cit., p. 70.
45Ibid.

46Ibid., p. 78.

28

Reading everything he could set his hands on, "he
discovered William James, and promptly elevated the
great psychologist to a pinnacle alongside Emerson in
his pantheon of mighty American.minds."47
Once again his area of interests shifted. He
now planned to work for two degrees: Bachelor of Sacred

Theology and Master ovarts in Social Ethics.48

In

the spring of his first year at Boston, he received word
that the methodist church in the little town of Walpole,
Massachusetts, had a pulpit to be filled on a particular
Sunday morning. ZDr. Peale volunteered to accept the
responsibility, though he had never before preached from
a pulpit. For two weeks he worked feverishly in the
preparation of his sermon. At least seven different
versions of sermons built around his father's favorite
text ("I am come that they might have life, and that they
might have it:more abundantly”) were structured by his
painful efforts, but not one of them seemed to him
worthy to preach. Finally, as a last desperate hope, he

wrote in panic to his father, requesting some of his

father's old notes —- or a written copy of one of his

 

4711cm.

4SIbid.

29

sermons. The reply came from his father in the return
mail. It said: “Prepare your own sermons. Just tell
the people that Jesus Christ can change their lives.
Love Dad.“49
Dr. Peale's sermon in Walpole was only twelve
minutes long. ”He forgot all about his prepared speech.
He simply tried to tell the congregation what Christ
had done for him, and could do for them if they would
let Him."5O On the train back to Boston, he was over-
come with the thought of a lifetime of sermons yet to
prepare. He was frightened by the fact that his first
effort yielded only twelve minutes. In twelve short
minutes he had completely run dry; there was nothing more
for him to say. Then he realized that it was ridiculous
to think in terms of the thousands of sermons yet to
be preached. An old saying came back to him: If the
farmer thinks about all the corn he has to hoe, his
back is broken before he starts! The way for him to

handle the problem is to think about one thing at a

 

49Norman Vincent Peale, "Lose Your Fears Through
Faith,” Sermon Publications, IV, No. 27 (April 26, 1953).
p. .

50Arthur Gordon, op. cit., p. 61.

30

time -- and to accomplish it a step at a time.
Whenever possible, Dr. Peale spent the remainder
of the year in the "pulpit." The congregation from the
church at Walpole invited him back on several occasions.
Another little town in New Hampshire, Hancock, also
invited him to fill the vacancy in their pulpit. These
however, were only temporary engagements.
In the summertime, after his first year at
Boston University School of Theology, Dr. Peale returned
to his home in Ohio. His father, by this time, had been
appointed District Superintendent of an area covering
perhaps a hundred churches. On the occasion of the ill-
ness of one of the ministers under his jurisdiction, he
asked his son to step in and temporarily fill the vacancy.
Gladly he accepted his father's request, and set
to work to produce a sermonthat would do credit to the
erudition of his teachers and the cultural spirit of old
Boston. In an article published years later, Dr. Peale
recalls this experience:
I was imbued with everything that I was hearing in
the classroom back at Boston School of Theology
and at that particular time we were studying the
atonement. Therefore, I prepared a ponderous,
scholarly and intellectual semen on the atonement,
which I thought I would try out on the country
folks that Sunday.
I remember sitting on the front porch on Saturday

afternoon, reading the sermon, from a manuscript,
to my father. He sat with his feet perched on the

31

porch rail, slumped back in the chair listening
patiently and politely. When I had finished the
manuscript, I asked him how he liked it.

To this day I shall never forget his answer. He
said, "Well, Norman, there are several things I
would do with that sermon, if I were you. First,
I would go down in the cellar and put it in the
furnace and burn it up." . . ."Never preach from
a manuscript."

. . . . “It's a good thing to write it out so that
you have good sentence structure and organize your
thoughts, but having written it out, either put it
away and don't use it, or burn it up. You must
learn to get yourself so full of your message that
you can stand before any group of people and pour
it out to them, looking than directly in the eye
while you do so.”

Then he added another bit of advice. "The atone-
ment is a great message, but you don't have to
make it so involved. Scholarship isn't the use of
obscure words or a language that is not plain.
True scholarship,” he said, "lets you take the
greatest principles in the world and make them so
simple that a child can understand them. Did not
the greatest teacher of all, Jesus, do that by
the simple illustrations he used?"

”So,“ he told me, "you go out and tell the people
that Jesus Christ died for them; that He died to
save them from sin and from confusion and from fear
and from hate. Just tell them in simple everyday
American farm language; words of one, or two, or
three syllables: strong, sturdy, American words,
that Jesus Christ can save them from themselves
and give them joy and peace, and make their lives
fruitful in the field of service. Go out and talk
to the people about the atoning grace of Jesus
Christ in a language they'll understand. Make it
short, make it interesting, and above all tell
them what you personally know. Do not try to give
them theoretical religion. Give them a statement
of your personal experience of Jesus Christ."51

 

51Norman Vincent Peale, "Why I Preach As I Do,"

Christian Herald, IKXII, No. 1 (January, 1956),

PP0

32

Dr. Peale went on to say that when time came for
the sermon, he heeded his father's advice and gave a
simple sermon based entirely on his own spiritual
experience. "Again, the sermon was short because it
didn't take me long to tell the little I knew.”52 At
the conclusion of the sermon, one of the country
parishioners approached him with the following advice:
"You did all right this morning, Son. Your
semen was simple and everybody could understand
it." He chuckled, “Even I could understand it.
There wasn't a big word in it. Never put any big
words in your sermons," he said, ”because you must
not act proud, smug, or try to impress people.
Remember you should always talk to the knowledge 53
of the least educated person in your congregation."
The random advice which he had been receiving
made an impact on Dr. Peale's thinking. It was during
his second year at Divinity school that he made a conscious
effort to analyze and understand the techniques of the
successful preacher. He knew that outstanding preachers
were few and far between. ”Listening to his elders
and batters, watching them conduct themselves in the
pulpit or on the lecture platform, Dr. Peale began to ask
himself seriously and earnestly what it was that made

some good and some indifferent."54 Using his own

 

521bid., p. 66.

53Ib1d.

54Arthur Gordon, op. cit., p. 86.

33

personal reaction and the observable reactions of the
audiences as a standard of judgment, he analyzed what

it was that the successful speaker possessed.

They were arrestin : they caught the audience's
attention at the séart'with some striking

statement or anecdote, and then they held it.
They were lo ’cal: their ideas were presented in
a sequence tfigt Ied the listener eventually to
the point they were trying to make. They had
personality: humor, enthusiasm, dedication,
sincerity, a quality of differentness. Almost
always they were sim.le, clear, unpretentious
-- and brief.

And*where the great preachers were concerned,
there was one more quality that was the most
important of all: the mysterious and incandescent
impressions that they projected of being used,

of being a transmission mechanism.for a.mighty
flow of truth and power that came from beyond them
and passed through them.into the minds and

hearts of man.55

Poor preachers were also found, by Dr. Peale,
to have certain characteristics in common:

They had little knowledge of what really appealed
to people -- and consequently rarely made any
appeal to people's interest in their own better—
ment. They were unable to think clearly for any
sustained length of time -— and so were unable to
offer any logical progression of ideas. They
distrusted simplicity for fear that they themselves
would be thought unlearned -- and consequently
added pedantry to obscurity. They almost never
used the God-given faculty of humor -- either

 

55Ibid., p. 87.

34

because they had little to begin with or because
they had somehow come to believe it was out of

place in the pulpit.

The had a tendency to talk too long because,
having no empathy with their audience, they were
unaware of the degree of bordom they were generating.
They had been taught to preach mainly about great
social evils rather than immediate problems of

their parishioners, so they chose broad topics --
and the broader the topic, the less the impact

on the individual. Finally, a great many of
them had adOpted a hollowness of tone, a kind of
empty ecclesiastical sonority that was both
sanctimonious and soporific. They were dealing
with the most thrilling, fascinating thing in the
world, the Gospel of ggsus Christ, and they were
making it sound dull.

In the spring of the second year in Boston, Dr.
Peale was given an Opportunity to show what he could do
on a.more permanent basis. He was appointed minister of
the Methodist church in the town of Berkeley, Rhode
Island. Berkeley lay in the rugged Blackstone Valley ,
halfWay between Pawtucket and Woonsocket.
It offered little in the way of charm or natural
beauty; just a handful of homes clinging to the
rocky hillsides and the grim brick rectangles that
were the mills. The church, a tiny frame structure
was perched precariously just above the main road. 7
Such an Opportunity as this provided excellent
training for a seminary student. When a question of

policy or problem of importance arose concerning the

church, the young and inexperienced minister could carry

55Ib1d., p. 89.

57Ib1a., p. 91.

35

it back to the divinity school and discuss it with older
and wiser men. Similarly, the new material acquired
in seminary could be immediately put to the test of a
real life situation. ‘Dr. Peale benefited greatly from
this ”laboratory" experience.58 However, this "laboratory"
experience was not benefited by courses in speech, for
none was available to seminary students. Dr. Peale
feels this was most unfortunate. "I have always regretted
that I didn't have the opportunity to take a course in
public speaking. I had to learn by trial and error --
a process which was, I fear, rather hard on my congre-
gations."59
Though no speech courses were available, Dr.
Peale felt that one of his professors in seminary,
Professor George S. Butters, offered some valuable
suggestions in regards to speech and sermon making.
He urged us to talk to our congregations about what
they were interested in, and to make our sermons
simple. He also told us that in order to preach
effectively we had, as he put it, to ”get in there
and love the congregation." I early found how
practical this advice was. I'll never forget one
humorous but excellent piece of advice he gave.

Professor Butters was a practical person as well
as a great soul. \Men,‘ he said, 'no matter how

carefully you have prepared your sermons, sometimes

58Ibid., p. 98.

59Eugene White and Clair Henderlider,l.na cit.,
p. 409. """"""

36

you're going to get stuck. When that happens,
just trugg in the Lord and keep the blessed sound

agoing.‘

When Dr; Peale's seminary years came to a close,
armed with a Master's Degree in Social Ethics and a
Bachelor's Degree in Sacred Theology, he was appointed
minister of the Flatlands Church in Brooklyn, New York.
The ceremony was held in the month oijay, in the year
1924. Officially, he was made associate minister of St.
marks Methodist Church at Ocean Avenue and Beverly Road,

an older and stronger congregation that generously

sponsored the struggjjiu; little church of forty

members.6l

Not.merely content to call on prospective members,
Dr. Peale kept in contact with his constituents by
constantly bombarding them with postcards, letters, and
leaflets. He was out to sell Christianity, and his church

in particular.

Sometimes the cards would ask provocative questions.
"Why have our congregations increased until the
church is crowded to capacity? Why has Sunday
school attendance increased 100% in six months?

Why are unchurched people of every Protestant
demomination coming to us in increasingly large
numbers? Come around and your questions will be

answered."

6OIbid., pp. 409-410.

61Arthur Gordon, 0 . cit., p. 104.

37

Sometimes the postcards would reach unashamedly
for an.emotional effect. "Do you remember,“ they
‘would ask nostalgically, ”the hymns your mother
used to sing? You can hear them again, you know!”
Or, ”Palm.Sunday -- what memories it brings! The
warm sunshine of spring, robin redbreasts on the
lawn, the unfolding flowers. Visions of Mother
getting the family ready, then the crowded church,
the stately old hyIns, a great congregation
lifting their voices in the triumphant chorus!
You, too6 can be a part of this. Come next
Sunday!" 2

At the end of six months crowds were so large
that the church building had to be abandoned, services
being held in a large tent set up on the lot where the
New Flatlands Church was to be built. The lot was on
the corner of Kings Highway and East 37th Street, and
on September 20, 1925, the new Kings Highway Church was
dedicated.63 By 1926 the membership in the Kings
Highway Church had risen to 900, the Sunday School.was
the largest in Brooklyn,64 and Dr. Peale was now an
experienced.minister.

In his twenty-eighth year, Dr. Peale was called
as minister to the University Methodist Church in
Syracuse, New York. He officially began his pastorate

 

621bid., pp. 105-106.
63Ibid., p. 106.

“rpm. , p. 109.

38

there on May 22, 1927. Though the atmosphere was
entirely different from the Brooklyn church, the
problems were the same. Of the six thousand students at
Syracuse University, only a handful attended Sunday
services. The empty seats in the church each Sunday
bespoke of the religious sterility of its members.

The man who welcomed Dr. Peale to Syracuse, and
who introduced him to the congregation, was destined to
become one of the best friends he ever had --- Hugh M.
Tilroe, Dean of the College of Public Speaking at
Syracuse University.65

Dr. Peale's first weeks were filled with tension
and anxiety. "I knew I was in a university pulpit
and therefore I thought I had to preach very scholarly
sermons. I attempted to do that. I read heavy books
and quoted learned authority. In fact I tried to preach
a baccalaureate sermon every Sunday morning."66 In his
car Dr. Peale carried the Oxford Book of English Verse,
and he quoted frequently from Carlyle, Victor Hugo,
Addison, Jung, Dostoievsky, Marcus Aurelius, Plato, and

others.” Needless to say, the congregation was amazed

 

65Norman Vincent Peale, "God's Help is Available
to You," Christian Herald, IKXIX, No. 2 (February,

1955): P0 34-

66Norman Vincent Peale, “Why I Preach As I D0,"
1953b Cite, P0 34.

67Arthur Gordon, op. cit., p. 115.

39

and somewhat appalled. Finally, in an effort to get
Dr. Peale back on the right track,.Dean Bray, one of the
most learned members of the faculty, asked him 'hntzfaa'
lunch together. In a friendly and helpful way Dean

Bray said:

I would like to make a little suggestion. You
think that we, being college professors, want an
intellectualized sermons Now . . . you must
remember something about us. We may be experts
in our fields; one man in biology, another in
geology, another in history. Each.man is presumably
an expert in the field of his studies. You.must
be an expert in the field of s irit. You must
realize, when we come down to fisten to you on
Sunday, that we look up to you as the teacher, and
you.must tell us what you, personally, know about
this, not what somebody said about it in a book
that you are going to quote.

0 O O O C O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0

And remember this . . . , we are all men and women
‘who need God. We're just poor sinful people and

you mustn't be so awed by us that you cannot tell

us directly wherein we are wrong and need repentencg
Preach to us the same as you would to anybody else. 8

Dean Tilroe said much the same thing to Dr.
Peale. He was a huge man, a man's man as Dr. Peale
would refer to him, who had a cabin on a lake back in the
twoods where he loved to fish and hunt. The cabin had
two bunks, and Dr. Peale spent many a weekend with
him."unburdening himself to the older man until the

affection between them.ran strong and deep."69

 

68Norman Vincent Peale, "God's Help is Available
to You,”10¢;. Cite, P0 34.

69Author Gordon, op. cit., p. 140.

40

This bit of information passed on by Deans
Tilroe and Bray was the medicine Dr, Peale needed. He
realized that he had been.too sedate, too cautious in
his approach. So once again he turned to the techniques
which.had been so successful in Brooklyn. .He placed
advertisements in the Syracuse Pppp-Standard: "Why
are young people flocking to the University Church?
Why is it suddenly hard to get a seat?"70 This was the
way he visualized it, and so to him it had already become
a fact.
On the campus of the university, just six blocks
away, were 6000 hays and girls.
I conceived the idea of having a different
fraternity come every Sunday. I roped off a section
with fraternity colors, and had them even send
notices to all their alumni to invite them to come
and occupy a reserved section. They began to vie
with one another to have the largest turnout.71
In addition, he assembled the best singers he could find
under the direction of Dr. Howard Lyman of the University's
Music Department and called the result "the greatest choir

in the Empire State!“ He revived and revised his postcard

mailing list. Having seen an appropriate motto on a

7oIbid., p. 119.

71Norman Vincent Peale, "God's Help is Available

to You," 3595;; cit., p. 34.

41

hote1.menu, he adopted it for his church: "Where you're
a stranger but once . . . .“ He had professionals from
New Yerk come up and give readings of plays or dramati-
zations of Bible stories.72

No doubt some of Dr. Peale's showmanship
attracted people to his church. But he did not feel it
was showmanship that held them, that kept them.ooming
back. It was the message, old to some, new to others,
that Christianity worked:

All I wanted was to get them there to preach the
Gospel to them. The Gospel itself was attractive:
it wasn't the way I put it up that made it
attractive; it wasn't that I was an orator, for I
never have been an orator or even in any sense an
eloquent speaker. But I have always tried to tell
people about Jesus.

Because of Dr. Peale's new enthusiasm and leader-
ship, the church grew in size. His interests grew with
the church, and soon he had a radio program, The Angelus
Hour, which brought him into contact with a greatly
expanded audience every Saturday afternoon. He drove
himself endlessly, working "all day and half the night
polishing his sermons, trying to improve his speeches,

preparing his radio talks, memorizing poetry, filing

 

72Arthur Gordon, op. cit., p. 119.

73Norman Vincent Peale, "God's Help is Available
to You,"19°|-.. cit., p. 34.

42

away apt quotations, as well as attending to the endless
administrative details of the church."74 In addition,
a lecture bureau offered to take him.under its wing:
. . . the percentage it demanded from its clients
was absurdly high. But Norman didn't care. He
was impressed by the brochure that introduced him
-—- with more enthusiasm than knowledge of French
-- as "The Beaux Ideal of Youth.“ “Culture and
elegance,” cried the leaflet, "walk right into
your community with.Peale!" Then, under the
heading "Peale's Appeal," it went on to give synopses
of various orations. "Poetry, philosophy,
literature and all the sciences, in an amazing roll
cell are called upon to testify to the worth of
personality."7
In appreciation of his loyalty to the faculty and
students of Syracuse University, Syracuse University
conferred on.him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity
in the spring of 1931.76
By now Dr. Peale was sought after by other large
churches. He declined an invitation to fill the pulpit
of the largest Methodist Congregation in Indiana -- the
Methodist Church in Indianapolis. He delivered in l932,
however, a guest sermon at Marble Collegiate Church in
New York City and was thereafter invited to take over the
dwindling congregation. He accepted and thus obtained

the leadership of the oldest chartered church in New York

 

74Arthur Gordon, op. cit., p. 145.
75Ibid.

76m" P0 148‘

43

(1696), located in the heart of the.metropolis, in the
shadow of the Empire State Building.

The word “Collegiate" stood for the ministry of
Colleagues in.Marble, Middle, West End, Fort
Washington, and St. Nicholas congregations. These
congregations together comprised the Collegiate
Church in.America, popularly known.as the Dutch
Reformed Church.

Its history dated from 1628 when the Dutch

established it in Nieuw Amsterdam. The church

had served under three flags, Dutch, British, and

American, and was the oldest institution of any

kind in New Yerk. The first colonial governor,

Peter Stuyvesant, was a member, as was Peter

Minuit, who purchased the Island of.Manhattan from

the Indians for twentybfour dollars.77

When Dr. Peale arrived, Marble Collegiate Church

had been without a minister for three years. In the
meantime, under a succession of temporary pastors, the
congregation had dwindled. Only two hundred pe0ple were
attending the Sunday services in the nave designed to

seat eight times that many.78

The nation was experi-
xincing a dismal year -- the low point of the depression.
Pe0ple were tense, uneasy, and unhappy. .Men were jumping
out of windows, having nervous breakdowns and heart
attacks. People were frightened, discouraged, and in

many cases utterly defeated. The suicide rate had

 

771bid., p. 155.

781329.-

44
rapidly increased over that of a few years before.79
Many people had lost faith in past creeds which no
longer seemed applicable to the practical human problems
Of the world 0
IDr. Peale began with as much enthusiasm as in
his past pastorates, but the results were slow in
materialifling. He preached three sermons a whek:
Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening.
Yet,in 1934. after two years of hard work, the church still
showed little evidence of its once religious vitality.
But the experience was beneficial, to such an extent
that Dr. Peale realized he could no longer preach as
academic a sermon as he did at Syracuse.
The very times compelled me to address myself to
human needs; telling brokenhearted, frustrated
people that there was healing and renggal in the
simple principles which Jesus taught.
I knew that they didn't want to hear abstract
theological dialection; they wanted immediate
help with the problems they had to face every
day. So I launched into a concentrated study of
psychology. Gradually I evolved.what might be

considered a scientific approach.to meet the needs
of a modern society.81

 

79Norman Vincent Peale, “God's Help is Available
to You,"199. cit., p. 65.

80Norman‘Vincent Peale, "The Kind of Preaching
That Matters,” Reader's Di est, DKVIII (May, 1956), p. 36.

81Eugene‘White and Clair Henderlider,lpp. cit.,
PP. 410-411.

45

Taking his texts from both the Old and New
Testaments, Dr, Peale interpreted Christianity as a
highly useful scientific and modern commodity for modern
people, and he dispensed it with the same kind of skill
that a salesman used in selling shoes, stoves, or
automobiles.

He was deeply impressed by the way a psychiatrist,
given the salient facts, could penetrate the carefully
erected defenses of a patient, brush aside the camouflage,
and reach the heart of the problem. Speaking of this
ability of the psychiatrist, he said:

It's simply amazing . . . to watch.him analyze

a situation, probe into a malajusted personality,
find the basic reason why a man can't get along
with his wife, or keeps failing in his work, or
suffers from hypertension. Once the psychiatrist
points out the basic cause, then we ministers can
begin to apply the great remedies of religion:
prayer, faith, and love. But the two therapies 82
go together, . . . . They complement each other.

Through the initiative of Dr. Peale and.Dr.
Smiley Blanton, a Religio-Psychiatric Clinic was developed
in the Church. At first Drs. Blanton and Peale were the
sole staff members, but the Clinic grew until presently

it is backed by the American Psychological Society and

has a staff of professional counselors, psychiatrists,

 

82Arthur Gordon, op. cit., p. 178.

46

psychologists, and ministerial training candidates.

Dr. Peale uses the Clinic "to clinch the nail he drives
in with his sermons on Sunday."83 He feels that
psychiatry had to do with the upsets of the mind, heart,
and soul. It deals with mental and spiritual tensions,
frustrations, and confusions. Dr. Peale looks on it as

a science made to order for the preacher. He readily
admits that he likes to employ psychology in his sermons.
He finds it an aid to reaching the needs of his listeners.

He lays no claim to being a psychiatrist himself:
he is a preacher, a minister, a counsellor in the
things of the spirit, and no more. That's way,
when he organized the Clinic, he went to Dr.

Smiley Blanton, one of the recognized psychiatrists
of New York City, and asked him to become a
partner in the enterprise. He sold Br. Blanton

on the idea that a minister and psychiatrist,
working together, could lift the living and
restore the faith of countless people who were
plagued by pestilences in the darkness. The
partnership became a fact; it works beautifully.
Today twelve other psychiatrists and psychologists,
and a social psychiat§ist assist Doctors Peale and
Blanton on the Staff. 4

Thus, within a relatively short time after his
arrival at Marble Collegiate Church, Dr. Peale realized

that if a minister was to be versed in the problems of

 

83Frank S. Mead, "Down-to-Earth Gospel and
Modern Science Clasp Hands and Change Lives on.New
York's Rich Fashionable Fifth Avenue," Grassroots in
Manhattan (Foundation.For Christian Living:—Pawlin§:
New York).

“lain.

47

modern man, he.must understand and make use of the

modern behavioral sciences. The truths of the Bible

were the same, but their interpretation had to be adjusted
to meet the needs of modern man.

A second philosophy of Dr. Peale's began to take
root shortly after his arrival in New York City. From
early childhood, Dr. Peale had been asking himself why
the women far outnumber the “men in any given congregation.
". . . I noticed that increasingly the church was losing
its hold upon men, at least from.the standpoint of active
participation in its work and from a profound influence
of the Gospel in their daily lives and inner experiences."85

One night in New York he attended and spoke at a
very large gathering of early-middle-aged men; the
average age in the group being somewhere in the late
thirties or early forties. He viewed them as being
"outstanding, alert, vigorous, dynamic business and
professional men.” But upon inquiry, he found that it
was a general consensus that only a minor percentage of
these men were actively interested in.church life.

It came over me then.with a tremendous surge of

importance that we needed to recruit the vast

and amazing manpower available to the Christian
church.

 

85Norman’Vincent Peale, “God's Help is Available
to You,“ Igp cit., p. 67.

 

48

I had a definite spiritual experience that night ,
. . . I told the Lord that if He would guide me,

I would do everything in my power to bring about a
great resurgence of dedication amggg the men of
America to Christ and the Church.

"Under God's guidance, I was soon offered an
opportunity to lecture under lecture bureau auspices
before business and industrial conventions."87 Before
long, the most time-consuming of all his activities was
his ever—increasing lecture program. Starting at
810.00 to $25.00 each lecture, his salary quickly
advanced to from.t400.00 to $600.00 per lecture. His
lecture activities carried him throughout the United
States, and by 1953 he was speaking some eighty-five or
ninety trmes a winter to audiences of all sorts and sizes.

On a Tuesday he might address a bankers' convention
in Tulsa. On Thursday he might speak to 50,000
people assembled in the Cotton Bowl at Dallas. On
Friday night it might be a National Realtor's
IMeeting in Chicago. He might cross the country
from East to West, or from.N0rth to South, but
always, like a sort of spiritual homing pigeon, he
had to be back in his Fifth Avenue pulpit on
Sunday'morning.88

In his travels and speeches at business and
industrial conventions, Dr. Peale found that men.wanted

something said about how to meet the stress and strain of

 

86Ibid.

87Ibid., p. 71.
88Arthur Gordon, op. cit., p. 241.

49

their lives. One night when he was scheduled to speak
at a large convention, a young businessman.was introduced
to him. ”Tell me, Dr. Peale,” the man said, “exactly
what is your formula for living?" Dr. Peale replied,
"Well, I suppose it's twofold: to find the secret of
effective living for one's self, and then, having done
so, to try to help others find their answer." He went

on to explain that he had found that secret in religion
-- in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

”If that's true," said the man, "why aren't more

of us businessmen aware of it and interested in
it?" He hesitated, then answered his own question.
“I'll tell you why. Because nobody tells us about
it in language we can understand. We've quit

going to church, most of us, because we've come to
associate churches with boredom. And the church
never comes to us. Why don't you fellows come down
out of the pulpit once in a while and talk to us on
our own level and in our own language at meetings
like this one, or at business conventions?. Outside
the church, anyway! The message would be just as
valid, wouldn't it? Why don't you go out and
buttonhole us wherever we are? If what you have

to offer is worth having, we'll listen. And

maybe after a while we'll start g01ng to church.
But first you've got to play the game in our home
grounds, not yours. If you.want us in your churches,
some of you have got to get out on the road and
sell your product! You've got to be missionaries

to businessmen!"89

Dr. Peale took such advice to heart. He attempted

to formulate his sermons as well as his lectures so as

to appeal to the American businessman. The secret, he

89Ibid., p. 192.

50

felt, was to appeal to their needs; then, they would

respond. Their needs centered around the problems of

facing fear, anxiety, frustration, failure, depression,

self-consciousness, lack of enthusiasm, etc.

Thus, to Dr. Peale, audience analysis has

become a consideration of vast importance. He feels that

the audience —-- whether it be a Sunday congregation or

a weekday business convention -- has a “corporate

personality“ of its own. "It could be alive, intent,

aware of everything. It could also be apathetic, lethargic,

dull; but it could be influenced, it could be coaxed, it
could be challenged -- and it would almost always respong?"
Dr. Peale further feels that "to be persuasive, a preacher
or any public speaker must have a keen understanding of

human psychology; he must have a sympathetic understanding

of hhexxants and desires of his listeners."91 And he

must shape his message to meet the needs as he sees

them. It is through such an analysis that the minister

is able to sense the mood or atmosphere of his audience.

This is an essential part of successful preaching.

90Arthur Gordon, op. cit., p. 179.

91Eugene White and Clair Henderlider, pp-o cit.,
p. 414.

51

One of the queerest phenomena in a speaker's world
is this thing called mood or atmosphere. I never
quite understand it. You give the same speech

to the same kind of people. They wear the same
kind of clothes, the same kind of ties, the same
kind of collars. The speech is the same; you are
the same person making it. But the mood in one

place is more receptive, more electric than in
others.9

Having analyzed the audience, the next step in

preparing a lecture or sermon is to find an appropriate

topic. In an interview with Eugene White, presently

at Pennsylvania State University, and Clair Henderlider

of Western Reserve University, for the Quarterlx Journal

222 S eech, Dr. Peale gave the following views on
sermonizing.

The topic should always be one which can be
framed in a "concise, definite statement, such as: 'How
to stop being tense,‘ or 'How to lose fear through faitg?“
Since the minister should be concerned with the needs of

his audience, the problem-solving sermon is the most

important tool which he has.

The sermon itself should be outlined under two

basic headings. Roman numeral 'I' represents the

introduction, and '11' the main body of the speech.94

92Norman Vincent Peale, "Self-Confidence Can Be

Yours,“ Sermon Publications, III, No. 22 (February 17,
1952), p. 11.

93E. White and C. Henderlider, 1.0.9. cit., p. 411.
gfibido, Po 4‘20

52

The introduction has several purposes. One purpose is

to stimulate interest and attention.

An excellent way of getting attention is to point
out the importance of the topic. In a recent
sermon, I began like this: "One of the most

important of human problems is what to do Ibout
one's failures. You can use a failure to go on

to successful living; or you.can permit a failure
to destroy you." Sometimes I start off with a

question or two. I might say: "Do you know how to
make things turn out right? How many times have

you heard a person complain, Why does everything
go wrong for me?" I also make frequent use of
quotations, examples, and snatches of dialogue.95

Another purpose of the introduction is to provide the

minister a place to state his thesis.

For example, in a sermon, Peace for the Troubled
Mind, my opening sentence was, "The purpose 0

.____7r_.
3 talk is to help pe0ple discover the secret
of peace for the troubled mind." In another

sermon, Lose Your Fears Through Faith, I began
with, “Would you like to—lose your fears? Wel ,
you can. The way to do it is through Faith."9

The introductions to lectures or occasional

speeches should be essentially the same as those of

sermons. In addition, however, they provide an excel-

lent opportunity to make some personal reference to the

situation, the audience, or to the purpose of the

meeting. This technique is a great aid to developing

the interest and attention factor.

951hid.

961bid.

53

There should not be more than three main subheads

under the body of the speech --- iroman numeral II in Dr.

Peale's outline. If it is possible to cover the material

under two headings, then that is so much the better.
The more major points the minister presents, the more

complex the speech becomes, and the more confusion that

will develop in the minds of the listeners.

My sermons and speeches are essentially problem-
solving. Usually I present the problem quickly
under "I," the introduction. . . . this allows
me to utilize "II“ in answering the problem.

Usually the two or three subheads under “II"
represent spe

pific guides, or methods for solving
the problem.9

It is not necessary to provide a separate section

in the outline for the conclusion. "What I do is to

summarize after each subhead under 'II.‘ Therefore,

the summary for the last heading serves as a conclusion

for the entire speech."98 Concluding remarks should be

short and to the point.

The minister should follow his outline care-
fully.

He should never use spur-of-the-moment material

-- only that which has been carefully thought out and

evaluated beforehand. A sermon should be about twenty-

five minutes in length; and if the minister finds that

97lbid., p. 413.

gerbid.

54

he is running out of time, he can omit the last capital
letter heading under Roman numeral "II." Since a
summary is given after each subheading, the summary after

"B" would serve as well for the close of the entire

sermon as would the summary for heading "C."

In regards to delivery, Dr. Peale states that

the minister should speak extemporaneously whenever
possible. He should carefully prepare a pattern or

sequence of ideas and leave the exact expression of those

ideas to the inspiration of the moment. The reading or
memorizing of a sermon injures spontaneity. Without
spontaneity there can be little rapport between the

speaker and his audience.

Dr. Peale states that he "picturizes" the

outline of his sermon rather than "memorizes" it.

Usually when someone speaks of memorizing an

outline, he means that he learns verbatim the
precise wording.

What I do is to “picturize” in m
mind the sequence and the relationships of the
major and minor points.

By following this
procedure and by memorizing all quotations and

statistics, I avoid using notes during delivery.

99

If a minister has a definite mannerism of voice

or gesture which.he wishes to correct, it would be

good to practice in front of a mirror or before a

gglbid.

55

a friend. It is not necessary under ordinary
circwmstances to practice a sermon orally. It is a good
practice, however, to go over the sermon a number of
times in.one's mind.

It is not necessary to use particular gestures
or inflections at certain places in the sermon. It
is sufficient.merely to depend upon one's body and voice
to respond appropriately to the situation. The minister
should present his message in a simple, interesting,
and forceful manner. The delivery should be animated,
vital, and positive, and the voice should be in a style
as close to conversation as befits the occasion.
Special emphasis should be given to avoid being spectac-
ular, artificial, or overly emotional.

Dr. Peale feels that spiritual mobilization is
Just as important as mechanical preparation, and for
that reason the minister should never enter a pulpit
-- or platform -- without experiencing, through
prayer, the power of divine guidance. Preaching is not
something to enter into without having first looked to
God for help and guidance. In order to "condition"
himself before facing an audience, Dr. Peale always trys

to have some time for meditation, "during‘which I 80

56
100

over my speech carefully and pray for divine assistance."
His conviction that God will assist him during his speech
is one of the important sources of his poise and confi-
dence as a speaker. ”. . . I believe that I am merely
the agent of God's will and that He will give men
effective expression."101 In other words, the minister
must have a sense of "being used" by God. A ministry
that is self-appointed on the basis of the recognition
of need on the one hand and of special gifts on the other
might do well enough, from the human point of view, if
there could be an assurance of fair weather for the
entire voyage. But the course of this ministry does
not run through such a sea.

Among contemporary theologians and ministers,
Dr. Peale was soon recognized for his belief that
doctrine and dogma should be minimized-and Christianity
made a practical, usuable faith for a modern world.
The message developed by Dr. Peale brought the busi-

nessmen into his church and gave him the title, the

”Businessmen's Preacher." Today, more than 60% of his

1°°Ibid., p. 415.

1°1Ibid.

57

congregation are men, for they especially seem to
respond to his simple, direct approach to God}02
Dr. Peale worked hard to meet the challenge of
the New York metropolitan area referred to as "the
graveyard of ministers." Little by little his congre-
gation rose in numbers. Besides preaching to the
needs of the business man, he hammered away at social
themes. He recognized the peril that shadows all
ministers from the first day of their ministry to the
last day. This peril is the temptation to become
suave and genial to the point of losing all dependable
effectiveness. The nature of the minister's work
makes this tendency inevitable. If he is really to
minister to peOple he must live with them, speak their
language, and have their confidence. This means that
he must cultivate the qualities in his life which make
him agreeable and likable. A major part of all his
associations pull him in the direction of things that
are peaceful and consoling. If he is not careful, a
little yielding here and a slight compromise there will

soon make him a man who is harmless and, ultimately,

ineffective .

uvr—v
_-

102“Doctor Peale: An Articulate Leader of
Christianity," Newsweek, XLII (December 28, 1958):
P0 450

58

It is for this reason that Dr. Peale never
regretted having had the experience of a newspaper
reporter -- for he felt it an advantageous training
ground for his later work in the ministry. Not only
did he improve his writing skills as a newspaper
reporter, but many of the techniques he learned were
employed in the construction of his sermons later on.
In addition, his experience provided him with a back-
ground of the struggles and sorrows and failures and
yearnings of ordinary, harassed, bedeviled human beings
--- peOple groping for happiness and the chance to
become better than they knew themselves to be. This
is important, for above all else Dr. Peale felt the
minister must be down to earth. A cloud dweller in the
ministry would never be a success in meeting the needs
of his people.

Ministers should have knowledge of human beings;
they should be aware of the tough, cheap, and
tawdry side of existence. One cannot know these
things if he lives a cloistered life. In the
city room of a newspaper office, I was taught to
see the truth and have the courage to deal with

the facts. If you think about it, . . . . you'll
realize that is the job of a minister, too. 03

 

103Phyllis Cerf, "Norman Vincent Peale’s First
Job," Good Housekeeping, CXLVII (July, 1953}: Po 94-

59

If a minister is to be worth his salt, then,
he must know not only the still waters and the quiet
places but also the enemies within the fold and on
the outside that are harmful to Christian teachings.
However strongly inclined he may be toward the ways
of peace, he knows that the element of conflict is in
all of life, and he must not back down in the face of
sin. Without losing the sympathetic touch which
enables him to bring comfort where it is needed, the
minister must develop a toughness of fiber that does
not yield to the threats of arrogant and entrenched
evil. In other words, "if you can find a good fight,
you had better get into it." But be certain that it
is a “good fight."

Like many other ministers, Dr. Peale went through
the experience of engaging himself and his congregation
in needless controversy because he had not been able to
distinguish between a real principle and marginal custom.
Throughout the Second World War, and for a few years
thereafter, he clung to the belief that a minister had
not only the right but the duty to speak out on politi-
cal affairs, presidential elections, social issues, etc.
In the.middle 1930's his views on drinking brought him

into controversy with Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt. She was

6O

quoted as saying that ”intelligent young ladies ought
to find out what their capacity for drinking was, and
then stay within it." iDr. Peale, President of the
American Temperance Society, was so stunned by her
views -- and particularly by the fact that a person in
her position would condone drinking at all --- that he
reprimanded her vehemently from the pulpit. The New
York newspapers saw "increased sales" in the controversy
and played it up to such an extent that Dr. Peale and
Mrs. Roosevelt were finally convinced by a mutual
friend that they should meet and try to still the
troubled.waters. The meeting was not a success. "Mrs.
Roosevelt had prepared a written statement, clarifying
her position, but it still was too tolerant to suit
Dr. Peale."1o4
In 1948 Dr. Peale favored the nomination of
General.MacArthur on the Republican ticket. Later he
supported his neighbor, Governor Thomas Dewey, in his
campaign against Truman. Slowly but surely, however,
he became aware of the factions that develop in a
church when the minister takes stands on issues outside

the realm.of pure theology. Partisan activities on the

part of a minister are devisive; they alienate peeple.

 

lo«Arthur Gordon, Op. cit., p. 187.

61

They reduce the effectiveness of the pastor as spiritual
leader of a united congregation. It was this conclusion-
that led Dr. Peale to make the following statement:

I‘ve been wrong . . . . I've done my ministry a

lot of harm by getting mixed up in political

activities. . . . I‘m.through with this sort of

organization. I've got my spiritual work, and

I'm.going to stick to that. Believe me, from

this point on, if the country were collapsing,

and a committee were formed to save the Republic,

I wouldn't join it!105

Later, disregarding this statement, Dr. Peale
came to realize that there are issues today that are
related to human welfare, personal and national
decency, and international relations concerning which
the Church cannot compromise without forfeiting its
right to speak for God. The minister.must decide for
himself the merits of the issue, then act accordingly.
As recently as the 1960 campaign for President

of the United States, Dr. Peale took an active role in
the religio-political controversy of whether or not a
Catholic should be elected President. He presided over
a meeting in Washington, D.C. titled the "National
Conference of Citizens for Religious Freedom.”106

About one hundred and fifty Protestant clergyman and laymen

 

1°5Ib1d., p. 227.

106"Pastors Raise Church Issue Here,“_flgshington
Post-Times Herald, September 8, 1960, p. 1.

62

attended the meeting and heard Dr. Peale tell them that
faced.with the election of a Catholic President, "our
culture is at stake, the culture that made America.
I don't say it won't survive, but it won't be what it
was.“107

Unanimously the Citizens for Religious Freedom
adopted a declaration which, in essence, charged that
the Vatican would sway any Catholic President in areas
of foreign affairs, education and church-state relation-

ships.108

The group was not representative of all
Protestants, however, and reaction came quickly from
more liberal Protestants who violently disagreed.
Reinhold Niebuhr, James A. Pike, Paul Tillich, and
John C. Bennett were quick to denounce the actions of
Dr. Peale and his committee. The Pealeemanifesto was
also swiftly condemned by the New York Board of Rabbis,
representing 700 Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform
rabbis. Editorials favoring and denouncing Dr. Peale's
stand quickly spread throughout the country.

As a result of the entire incident, Dr. Peale

offered to resign his pulpit at marble Collegiate Church.

 

107"The Cam aign," Time Ma zine, LXXVI, No. 12
(September 19, 1960 , p. 21.

108Ibid.

63

His congregation felt differently, however, and gave him
a "standing tribute." His wife said that in his 29

years at the Church, this marked the first time he had

received such.a tribute.109

Dr. Peale felt that he did not do anything
‘wrong, just unwise. He said he probably would not
have attended the meeting in the first place if he had
not planned to be in Washington to attend a day-long
religious retreat the following day.

I felt a sense of concern about the matter of
religious freedom and believe it is proper at any
time for a Protestant to meet with fellow Protes-
tant to discuss matters relating to our faith.

He went on to say:

It is the American right to assemble and to
consider, and in this instance it was done with
dignity and with a view towards lifting the
religious discussion towards a higher intellect-
ual level and to divest it of heat and emotion-
alism.

I might have known, and I am amazed that I did not
realize that under the circumstances this would
immediately get involved in the political campaign.
I sincerely did not mean it to be so, but perhaps
I will be a wiser person in the future -- at
least, let us hope so.

. . . I do not feel that I was wrong in attending
this meeting, but it may have been unwise under
the circumstances. 10

 

lo9upea13 Offers to Resign Over 'Unwise'

Actions," Washington Post—Times Herald, September 19,
1960, p. A-12.

llOIbid.

64

Despite such occasional incidents, under Dr.
Peale's guidance, the marble Collegiate Church continued
to increase its membership. And with the increase in
membership came also an increase in responsibility for
Dr. Peale. This, however, was exactly what Dr. Peale
wanted. He had little patience with those who deplored
bigness in religion. He felt that numbers do count.

If the world was to be won for Christianity, the people
of the world must be reached.
We ministers are sometimes accused of being too
concerned with full pews. I plead guilty. I
freely subscribe to the notion that we must capture

the world with Christianity, not just rescue a
small remnant.111

Dr. Peale feels that, in an effort to captivate
as large an audience as possible, it is the minister's
duty to make use of all available means of mass commun-
ication. He, himself, had no doubt that Saint Paul
would havelgladly used television if it had been avail-
able to him.112 Consequently, his interests embraced
every field in the area of communications. In order to
spread his Christian message, he makes extensive use of

the radio, television, syndicated newspaper articles,

 

111Norman Vincent Peale, “The Kind of Preaching
that Matters," 1 o. cit., p. 36.

llerthur Gordon, op. cit., p. 219.

65

magazine articles, books, pamphlets, and advertising
brochures of all shapes and sizes. At the proposal of
a friend, he even wrote brief messages for Easter and
Christmas cards -- and was paid accordingly. His
feeling is that these manemade avenues for communication
can just as well be made to serve God‘s purpose as any
other purpose.

By 1955, Dr. Peale's book, 2113 _P_o_v_v_e_r 9; Positive
Thinking, had taken the world like wildfire. Over 2%
million copies had been sold. In addition, 4000 people
heard him preach in person each Sunday. Another 500
overflow worshippers saw and heard him on closed-circuit
T.V. in the basement of the Marble Collegiate Church.

His weekly syndicated column "Confident Living" was being
carried in over 100 newspapers. It was estimated that
his radio talks "The Art of Living" entered 1,000,000
homes each week. A T.V. show which he shared with his
wife, "What's Your Trouble," was carried by over 100
stations. He was editor of an inspirational.monthly
bulletin called Guideppsts, with a circulation of

625,000 and over 300,00 followers received his weekly
sermons through the mail. In addition to these endeavors,
he helped run.free of charge a religio-psychiatric clinic

which annually counseled over 1000 cases. Self-help cards

66

were written and distributed to any one desiring them,
and long play records of his sermons were available to
the public.

The name, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, was literally
known by millions of Americans and other nationalities
distributed throughout the world. As a man of great
influence, and as a renowned speaker, Dr. Peale had
"arrived." He had not become the politician which.was
his great dream as a college student —-— but he had

become perhaps the most popular minister in the world.

CHAPTERVIII
DB, PEALE'S PUBLIC IMAGE

For Dr. Peale the road to the national limelight
has not been one of total glory. Like all other leaders,
he has made enemies as well as friends. For purposes of
analyzing Dr. Peale's public image, this chapter will be
divided into two sections: (A) The Case Against Dr.

Peale, and (B) The Case in.Favor of Dr. Peale.

The Case Against Dr. Peale

From.newspaper and magazine articles, one might
quickly conclude that Dr. Peale's antagonists are com-
posed mostly of members of his own profession. However,
the preaching of Dr» Norman Vincent Peale and other
Protestant ministers with a similar approach to their
calling has come under sharp criticism and attack by
both.laymen and clergymen, and some of the religious
objections come from.such high theological sources that
they cannot lightly be dismissed as the product of
personal envy or professional jealousy. The complaints

of these critics range all the way from.mild assertions

67

68

that Dr. Peale's optimistic interpretation of the
gospel is repetitious and oversimplified to the grave
charge that what he is preaching is not Christianity
at all, but represents an attempt to manipulate God
in accordance with the selfish and materialistic desires
of sinful man. The chief accusation is that, by his
emphasis on the power of faith and "positive thinking,"
Dr. Peale is diminishing in his audience the conscious-
ness of inborn sin and of moral helplessness without
the grace of God that are traditional and (the theolog-
ians agree) essential Christian doctrines. Dr. Peale,
according to these critics, is teaching only half-
truths; he is preaching partial Christianity.

It is difficult to put an exact label on this
newly popularized religious trend, for critics refer
to it in their own descriptive terms. But concensus
among the critics can be found in such phrases as
”easy religion," "positive thinking," and "the cult of
reassurance." For the last decade ministers through-
out the country have been speaking out from their pul-
pits against the idea that Christianity is "simply a
way to get selfish peace of mind or a shield for one's
own life." An example of the extent to which this
topic is being discussed and studied in religious

69

circles was the report at the general assembly of
Southern Presbyterians in June of 1955. This report
condemned the use of religious faith "to manipulate
God and bring Him to do our will.”1

The new "cult of reassurance" is reminiscent
of the technique of ”conscious auto-suggestion" which
was popularized just after the First World War by Dr.
Emile Coue. His formula for better living was to
repeat twenty times each morning, "Every day in every
way I am getting better and better."

Some of the critics of the new religion of
reassurance have pointed out that its recent emergence
probably dates from.1946 when the best-selling book
m 93'; M9 by Rabbi Liebman, was published. The
success of this book, which attempted to show how
religious faith and psychology could be combined to
reduce the tensions of modern life, brought many
imitators. Lay hold of the master key to the life
within you, Marcus Bach recommends in a recently
published book, and you can acquire Efiflufllil.32 Believe.
Just learn to think well of yourself, Dr. Hyman Schachtel
urges, and you will get The Life You.Want To‘ngg. You

 

1William Peters, ”The Case Against 'Easy'
Religion,” Redbook, CV, No. 5 (September, 1955). P. 22.

70

can achieve spiritual sovereignty, Dr. Roy Burkhart
Harness figs @1622 £217.93 gf 323;; 313141, Walter Germain
encourages, and you can live twenty-four hours a day.
Learn to pray while at work, George Murron insists, and
Forget the "ifs" in you life and you will discover,
according to Alexander Lake, that 3'21; Prayers g3;
Always Answered.

The "peace of mind" message has been spread not
only by clergymen who preach it in book and articles
but those who utilize it in their sermons and personal
counseling. Although other ministers use the same
approach, Dr. Peale's name seems to predominate'when
this subject is under discussion in religious circles.
In the past few years, he has become perhaps America's
best-known Protestant preacher. His book The; m 93;
Positive Thinking has already sold close to three-
million copies, and g 99.139. 1:3 Confident Living, an
earlier book, is still selling more than one thousand
copies a week. In addition, through his syndicated
newspaper columns, his pamphlets, magazine articles,
sermons, and radio and T.V. shows, he reaches an

estimated thirty million people weekly. Perhaps it is

 

71

because of this great popularity that Paul.Hutchinson,
editor of‘ghg Christian Centur , leading undenominational
Protestant publication, has labeled.Dr. Peale "the high
priest of this cult of reassurance."2

At first glance it might appear that this attack
on Dr. Peale's theology is based on nothing more than
”sour grapes" --- a jealousy of his success on the part
of less-celebrated ministers. But the critics are for
the most part theologians and writers of impressive
reputation, men who are secure in their positions and
whose sincerity on.this point is obvious.

To summarize the views of the critics, it is
not the ”man" but the "message" that they are attacking.
They are concerned over the fact that millions of people
are accepting a "quasi-Christianity,“ a Christianity
designed to mislead, distort, and confuse. The critics
feel that this new era of religion, this new faith, has
little to do with the old-fashioned faith as Saint
Paul conceived it -- the faith of the contrite Christian
humbly imploring the mercy and guidance of the almighty
to fight off sin and temptation. That is a negative
approach to faith.which the ”cult of reassurance" has
repudiated as unworthy of the century of the Common man.

 

21bid.

72

The new faith is a positive faith in.man's power to have
faith and to use it to “conjure up the cooperation of
God." It is a confident faith in the latest "prayer
techniques“ that are guaranteed to get results. It is

a streamlined faith in the tried and tested spiritual
formulas that will bring its adherents their justly
deserved prosperity and success.

The critics go on to say that the Peale products
and their like are equated blatantly with Christian
teaching and preaching. They are represented as part
of a revival or response in Christianity with which they
have no valid connection. They influence, mislead, and
often disillusion sick, maladjusted, unhappy, or ill-
instructed people, obscuring from them Christian realities.
They offer easy comforts, easy solutions to problems and
mysteries that sometimes, perhaps, have no comforts or
no solutions at all, in glib, worldly terms. They
promise a cheap "happiness" in lieu of the joy which
Christianity can offer, sometimes in the midst of suffer-
ing.

A frequent criticism is that the panacea of
positive thinking is a hazard to the delicate marginal
areas of mental health. Sick and sinking people will
commit themselves to this waterlogged life—preserver

73

with possibly disastrous results, when sound psychiatric
counsel is needed.
One of America's formost Protestant theologians,
Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr, professor of applied Christianity
at Union Theological Seminary in New York, put his
objections simply:
The Christian religion is one of repentance and
faith, sin and grace. Christianity stresses the
idea that man tends to think more of himself than
he should and that there can be no real meeting
with God, except through repentance and the
confession of sin.
The basic sin of this new cult is its egocentricity.
It puts "self" instead of the cross at the center of
the picture. Christianity insists that you cannot
have faith without repentance, and since the very
ideas of sin and repentance are negative, the
positive thinkers simply leave them out, or at
best, gloss them over. The result is a partial
picture of Christianity, a sort of half-truth.3
Dr. Niebuhr goes on to explain that the ideas of
this new cult are not really new. Historically there
has always been at the heart of orthodox Christianity
a tendency to corrupt religion sinfully to oneis own
personal ends. Instead of trying to subordinate one's
will to the Divine will, men try to harness Divine
power to whatever they want to accomplish. "This new

religion.of happiness and positive thoughts is the same

 

31bid., pp. 22, 92.

74

old heresy. It applies religion to business and personal
affairs and embodies the success idea."4

Roger L. Shinn, Professor of Theology at
Vanderbilt University, says about Peale:

Peale's skill has been in adapting and packaging
techniques, so successful in commodities from
patent medicines to frozen foods, to the plugging
of a kind of religion. He has done the job so
well that most people --— probably including
himself --- have not noticed that the contents of
his packages have practically nothing to do with
the New Testament faith.5

Andrew E. murray, Dean of the Seminary, Lincoln
University, Pennsylvania, says:
The tragedy of Dr. Peale lies in the fact that he
gives no help or h0pe to the individual wrestling
with problems beyond his power to solve. In spite
of good intentions an individual may be caught in

impossible conditions created by society agd be
unable to do anything about his situation.

‘Dr. Donald Meyer of Harvard University feels that
Dr. Peale's "Self—confidence" preaching is of little or
no avail to those who feel insecure in the "status-and-
moneydworld" about us. He feels that Dr. Peale blandly

ignores the text from.the Book of James, that "we are

4Ibid., p. 22.

5Roger L. Shinn, ”Correspondence," Re orter,
XII (February 24, 1955). p. 12.

61bid.

 

75

all . . . helpless failures in the last resort."7

Ernest E. Bruder, Chief of the Chaplain's
Services Branch of Saint Elizabeth's Hospital, Washington,
D.C. -—- one of the largest mental hospitals in the
United States -- is recognized as an outstanding
practitioner in the new field of pastoral psychology.

He feels that:

Dr. Peale uses religion to provide a crutch for
dependent people . . . . It's a kind of shot-in-
the-arm religion, and it encourages dependency.
Perhaps it helps people who are already dependent.
I don't honestly know. I do know, though, that
for any other kind of person, it is a real
disservice because it keeps him from seeking really
competent help. Even after he has found that
easy rules and simple formulas don't really work
for him, that they can't permanently help him to
sleep or forget his problems, it has made it
difficult for him to seek help elsewhere. He has
the feeling he has already tried everything there
is. If you add to that the burden of guilt he
now has because what seems to be working for
others didn't work gar him, you get a picture of
the harm it can do.

One of the chief defenses voiced-in behalf of
the new religious trend is that it must be helping
people because it is so popular. Dr. Listen Pope, a
Congregational minister and Dean of the Yale Divinity

 

TDr. Donald Meyer, "The Confidence Man," fig!
Re ublic, cxxxm (July 11. 1955). p. 10.

8W1lliam Peters, he Cite, P0 920

 

76

School, gives an answer to this notion. Speaking of
what he called "the peace of mind cult" he pointed out
that ”the mambo is pOpular and innumerable people have
been helped by patent medicines, hospitals and social
work programs, but not every popular or helpful thing
is to be described as Christian."9 Dr. Pope continues
by condemning the cult for its sins of omission:

It simply leaves out much that is essential to a
true picture of Christianity. It misses the
significance of the Eden story of original sin.

It is true that Christianity has in it elements

of assurance, but it makes assurance a by-product,
not the object, of religion. The object is to

save man, to redeem.him from sin and self-centered-
ness. You can't very well do that if you refuse

to think about sin and self-centeredness because
they are negative thoughts.10

In addition, Dr; POpe says:
There is nothing humble or pious in the view this
cult takes of God. God becomes a sort of master
psychiatrist who will help you get over your
difficulties. The formulas and the constant
reiteration of such themes as "you and God can do
anything" are very nearly blasphemous.11
In concluding his denial of the "positive
thinkers," Dr. POpe believes that this kind of religion

”represents an attempt at shoring up faltering egos with

 

 

77

easy formulas and spiritual gimmicks. But it is too
important to be taken lightly," he warns. "This
criticism.of the new religion of peace of mind is no
theological quibble; it is not to be taken in the spirit
of a mild difference of ppinion between preachers. The
peace of mind cult represents a redefinition of the
Christian faith and its central themes. That is why it
is important for people to see it for what it is."12
William Lee Miller, Professor of Religion at

Smith College, sums up his views on Dr. Peale as follows:

It is an idea that has made Dr. Peale. The idea

is that affirmative attitudes help to make their

own affirmations come true. Dr. Peale takes the

obvious, but partial truth in this idea, and

builds it into an absolute law; he erects on it a

complete and infallible philosophy, psychology,

and religion, so that he can solve every problem

just by denying it really exists and promises that

every wish can be fulfilled just by “thinking" it.13

This quest for an easy answer through religion

is something Dr. Franklin Clark Fry, President of the
United Lutheran Church in America, is also concerned
about. Dr. Fry believes that God is being seriously
misrepresented by the "positive thinkers." He says,

"There is nothing more sinister . . . than the

 

12Ibid., pp. 92-93.

13WilliamLeejMiller, "Some Negative Thinking
€30?) Norman Vincent Peale,” Reporter, XII (January 13,
5 9 p. 20.

 

78

instrumentalization of religion -- the use of God to
accomplish a specific aim. The true Christian asks

'What does God want to do through.me?' not 'What can

He do for me?”14

As Bishop of the Methodist Church for the
Washington, D.C. area, Dr. G. Bromley Oxnam said:

Many of us in the ministry . . . have carried on
religion as a routine. We have stood by while
Dr. Peale has put drama into his particular kind
of religion. I think that by addressing himself
to people's needs, he may have been doing some
good for certain kinds of people, but I seriously
question whether his message is a Christian
message. Perhaps the best thing he has done is
alert the rest of us to the fact that many of us

have been ignoring people's immediate needs in
our preaching.

The fundamental weakness of this.message is that
it is self-centered . . . . Christianity says,
'Give thyself." Dr. Peale says, "Help yourself."15

Dr. Wayne E. Oates, professor of psychology of
religion at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary,
Louisville, Kentucky, likens the "cult of reassurance"
to the pain-killing drugs of the physician.

Used in the right place at the right time, under
controlled conditions, for the proper duration of
time -- and always in conjunction with a more
basic kind of treatment -~ either reassurance or
pain-killing drugs can have dramatic results. But
neither should be used except on a prescription
basis, tailored to individual needs.

14’William Petalrs‘a, 19c cit., p. 93.
15Ibid.

79

My basic criticism of Dr. Peale's religion, on a
therapeutic level, is that he is using this
painrkiller of reassurance on a patent medicine
basis. What he is doing is helpéng to conceal
problems rather than cure them.

In speaking of Dr. Peale as well as other
religious leaders of the day, Curtis Cate, an editor of
the Atlantic Monthly, says:

Thanks to our pioneering religionists, we can now
take comfort in a new God shaped "in the image of
Man," a really friendly, companionable, democratic
God, who doesn't mind having His back slapped in a
spirit of pious partnership; . . . .

In the "dynamic" religion that we are being promised
for tomorrow no ascetic discipline or special
humbleness will any longer be required. It will be
a hotdwater bottle kind of piety with none of

that gritty old morality in it. It will be a brand
of faith that has been synthesized, vitaminized,
homogenized, and capsulized, and it will be as
readyemade for effortless consumption as that
magically bleached cottony, crustless, already
sliced white bread which is the symbol of the modern
American's massive superiority over the pagan
bushwhacker.17

Edmund Fuller, the book review editor of Episcopal
Churchnews, writes in the Saturday Review 2: Literature:

The books and teachings of Pealism pervert the
nature of Christian belief and experience. They
make a virtue of being.manecentered and self-
centered. They seek an immediate, material good.
The awesome sense of confrontation with God is
gone. The fear of God which is awe has been

16Ibid., p. 94.

17Curtis Cate, "God and Success," Atlantic
m: 010 (April, 1957): P0 76.

80

dispelled. The meaning of worship is nullified
and forgotten. God is to be worshipped because
he is God. Pealeism and its corollaries debase
Christianity to make of it a means to other and
lesser ends - *which by its nature the Christian
religion cannot be.

Where, in all the morass of false witness, whether
in quests for successful living or in saccharine
sentimentalist -- where are the great, historic
central themes, subjects, words of Christianity
through the ages? Where are considerations of

the Trinity, Incarnation, Covenant, Atonement,
Redemption, Salvation, Sin, Offering, Judgment,
Worship, Sacrament, Sacrifice, Communion, and the
idea of the Holy?

One must say of Pealeism in all its manifestations,

paraphrasing Richard Bentley's comment about Pape's

translation of Homer, "It is a pretty religion,

Mr. Peale, but you must not call it Christianity!"18

iDr. A. Power Davies, pastor of All Souls'
Unitarian Church, Washington, D.C., is equally out-
spoken.

It has a sort of drug effect on people to be told
they need not worry. They keep coming back for
more. It keeps their minds on a superficial level
and encourages emotional dependency. It is an
escape from reality. People under stress tend to
do one of two things: seek shelter or respond

to harsh reality by a deeper recognition of what
they areuup against. The people who flock to
“peace of mind" preachers are seeking shelter.
They don't want to face reality. When you put
this kind of philosophy in a religious context,
you cheapen religion, and give a completely false
concept of Christianity. The good life is just
not that easy.19

 

18Edmund Fuller, "Pitchmen in.the Pulpit "
Saturdag Review 2; Literature, XL.(March 9, 1957),
PP. " 00

19William Peters, lgc cit., p. 94.

81

Some of the criticisms of Dr» Peale's theology
stem from sincere intellectual concern. Other criti-
cisms are the result of emotional thinking and ration-
alization. Often the accusation seems out of proportion
to the topic under discussion. The readiness of many of
Dr. Peale's critics to accept the notion that he has only
a single theme is traceable, in part at least, to the
title of his best seller: 2133 392122 p_f_ Positive Thinking.
Positive thinking and.Dr. Peale have become virtually
synonymous. Most of the criticisms of Dr. Peale stem
from reading his best seller --- few, if any, critics
have carefully analyzed the content of his Sunday sermons

or his counseling techniques.

The Case In Favor of Dr. Peale

Dr. Peale is aware of the covert and overt
criticism.of his preaching, and, to some extent, is
troubled by it. It is said even by his critics that
there is no arrogance in him, no tendency to ignore
criticism.or brush it aside. An example of this was
brought to light recently when Dr. Liston Pope, Dean of
the Yale Divinity School, Openly attacked the "peace of

mind cults.” ‘When asked by reporters to comment on the

82

accusations made by Dr. Pope, Dr. Peale replied that the
head of a great divinity school must be a sincere,
intelligent and honest man, and that be (Dr. Peale)
intended to re-examine his own methods and message in
the light of what Dr. Pope had said. If he found that
he was deviating in any way from the teaching of the
Gospels as he understood them, Dr. Peale told the news-
men, he would try to correct the error.
In defense of his own preaching techniques, Dr.

Peale feels that:

My message is based on.my understanding of our

Lord's teaching. .My’methods may seem overpOpular

to some of the intellectuals of Protestantism, but

I feel sometimes they are unable to communicate

332? fiiéifiriuifiuiitiifii’féope”’1“ largely hem“

Thus, one of the arguments in favor of Dr.

Peale's preaching is that he talks to millions where
scholars talk to handfuls. He has given hope to tens of
thousands of discouraged, shut-away people. He has
reached highly educated peOple who have for years been
missed by the scholarly pronouncements of ordinary

clergymen, but who have found a working faith through
him,

 

2OArthur Gordon, "The Case For 'Positive'

Faith,“ Redbook, cv (September, 1955). P. 25.

 

83

Those who favor his message say that it is
geared to the needs of ordinary man. The great
abstractions of religion.are diffuse and difficult;
most men must be content with less. In an editorial in
The Christian Herald, Dan Poling, the editor, said:

It was said of Jesus that the common people heard
him gladly. They heard him gladly because they
could understand him, because he spoke in the
vernacular -— the Aramaic, the language of the
streets and highways. And the man Peale both
lives and talks right down to the grass roots of
everyday life, where the common people and all
others live and move and have their troubled
beings.21

Consequently, when Dr. Peale is accused of
preaching an oversimplified version of Christianity,
one must ask: "Oversimplified for whom?" For the
theologian? Perhaps! For the divinity student? Again,
perhaps! But the rank and file of humanity, so say his
supporters, do not find that his message is over-
simplified. If it were, they would not flock to hear
him, or to read his books. They would be bored. There—
fore, do not find fault with him for not teaching post-
graduate courses; he is teaching primary. many more need

the primary lessons than need the postgraduate ones.22

 

21Arthur Gordon,.Minister‘£g Millions (Prentice-
Hall, Inc.: Englewood Cliffs, N.3., 1958), p. 256.

22Arthur Gordon, "The Case For 'Positive' Faith,"

lgo. cit., p. 24.

 

84

In.a sermon entitled "Spiritual Snobs," Dr.
Samuel M. Shoemaker, minister of the Calvary Episcopal
Church in Pittsburgh, made the following remark about
Dr. Peale :
His public addresses and books emphasize -—
overemphasize, I think -- the encouraging and
optimistic things about the Christian faith.
Heaven knows they are not hard to find! . . .
But surely no one can go very far wrong by
emphasizing the power of faith, or by thinking
that positive outlooks on life are better than
negative. Dr. Peale surely does not believe one
can be helped without God. 3
The followers of Dr. Peale also feel that the
critics, in their zeal to convict him of oversimplifying
and distorting Christianity, are themselves guilty of
oversimplifying and distorting. They ignore the
qualifications and warnings Dr. Peale gives in order
to prove a point in their favor.
A deep interest in psychiatry has characterized
Dr. Peale's ministry from the start. He was one of the
first churchmen to insist that religion and psychiatry
should and could complement each other. In this field
of mental health he has his champions as well as his
critics. One of his backers is Dr. Newton Bigelow,

former Commissioner of the New York State Department of

Mental Hygiene, who says:

 

23Ibid.

 

85

It's hard to overestimate the importance of what
Dr. Peale has done as a practical preacher using
new mass media. His methods have reached many
more people than are reached through the usual
counseling channels. This I know personally from
contacts with.many individuals.

Secondly, he has helped to establish psychiatry as

a 'respectable" branch of medicine, has demonstrated
the fact that, in order to help people, psychiatrists
and clergymen must often work together and has
assisted in putting a little godliness into the
practice of psychiatry.2

Even more outspoken is Dr. Smiley Blanton,
New York Psychiatrist who has worked with Dr. Peale for
over twenty-five years. He says that:

Dr. Peale is a great pioneer. He was one of the
first men -- if not the first -- to combine
the new science of human behavior known as depth
psychology with the discipline of religion. As
a result, he has been able to help more people
than either religion or depth psychology could
help, acting alone.

There are some people who are not helped by his
message. But there is no reason why a technique
valid for some should be condemned because it
doesn't benefit everybody.25
Dr. Samuel Cavert, Executive Secretary of the
World Council of Churches, said that while he thought
Dr. Peale's ideas might have been somewhat "oversold,"

he had no doubts whatever as to the man's integrity,

sincerity or the fact that his ministry was doing a

great deal of good.26

 

24Ibid., p. 94
25Ibid., p. 25.
2 Ibid., p. 96.

86

Writing to a colleague who had expressed unfavor-
able opinions of Dr. Peale, Dr. T. Christie Innes of the
Collingswood Presbyterian Church in Toledo, Ohio, said:

I am all for truth, profundity and breadth in
every minister's teaching. But I am as
conscientiously opposed to the superficiality of
brethren who cannot see and thank God for the
good there is in Dr. Peale's presentations, as
millions can testify, and see deep enough to for-
bear the cheap and easy method of lamenting his
work because it is not, in their view, all that
could be desired. Can we not have Dr. Peale do
his great "popular" work, and organize our
tremendous theologians to follow up with the
"fuller and deeper" insight they profess to
have?27

In Northampton, Massachusetts, the Reverend
Walter C. Couch, Jr., of the Florence Congregational

Church, said:

. . . scarcely a day of full pastoral counseling
goes by without some one's telling me just how
Norman Vincent Peale's spoken or written words
have been a great help in time of trouble or
sorrow and my observation is that the help thus
received has benefited these people 1n very
wholesome and ethical ways.

There is no doubt that there are thousands ---
and perhaps millions -—- of followers of Dr. Peale who
have found personal guidance and purpose in his theology.

Dr. Peale currently receives about 8000 letters per

27Ibid.

28Ibid.

87

week. These letters come from every state in the

United States as well as countries all over the world.

For the most part they are testimonials about how

Dr. Peale's books or sermons have given direction,

purpose, and meaning to life. In reference to these

letters, Grove Patterson, Dr. Peale's old boss, says:
It seems to me that Norman Vincent Peale is to be
measured by the definite results of his speaking
and writing. The "Peale Controversy" fades into
something pretty unimportant when one reads almost
any one of those thousands of letters received at
the church or the broadcasting studio or the
publishers' office. The lives of uncounted thou-

sands of men and women have been changed by the
Peale preaching.29

Theologically I may be unlearned, continues Mr.
Patterson, but I know a religion that works. In a
similar vein, Dr. S. Franklin Mack, executive director
of the National Council of Churches' Broadcasting and
Film Commission, came to Dr. Peale's defense. “It is

a constant rebuke to most of us in the leadership of the
Christian church today," he said, "that it cannot be
said of us as it was of Jesus that 'the common people

heard him g1adly.' No evaluation of Dr. Peale can

29Grove Patterson, "What Motivates Peale's
Critics?," Christian Herald, LXXIX, No. 1 (January,
1956) 9 PO 790

88

leave out of consideration the rapport he seems to have
with peeple in all walks of life."30

In conclusion, in the course of his ministry,
Dr. Peale has acquired many friends as well as enemies.
His enemies, however, do not seem to direct their
criticism at him personally -—- but rather at his
message. Yet at the same time it is difficult to
separate the message from the man. For the Peale-image
is not that of a great orator noted for his eloquent and
profound utterings. The Peale-image binds the men.with
his unique message -- a message which he has been
elaborating from.his early preaching career.

But where the critics are concerned, Dr. Peale
is willing to concede that perhaps he has made mistakes
of emphasis.

Maybe I have made it all sound too easy . . . .
That certainly wasn't my intention, because Chrlst-
ianity isn't easy; it's so tough that nobody

lives up to it fully. I always tried to emphasize
'that fact. And maybe I have stressed the tangible,
visible rewards of faith too much. But here again,

it wasn't because I was trying to appeal to selfish-
ness. It was because I've seen fantastic transfor-

mations take place in people who, through selff d
surrender and the agony of splritual change, fin
themselves and become integrated personalities.

30"Issue of Dr. Peale," Newsweek, XLV (February
21: 1955), p. 86.

89

I've seen these things happen over and over again.

I wanted everyone to know about them, to experiment
and find out for themselves.

The privilege of reaching great numbers of people
with this message is a gift the Lord has given me and
I have used it to the utmost of my ability. 31

 

31Arthur Gordon, ’Minister t___q Millions, op. cit.,
PP- 253-254. ""'

CHAPTER IV
DR. PEALE'S SERMON THEMES

Some ministers gain their reputations by
applying their religion to the betterment of social
conditions. Theodore Parker and Henry Ward Beecher, two
famous American ministers of the 19th century might be
thought of as falling into this category. Other
ministers are known for the beautiful style and imagery
of their language. A recent example in this category
would be Peter Marshall. Some ministers are known for
their scholarship or eloquence. A contemporary example
in this case would be Harry Emerson Fosdick.

Dr. Peale, however, did not gain his reputation
by delivering eloquent sermons, producing scholarly
dissertations, or championing great social causes. Dr.
Peale's reputation rose slowly over a lifetime of
preaching and focused on some unique themes which never
before had been popularly allied with Christianity. It
is for this reason that this study has chosen to deal
mainly with the themes presented in Dr. Peale's sermons.

There is no one great sermon which is the key to his

90

91

success -- rather it is the composite of ideas which
he has preached over and over again.

In order to analyze the themes of Dr. Peale's
sermons it was felt necessary to obtain as many
sermons as possible. Some sermons were collected from
friends and relatives, while others were received from
the Foundation for Christian Living, Pawling, New York,
and from Dr. Peale himself. According to personal
correspondence from Mrs. C.C. Peale of the Foundation
for Christian Living; Dr. Peale's personal secretary,
Mrs. Mary M. Creighton; and Dr. Peale himself, this
writer has the most complete collection of sermons that
they know to be available. These sermons number two
hundred and forty-nine, and date from 1946 to 1960.
Sermons are available from 1960 unto the present , but
January 1, 1961 was set as the arbitrary cut-off date
for this particular study.

After reading each sermon several times, it was
apparent that certain thematic categories tended to
emerge. The problem of establishing categories involves
the extraction of ideas or themes from the sermons and
specifically defining these themes. In this particular
case it was not only necessary to discover, but also to
define and re-define the indicators for each major

category. Accurate definition of both indicators and

92

thematic categories is a pre-requisite to a reliable
analysis. The goal, then, is the discovery or
selection of indicators which are completely, accurately
and clearly defined in relation to both categories and
content. The attainment of this goal is possible only
with "the definition and re-definition of indicators,
categories, hypotheses, and problems."1
In its simplest form the theme is an assertion
about the subject matter. Berelson decribes it as "a V
sentence (or sentence-compound), usually a summary or
abstracted sentence, under which a wide range of specific
formulations can be subsumed."2 The word "theme" is
used interchangeably by many writers with the terms

"assertion,"3 ”statement,"4 "Drapesition,"5 "idea."6

 

1Bernard Berelson, Content Anal sis in Communication
Research (New Yerk: American Rook—Stratford‘PPess, Inc., ”T‘
, pp. 163-1640

2Ibid., p. 138.

3Nathan C. Leites and Ithiel de Sola Pool, 9g,
Content Anal sis (Washington: Library of Congress,
Experimental Division for Study of Wartime Communications,
No. 26, 1942), cited by Bernard Berelson, Ibid., p. 138.

4Ibid.

5Lasswell and Associates, "The Politically
Significant Content of the Press Codin Procedures,"
Journalism Quarterly, XIX (March, 1942 , pp. 12-13.

6Ernst Kris and Hans Speier, German Radio
Propaganda (Oxford: Oxford University Press, I944), p. 41.

93

8 and "thema."9

"issue,"7 ”argument,“
Irving L. Janis feels that a thematic analysis
is one of the most productive types of content analyses
because:
The "thematic content" corresponds most nearly to
the over all signification of a communication . .
. . The assertions found in a communication are
the primary indicators of the intentions and
motives of the communicator. Similarly, the effects
which a communication produces on an audience are
primarily due to the assertions content.10
Thus we see that the revelation of speaker
objectives and the identification of speaker intentions
are likely to be revealed in the results of thematic
quantification. Since the theme takes the form of an

issue, a philosophy or an idea, it is generally regarded

 

1Douglas Wables and Bernard Berelson, What the
Voters Were Told: An Essay_ In Content Anal sis niver-
sity of Chicago: Graduate Library Schoo ,4), cited
by Bernard Berelson, op. cit., p. 138.

8Ibid.

 

9Irvin L. Child, Elmer H. Potter and Estelle M.
Levine, “Children's Textbooks and Personality Develop-
ment: An Exploration in the Social Psycholo y of Educa-
tion," Psychological Monographs, IX, No. 3 1946), p. 3.

10Irving L. Janis, "The Problem of Validating
Content Analysis," Langpige pf Politics, eds. H.
Lasswell, N. Leites and ssociates (New York: The
Cornwall Press, Inc., 1949), p. 57.

94

as one of the most important units of content analysis.
Some subject matter analyses which merely
measure the frequency of occurrence of certain themes,
clearly define these themes through the use of synonyms.
In such cases a high degree of definitional agreement is
obtained. In more complex studies, however, accurate
definition is difficult because of a wide variance of
opinion concerning connotative or denotative meaning of
the indicators. Of utmost importance, then, is the
attainment of agreement in definition. Bernard Berelson
explains ”content analysis stands or falls by its
categories . . . . A content analysis can be no better

than its system of categories."11

Thus, when the
thematic categories were finally formulated to the
satisfaction of the author, they were then submitted

to a test of reliability. In order for a system of
categories to be reliable, they must be arrived at
objectively by different analysts. In other words, the
term "reliability," as used here, means that "different
observers report the same thing."12 Operating under

11Bernard Berelson, 0p. cit., p. 147.

”Irving L. Janis, "The Problem of Validating
Content Analysis," op. cit., p. 56.

95

the same conditions, different coders should arrive at
the same conclusions.

Therefore, independent coders were employed to
meet the requirements of reliability. These coders
were (1) Mrs. Ruth H. Baldwin, a college graduate
with.a major in English, (2) Mrs. Shirley B. Coll,
also a college graduate with an English.major, and
(3) Mrs. Mary B. Broadhurst, a college graduate with a
major in psychology. These three coders worked with the
same selection of six sermons, but at different times
and different places. To be reliable, categories must
be consistent "among the analysts" as well as "through
time." In other words, a single coder or group of
coders should arrive at the same results even though a
lapse of time occurred between their codings.

The three coders were approached individually
by the author and the necessary instructions given. Each
coder was asked to note the thematic categories which she
felt emerged as she read the six sermons. A list of
categories was made by the coder for each sermon read.
At the conclusion of this test, the results were compared
with the categories arrived at by the author. These

results are itemized in Table 2.

96

TABLE 2.-—Reliability test
author/coder percentile agreement

 

 

 

 

Sermon Themes Coders Group
Numbersa Present 1 2 3 Reliability
144 12 76% 84% 69% 76%
136 9 88% 100% 100% 96%
137 10 80% 80% 70% 77%
138 8 100% 63% 87% 83%
139 11 90% 100% 100% 97%
132 14 78% 64% 78% 73%
Total 65 85% 82% 84% 84%

 

aSee Appendix A.

The high group reliability percentages are
encouraging indications that satisfactory selection,
designation and definition of thematic categories has
preceded the coding process. All three coders agreed
with the author on an average of more than 80% of the
time. This is significant since between 70% and 80%

agreement is quite usuable in content analysis.13

 

13Harold D. Lasswell, Daniel Lerner and Ithiel
de Sola Pool, The Comparative Stud of'Sypbols (Stanford:
Stanford‘University”Press, 195 , p{_62.

97

Even though agreement was high as to the designation
and definition of categories, the author was able to
utilize some of the ambiguities noted by the coders to
further define and clarify. Forty-one thematic
categories finally emerged as the basic content of the
preaching of Dr. Peale. Having attained reliable
agreement as to the designation of the separate cate-
gories, the investigation could proceed with little
doubt as to the validity of its results. Following are
the themes which emerged from the preaching of Dr.
Peale. As a matter of stylistic preference only, the
thematic categories are here placed in the phrase-
title form rather than in complete statement form;
however, specific form statements and theme-indicator
examples are included in their definitions.

1. The T113132 p; Action.--—"If ye know these
things (the will of God), happy are ye if ye do them.“
The trouble with many people is that they believe in
God's power in their lives, but they do not really
practice it. When you have a belief that something is
right, it is not enough to say "I believe that." You
must live and act according to your belief.

2. ‘Tpp_2pppgnpf.Adjustability.-~A person's

happiness and enjoyment in life is largely dependent

98

upon his ability to adjust to other people and external
situations. A person must be able to take things in
stride, to make the best of every situation.

3. Tpp.Tpppp_p§,Beliefs.--It is never necessary
to compromise one's beliefs in order to get ahead. A
person should be “himself" at all times. He should be
directed by his inner convictions, not by external
pressures to conform.

4. The Theme pf the Bible.--The Bible provides

 

infallible techniques, formulas, and methodology for
dynamic living. It is the most practical book ever
written because it answers every question leading to
spiritual, physical, and economic success. It is the
record of God's truth revealed to man.

5. Th§_Tng§ pf Christianity.--Christianity is
penetrating the life of our time as never before. Not
only is it being recognized as a scientific, intelligent,
and practical way of thinking and living, but it is
recognized as the answer to all the individual, state,
and social problems of the world. If you are not a
Christian, you are old-fashioned. If you are not a
follower of Jesus Christ, you are not in the mode.

6. The Theme pf Death.--The real person -—- soul

 

and mind --— is not destroyed by what man calls physical

99

death. The present day science of parapsychology offers
proof of spiritual life after physical death. Physical
death merely destroys the vehicle which has embodied
man's personality, soul, and mind while on earth.

But man's essence lives on in the "great cloud of
witnesses" that touch earthly man's life.

7. The Theme 2: Defeat and Fear.-—The accumu-

 

 

lation of fears destroys life. Many people are literally
_ crawling through life on their hands and knees. They
have no alertness, no snap, no vitality. Cares, fears,
difficulties, and troubles have overcome them and they
are stumbling through life half-defeated.

8. The Theme pf Dreams, Hopes. Desires.--A11

 

 

accomplishments, actions, and facts are stimulated first
by dreams. These dreams, hopes, and desires are the
very roots of creativity. They keep people physically
and mentally alive --- vivacious, alert, etc. Dr.
Peale is referring here to the conscious visualizing
in the mind of some future event ——- not dreams while
sleeping.

9. 21.1.9. $132192 93.; .212 Easy Ways—The easy way
is not to be desired. It will not accomplish anything
great. It will not be found in religion. It overlooks

the fact that wholeness of life is never achieved by

100

choosing the path of least resistance.

 

10. THE 2.19.9222 2f Enthusiasm.--One of the
greatest qualities a human being can possess is enthus-
iasm. It is a spiritual thing. It contributes to a
person's success, happiness, and vitality.

11. Thg 119.2189. 93 Mw-Faith is available to
everyone. It does not make any difference what
difficulty you have right now: physical, mental, spirit-
ual, business, or moral; if you will begin to bear upon
.it the power of faith without doubt, it can be solved.
The Bible is filled to overflowing with the truth that
faith conquers all, that by faith all things are achieved.
The secret, then, of building yourself a better future
is to attack it with faith.

12. T_1_'1_e_ M9; 99.9 .9319. Christ.-It is
through God and Christ that man can achieve wholeness
of his mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional
faculties. As ruler of all life --- whether spiritual
of material --- God and Christ provide an unending
supply of guidance and power. It is through God and
Christ that happiness, success, and dynamic living can
be achieved.

13. _T_h_e_ m 9.: the Grace _c_>_f_‘ Egg.-When all

else fails, when man has given his all and has not

 

101

succeeded, the Grace of God is still available to him.
No matter how sinful and underserving we are, the grace
of God makes our approach to God possible.

14. _T_I_1_§_ M _o_f_ Growth.-- Life means physical
as well as spiritual, mental and emotional growth; and
where there is no growth, there is no life; it has
subsided, ended. Don't stop growing -- don't stand
still. Examine your emotions and ideas; if they have
begun to crust over, smash them by a spiritual and
intellectual renewal. Help them begin to grow once
again.

15. The Theme pf Our Heritage.-The success of

 

our forefathers was due to their love of both freedom
and God. American society is decaying because of the
rot at its moral roots. It is because so many people no
longer know God as intimately as did their fathers.

16. The Theme pf Insecurity and Failure.—-

 

Insecurity and failure are an inevitable result of
growing up. As man matures, he learns to readjust to
the situations brought on by his failures and insecur-
ities. He learns that a belief and self-confidence in
his own ability can help him overcome his insecure

feelings and failures. A healthy person learns that

102

inferiority is basically nothing more than disbelief
in one's self.

17. ‘Tpg.gpgpg. f Integpersonal Relations.--
The persons we like the best in life are those who
bring out the best in us. Similarly, if we make other
people like themselves, they in turn will love us. In
order to "bring out the best in others," we must strive
‘to be objective, scientific in our relation with them..
We must avoid emotionalism and try to understand and
accept them for what they are.

18. _T_h_<-_2_ m _o_p Kindness.--—Kindness is an old
basic law of life that always gains results. Be kind
one to another, for kindness works wonders, makes one
happy inside, and gives power and delight on the outside.

19. The Theme pf the Kingdom pf Gad.--The
Kingdom.of God is within you -- within every man. It
is God's gift to all humanity --- available for the
asking.

20- salamalasmasasm ose.——
Life goals and purpose are essential for success. They
stimulate dynamic living. Many people fail in life
because they have no sense of direction, no system, no
guiding principles. They have no major cause or

beliefs to give meaning to life. To succeed, man must

 

103

find a cause and fight for it.

21. flagging 2:: M.-—Love is the greatest
healing power known to man. It is the way to get
along with other peOple, enabling man to live as did
Jesus. It is the greatest blessing known to producing
a normal, healthy life.

22. The Theme gghyan,--Every man is the unique

 

creation of God, created to live a life characterized
by joy, energy, and vitality --— to succeed in all
areas of life. Man's major concern is "living a better
life,” and spreading God's message throughout the world.
23. The Theme 93: Memory.-—By recalling to mind
the beautiful scenes and inspirations of his earlier
years, man is able to recharge his spirit and keep his

soul alive and vigorous.

 

24. The Theme 2§_Nature.--Learn to notice and
appreciate the beauty of nature. The beauty and
inspiration of nature is part of God's healing process.
It is given by God for every man's enjoyment.

25. .222.2§222H2£ Politics.-—Communism.will
eventually destroy itself because freedom, liberty
and the recognition of God are essential for sustanence.
Any nation built on force and authoritarianism will

perish.

104

26. The Theme 2: Potential Human Power.-—
Man never fully realizes his physical, mental, emotional
and spiritual capabilities. There exists in man powers
which can revitalize his life, which can recharge his
spirit and make him into a new man. But few men are
able to develop these God-given powers.

27. The Theme of Prayer.--Prayer does get

 

results. Properly utilized, it can revolutionize a
person's life. It is the basic method for problem
solving, bringing about guidance, illumination, and
problem solutions. A person who plans his life, and
keeps it planned, according to the instrument of
prayer, will achieve the best aims of life.

28. The Theme g£_Problems.-Problems are a

 

normal (essential) part of all life. Greatness stems
from meeting and conquering them. If people approach
problems in the right frame of mind, they can always
derive some good from them.

Though problems are very real in life, they
are not always revealed by a person's outward appear-
ance. A person is often calm on the outside but
chaotic on the inside. Through the help of God,
organizing one's life, and meeting problems head-on,

problems can be overcome.

105

29. The 2129. 2; Repentence and Housecleaning.-—-
It is never too late to repent and start anew --- to
better oneself. Only remember that resentments, ill-
will, hatreds, and other hurt-feelings quickly spread
and ruin the whole person. Therefore, confess your
failures, mistakes, hatreds, etc., and forget them,
Always move foreward. Do not dwell on past disappoint—
ments.

30. The Theme 2: Revelation and Wisdom.-—

 

 

Wisdom is often revealed by God in the form of a
"sudden thought or inspiration." It is not always
rational and at the time may appear completely unre—
lated to what had gone before --— an entirely new
idea -—— thus an inspiration or revelation from God.
31. The Theme _o_f Rhythm 9: ww-ln all life
there exists the mountain peaks as well as the valleys,
the goods as well as the bads. Periods of "ups" and
"downs" are always present. All life has its rhythm.
Fulness of life is achieved when life's rhythm is atuned
to the rhythm of God.

32. The Theme 2: Riches.—-Real riches are not

 

external or material riches. Real riches are spiritual
and internal in nature. They are riches that no man can

take away.

106

33. 2Q£.222§2.2§ SelféDiscipline.-—Nothing
really precious in this world is gained without a
measure of self-discipline and self—control.

34. 'Tee.ggeee'e£ Solitude.--The first step in
conquering any problem is to achieve a quiet and
peaceful mind. Not only does it help the mind to
operate at full capacity, but it is essential for the
development of self-confidence. The recognition of
God's presence creates the atmosphere of quietness
and peacefulness. Thus God is an essential element
in solitude.

35. glee Theme 93: Spiritual Living.--
Spiritual living is the source of real greatness. It
provides man with the necessary insight to understand
himself and others. Doctors recognize its value in
achieving physical and emotional health.

36. 1kg Theee e; Stewardship.--We must learn
to give or our time, talent, and money to others.
There is a law of abundance which states that we will
receive in proportion to our gifts to others.

The hardest but one of the most rewarding of
all gifts is the yearly tithe. This has been a
Biblical requirement down through the ages. One-tenth
of our income should still be donated to the church in

order that we may truly "feel" our giving to God.

107

37. ‘T§e_2heee.ef the Subconscious.—- A person's
life can be likened to an ice—berg. Seven-eighths of
it is always below the surface. Thus it is that defeat
or victory depends on one's subconscious attitudes.

God presides in the subconscious. Real security flows
from.the deep founded, inner level of the subconscious.
The subconscious is the foundation of our real self.

38. ‘Tge‘geeee.ef Thanksgiving.-The attitude
of gratitude is important in achieving wholeness in
life. Only by enumerating the many blessings bestowed
upon us can we fully appreciate the bounty of God.

39. 222.22222”2£ Thought and Mind Attitudes.-—
A person's thoughts and attitudes determine the situations
of his life. Many illnesses are the result of ill
thoughts and attitudes. They are psychosomatic.

Right (true, good) thoughts bring rightresults.
The person whose thoughts are positive gets positive
results, whereas the negative thinker leads a negative
life characterized by doom, gloom, and failure.

40. 2.12.9. 2.1.1.929. 2.1:. mm as mars-write
greatest truths in life are all characterized by
simplicity. Jesus outranks all the great intellects of
the world for one reason: He is able to take the most

complicated factors of truth and make them very simple.

108

41. The Theme eernowing Yourself.--To be
successful in daily living, a person must know himself.
He should objectively consider his attributes and
liabilities and be willing to change his ways .

Before a person can know other people and understand the
world about him, he must first of all understand and
know himself.

In the appendix to this study the reader will
find a complete list of the two-hundred and forty-nine
sermons with the date preached and sermon title. In
addition, a second section of the appendix itemizes each
sermon and the themes present in it. Both of these
lists are in chronological order.

As was pointed out earlier, the author was able to
use some of the ambiguities noted by the coders to assist
him in defining and clarifying the thematic categories.
The final list is made up of forty-one categories which
were determined by the author. Because of the high
group reliability, however, it was not felt necessary to
make any systematic adjustments for error and the
ultimate categories are not to be thought of as

composites.

CHAPTER V
AN ANALYSIS OF DR. PEALE'S SERMON THEMES

In order to analyze the themes of Dr. Norman
Vincent Peale's sermons, several different steps were
taken. The purpose of this chapter is merely to
describe these steps. Chapter VI will interpret the
findings and attempt to relate them to Dr. Peale's
life and preaching.
" a rank order of the themes was prepared.
)J}\}::2vflfliev5*4 r of themes is illustrated in Table 3.
revealed that of the forty-one themes
(Edéj? 2:}:Eiv44£*°¢”4” :onstitute the basis of the content in
“// rmons, seven themes appeared in 50% or
rmons. These themes were: (1) The God/
37%; (2) The Thought Theme, 65%; (3) The
53%; (4) The Faith Theme, 58%; (5) The
57%; (6) The Interpersonal Relations
1 (7) The Defeat/Fear Theme, 50%. This
or 17%, of Dr. Peale's basic themes

% or more of his sermons.

109

110
TABLE 3.-—Rank order of themes

 

 

 

 

Theme Thematic Occurrence
Title Rank e-Times Appeared Percentagea
God/Christ 1 242 97%
Thought 2 164 65
Prayer 3 156 63
Faith 4 145 58
Problems 5' 143 57
Interper. Rel. 6 125 50
Defeat/Fear 7 125 SO
Action 8 114 46
Rept./House. 9 104 42
Love 10 98 39
Man 11 98 39
Christianity 12 94 38
Potent. Power 13 92 37
Bible 14 86 35
Spirit. Life 15 85 34
Truth/Ri ht 16 67 27
Revelat. Wis. 17 65 26
Insec./Failure 18 63 25
Rhythm of Life 19 63 25
Solitude 2O 58 23
'Dreams 21 53 21
Beliefs 22 46 18
Subconscious 23 45 18
Goals/Purpose 24 39 15
Enthusiasm 25 38 15
Growth 26 38 15
Memory 27 33 13
Adjustability 28 33 13
Stewardship 29 32 13
Heritage 30 3O 12
Easy Way 31 29 12
Nature 32 29 12
Grace of God 33 28 11
SelféDisc. 34 26 10
Know Yourself 35 25 10
Kingdom of God 36 25 10
Thanksgiving 37 22 9
Death - 38 17 7
Kindness 39 17 7
Politics 40 12 5
Riches 41 12 5

aFigured on possible 249 sermons

111

Fourteen themes appeared in 20% to 49% of his
sermons and the remaining twenty themes appeared in
less than 20% of the sermons. In this last group,
eight themes appeared in only 10% of the sermons or
less. These eight were: (1) The Kingdom of God Theme,
10%; (2) The Know Yourself Theme, 10%; (3) The Potential
Power Theme, 10%; (4) The Thanksgiving Theme, 9%;
(5) The Death Theme, 7%; (6) The Kindness Theme, 7%;
(7) The Politics Theme, 5%; and (8) The Riches Theme, 5%.
Since it is only natural that certain themes
tend to occur more often in ministers sermons, the
forty-one themes were rated by seven people according
to a high or low probability of occurrence scale.
For example, if it can be expected that a Protestant
minister will talk about God in any given sermon, the
God theme would be marked "high probability of occurrence."
0n the other hand, it would not necessarily be expected
that a minister would talk about baking pies. Thus,
the Pie-baking theme would be marked "low probability
of occurrence." The coders for this exercise were: Mrs.
Polly Marshall, a housewife; Mr. Calvin Downs, a
minister in the Church of Christ; Mrs. Arvin Workman, a
high school teacher; Mr. Arvin Workman, a graduate

student in radio and television; Mr. Don Darnell, a

112

graduate student in the Department of General Commun-
ication Arts; Mr. Dan Wozniak, Assistant Director of

the International Cooperation Administration Seminars

on Communication; and the author of this study, an
ordained minister in the Methodist Church and teacher

of speech at the University of Connecticut. The above
seven people knew that Dr. Peale was the minister from
whom the themes were taken and also had their forty-one
themes titled, i.e., the God/Christ theme, etc. Since

it was felt by the author that this information might have
in some way prejudiced their answers, seven students in a
Michigan State University graduate readings' course

in Speech also performed the task. They, however, were
not told where or how the themes had been obtained, and
their themes were numbered but not titled. There proved
to be no significant difference between the rankings of
the two groups.

The composite of the coders' decisions is
presented in Table 4. Since it was felt that some of the
themes might be neutral --- i.e., be just as apt to occur
as not to occur, a "neutral" column was added. Also
added for the coders' convenience was a column entitled
"no Opinion." This column was for those coders who had
no opinion to eXpress on a given theme.

0n the basis of these decisions, the forty-one

themes were divided into three categories: (1) High

113
TABLE 4.--Theme probability of occurrence3

 

 

Theme PrOPablllty 0f Occurrence No

High Low Neutral

Opinion

 

Action
Adjustability
Beliefs

Bible
Christianity
Death
Defeat/Fear
Dreams

Easy‘Way
Enthusiasm
Eaith .

God/Chri st
Grace of God
Growth

Heritage
Insecurity/Failure
Interpersonal Rel.
Kindness
Kingdom of God
Goals/Purpose
Love

Man

Memory

Nature

Politics
Potential Power
Prayer

Problems
Repent/Houseclean
Revelation/Wisdom
Rhythm of Life
Riches
Self—Discipline
Solitude .
Spiritual Life
Stewardship
Subconscious
Thanksgiving
Thought
Truth/Right
Know Yourself

.4 —I
AU)

.4

NNUTLNUJ-P‘
QNGWAWWQQ

_b

-—L —l—l d—A AAA—SA
aawweAMOmdaOmaaawwemmmmOQAmes
.A—l

(p444
Awam ww mm wwaeqwm

44—3—3.)
N4

.8

mw-b-bNO-ac-te-(o
ewe emeAm wwmaammweAme wem

4
O

 

aAs rated by fourteen different coders.

114

Probability of Occurrence, (2) Neutral Probability of
Occurrence, and (2) Low Probability of Occurrence. Each
of the forty-one themes was designated to one of these
three categories according to the majority of decisions
by the coders. The theme was included in both categories
whenever a tie occurred. These three categories of the
forty-one themes are presented in Table 5.

Table 6 presents the most frequent designations
of the "High Probability of Occurrence," "Low Probability
of Occurrence," and "Neutral Probability of Occurrence,"
together with the percentage figure indicating how
frequently each particular theme occurred in the sermons
analyzed. From the study of this table one can arrive at
additional dimensions of understanding the themes used by
Dr. Peale. For example, the God/Christ theme occurs in
97% of Dr. Peale's sermons and is also placed in the "High
Probability of Occurrence" category most frequently by the
coders. Though this finding is significant, it is not as
significant as the fact that the Thought theme, which
occurred 65% of the time, was rated by the coders as a
"Low Probability of Occurrence" theme. It is the only
one of the themes occurring in more than 50% of the sermons
analyzed which was given a "Low Probability of Occurrence"

rating.

115

TABLE 5.-—Theme placement in
probability of occurrency category

 

 

Probability of Occurrence

 

Theme
High Low Neutral

1. Action x

2. Adjustability x
3. Beliefs x
4. Bible x

5. Christianity x

6. Death x

7. Defeat/Fear x

8. Dreams x
9. Easy Way x

10. Enthusiasm x
11. Faith x

12. God/Christ x

13. Grace of God x

14. Growth x

15. Heritage x

16. Insecurity/Failure x

17. Interpersonal Rel. x

18. Kindness x

19. Kingdom of God x

20. Goals/Purpose x

21. Love x

22. Man x

23. Memory x

24. Nature 1

25. Politics x
26. Potential Power x
27. Prayer x

28. Problems x

29. Repent/Houseclean x

30. Revelation/Wisdom. x

31. Rhythm of Life x

32. Riches X

33. Self/Discipline x

34. Solitude x

35. Spiritual Life x

36. Stewardship x

37. Subconscious x

38. Thanksgiving x

3 9 0 Thought X

41. Know Yourself x

 

TABLE 6.- High, low, neutral probability of

occurrence compared with theme frequency

 

 

 

Probability of Occurrence
Theme High Low Neutral %
1 . Action x 46%
2. Adjustability x 13%
3. Beliefs x 18%
4. Bible X 35%
5. Christianity x 38%
6. Death x 7%
7. Defeat/Fear x 50%
8. Dreams x 21%
9. Easy Way x 12%
1o. Enthusiasm x 15%
11. Faith X 58%
12. God/Christ x 97%
13. Grace of God x 11%
14. Growth x 15%
15. Heritage x 12%
16. Insecurity/Failure x 25%
17. Interpersonal Rel. x 50%
18. Kindness x 7%
19. Kingdom of God x 10%
20. Goals/Purpose x 16%
21. Love x 39%
22. Man x 39%
23. Memory x 13%
24. Nature 1: 12%
25. Politics x 5%
26. Potential Power x 37%
27. Prayer x 63%
28. Problems x 57%
29. Repent/Houseclean x 42%
30. Revelation/Wisdom x 26%
31. Rhythm of Life x 25%
32. Riches x 5%
33. Selvaiscipline x 10%
34. Solitude x 23%
35. Spiritual Life x 34%
36. Stewardship x 13%
37. Subconscious x 18%
38. Thanksgiving x 9%
39. Thought x 65%
40. Truth/Right x 27%
41. Know Yourself x 10%

 

117

Another step taken to understand in quantitative
terms the preaching of Dr. Peale was to prepare a
chart showing the percentage of occurrence of themes
over three year periods. This was done to study theme
trends and the fluency/stability characteristics of the
themes. Table 7 presents this chart and it should
be noted that a certain bias will tend to exist because
the sermons used were not in the strict sense randomly
selected. These were sermons which happened to be
available to the author. The 1949-51 period should
probably be disregarded as atypical because during this
period only four sermons were available.

In Table 8 the seven themes with a 50% frequence
of occurrence or more are charted by three year periods.
This was done to graphically illustrate the fluency/
stability of the seven basic themes found in Dr. Peale's
preaching. The rapid percentage increase in the
1949-51 period is due in part to the non-representative
sampling and should be regarded as atypical.

The next step taken was to prepare a contingency
chart showing the frequency of occurrence of each theme
with each other theme. Since this is a very time
consuming task when done by hand, the themes and their

presence or absence in any given sermon were coded for

 

 

 

 

 

119

TABLE 8.-—-Themes appearing in 50% or more of
the sermons, charted by three year periods

100
95 W/hfims‘r

90 I
I .
85 ,
80 I \
75 ’ . _— -

7o /' <:N" .\ ‘
65 V’f: \ \\: \T’Xf ’fiafi‘éas
\\ o a: o

60 o I.

' I ’ / FAm-t
55 /l I
50 ,1" I/ // \\.\\\ /\Tuou6fl1’
45 ’ ,/ /
40 .o /
35 ’
30 I/ / mfimeeksbuek
25 // RELATWNS
20 /

15
10

/ \~ Desist/F EAR

 

1946- 1949- 1952- 1955- 1958-
1948 1951 1954 1957 1960

(19)a (4) (69) (97) (63)

God/Christ
Thought ’-——-.———.———-.-—-—.-—
Prayer ----------------------
Faith-'0-"o""’o""'o-"o""o--o-"

Problems

 

 

 

 

Interpersonal Relations -—-—— -——- -——-—- --——.. _—
Defeat/Fear

8'Sermons available

 

120

use in.Michigan State University's Mystic computer.
Mr. Jack Prather of the Communications Research Center
and Mr. Jim.Clark of the computer laboratory assisted
the author in this coding process. After the Mystic
computer had processed the program, the contingency
chart was prepared. The contingency chart , Table 9,
has two major purposes. First, it provides the analyst
with an Opportunity to view the inter—relatedness of
the various themes. Of particular importance is the
contingency relationship among those themes which
appeared in 50% or more of the sermons. These themes

are presented in Table 10.

TABLE 10.--Seven major theme contingency

 

 

God/Christ 155 146 141 137 123 124
Thought 155 95 101 94 81 92
Prayer 146 95 86 87 8O 77
Faith 141 101 86 k 91 53 85
Problems 137 94 87 91 65 76
Interpersonal Relations 123 81 80 63 65 73
Defeat/Fear

as

:1

Kiss... 2- 919854
The
The

 

T/Ro

ngo

121

 

 

122

We see then that out of 249 sermons analyzed, the God/
Christ and Thought themes appeared together in 155 or
62% of them. Out of 249 sermons, the God/Christ and
Prayer themes appeared together in 146 or 59% of the
sermons. Etc.

The second purpose of the contingency table was
to assist the analyst in performing a linkage analysis
of the themes. Linkage analysis is a method of
clustering. "It can be used to cluster either people
or items, or any objects, for that matter, which have

1

distinctive-cluster characteristics." It is a method,

developed by Louis L. McQuitty, which arrives at
phenotypic types, or the surface characteristics of
clusters, and is closely allied to factor analysis.
Types correspond to factors and "linkage analysis"
sometimes yields results very similar to, or even

identical with, those of rotated factor-analytic

solutions."2

The fundamental difference between factor analysis
and elementary linkage analysis is in terms of the
assumed structure which is being investigated;

Thurstonian factor analysis is designed to isolate
simple structure, but linkage analysis is designed
to isolate typal structure. . . . '

1Louis L. McQuitty, "Elementary Linkage Analysis
For Isolating Orthogonal and Oblique Types and Typal
Relevancies," Educational and Psycholggical Measurement,
XVII (1957). pp. 207-229.

21bid., p. 207.

31bid., p. 212.

123

A typal structure can be defined as "one in
which every member of a type is more like some other
member of that type (with respect to the data analyzed)
than he is like any member of any other type."4 Thus,
each theme in a type tends to be more like the other
themes in that type than like the themes in other
types. In terms of coefficients of correlations be-
tween themes, every theme in a type would have a higher
correlation with some other theme in the type than it
would with any theme not in the type.5

Elementary linkage analysis defines the linkage
as "the largest index of association which a variable
has with any or all of the other variables.“6 In a
more sophisticated way it is "the largest index of
' association which a variable has with a composite of
all the characteristics of the members of a cluster."7
Thus, "every variable is assigned to a cluster in terms
of its highest index of association."8 The frequency
of occurrence of a theme is significant only in respect

to its highest index of association.

 

41bid., p. 209.

51bid., p. 213.
6Ibid.’ P. 208.

7Ibid.

81bid.

124

At this point a simple model would be helpful
in explaining how an elementary linkage analysis is
performed. Consider that there are nine themes with

a contingency as follows:

TABLE 11.-—Sample contingency table

 

 

. 61 23 15 19 40
92 23 56 11 93 18 7
47 23 20 15 76 54 33
2 78 5 8 .lg 91 50 41
56 20 8 30 61 27 ‘91
23 11 15 72 3O 7O 53 64
15 92 .19 91 61 71 50 1
19 18 54 51 27 53 50 61
4o 7 33 4o _9_1_ 64 1 6O

92, 47

U'IICDN

HZCQVIJMUOWP
O\

 

The first step in performing a linkage analysis
is to mark the highest occurrence of each theme. Thus,
the highest frequency occurrence of theme A would be
95%, of theme B would be 95%, of theme C would be 76%,
of theme D would be 78%, of theme E would be 91%, of
theme F would be 72%, of theme G would be 92%, of theme
H would be 60%, and of theme I would be 91%. The

highest frequency of all would be the frequency of

125

occurrence between themes A and B. Since these two
themes would be reciprocal, each having a frequency
with each other of 95, they would be written as
follows:

A B

 

Themes A and B mark the beginning, then, of the first
type or cluster. Since theme A does not occur with
any other themeh highest frequency, we shall forget
it and move on to theme B. Theme B also occurs with
themes D and G. Theme D, in turn, occurs with theme
F; and theme G occurs with theme C. Thus, our type
or cluster has now grown to look as follows:

Type I
B
\H

Since, as in the case with theme A, there are no other

 

A

themes which have their highest frequency occurring
with F or C, we can conclude that this is our first
type or cluster of themes. You.will notice that we
are still missing themes E, H, and I. Now we will
repeat the same procedure again using these themes.

The highest frequency of the remaining themes
Theme E is not linked to any

Thus,

would be themes E and I.
other theme while theme I is linked to theme H.

126

type or cluster two will be diagramed as follows:
Type II
E%—-—-——I-—-—-—H
Table 12 presents a chart of the clusters of
themes in Dr. Peale's sermons. The God/Christ theme
has been purposely left out of this chart because:
One should not admit any items which all Ss
have answered in the same direction, i.e.,
unanimous items, based on the logic that the
meaning of such items is indeterminate.
Preferably items with cuts more extreme than
90 - 10 should be avoided to obviate spuriously
high Rs. If many items with extreme cuts are
admitted, the first dimension will be a

general one with little differentiation in scale
scores among Ss.9

Even though this quote is in reference to a multiple
scalogram analysis it is still applicable to linkage
analysis since cuts more extreme than 90 - 10 would
affect the co-variance of the scores.

From this chart some interesting relationships
can be seen. Themes 7. 39, 17: 17 and 11 seem to be
major themes around which other themes cluster.

Theme 7 (Defeat/Fear) is most frequently presented

 

 

 

SMultiple Scalogram Anal sis (Computation Report
1): Type Complete Program E569E, Library Routine K9M:
1c 1gan State n vers ty igi al Computer Laboratory,

(may 27. 1960). p 5.

 

127

TABLE 12.-- Linkage analysis
of Dr. Peale's themes;a

 

 

l.
3.
t 4.
35.

17. I.R.

 

39. Tho.

38.
41.
20.

27. Pra.

 

21. Lov.

22 o Lian

26..
g£~14.

P.P. 11. Fai.

 

Gr°‘ 29. R/H.

 

     

i
S

< 34 Sol.
40. T/R.

{

 

19.
16.
14.

p
I/

Gro.

15.
18.
23.
25.

Her.

  
    
 
 
  
  
   

Kin.
Mem.

P01.

2. Adj.
5 Chr.

8 Dre.

 

 

13. G. G.

6. Des.
90 Bony.

32. Rio.

 

aThe parenthesis indicates that all the themes
it encloses appeared most frequently with the theme to
the left; for example: the highest co-occurrence of
theme 10 is With theme 39; the highest for theme 19 is

with theme 7; etc.

128

with themes 19 (Kingdom of God), 16 (Insecurity/
Failure), 14 (Growth), 10 (Enthusiasm), and theme
39 (Thought).

Theme 11 (Faith) most frequently attracts theme
16 (Insecurity/Failure), theme 9 (Easy Way), theme
32 (Riches), and theme 39 (Thought).

Theme 27 (Prayer) is the major theme in the
cluster of themes 40 (Truth/Right), 34 (Solitude),
13 (Grace of God), 8 (Dreams), 5 (Christianity),

2 (Adjustability), and again theme 39 (Thought).
Theme 17 (Interpersonal Relations) is the
cluster focus for themes 15 (Heritage), l8 (Kindness),
22 (Memory), 25 (Politics), 21 (Love), and theme 39

(Thought.).

It is interesting to note that almost all of
the remaining themes as well as the theme clusters
relate directly or indirectly to theme 39.

In summary, the themes of Dr. Peale were put
through the following tests. First, they were
arranged in a rank order analysis which.enabled the
author to determine the most frequently occurring
themes. From.this chart it is also possible to make
inferences concerning the basic theology of Dr. Peale.

Second, the forty-one themes were coded by 14 different

129

people in order that they might be placed in either

a high or low probability of occurrence category.

The purpose of this was to distinguish those themes
which one could expect a Protestant minister to

speak about from those themes which one would not
expect to hear from a Protestant pulpit. Third,

a table was prepared to show the frequency of occurrence
of themes in three year periods beginning with 1946
and ending with 1960. This was done to help

determine the stability of Dr. Peale's preaching. In
essence, did his themes fluctuate from year to year, or
were they relatively constant? The next step taken was
to prepare a contingency chart showing the frequency

of occurrence of each theme with each other theme.

This chart enabled the researcher to view the inter-
relatedness of the various themes. From this step, the
final step was possible. Using the contingency chart,
a linkage analysis was performed on Dr. Peale's

themes. The linkage analysis enabled the author to
cluster the themes into meaningful relationships
conveniently. Chapter VI will now attempt to interpret

these findings.

 

CHAPTER VI
CONCLUSION

Chapter V merely describes the steps through
which the author went in order to analyze the themes
of Dr. Peale's sermons. No value statements or
interpretations were made in reference to the find-
ings. Chapter VI will now attempt to interpret these
findings and relate them to Dr. Peale's life and
preaching. .

Seven themes seem to constitute the basis of
the preaching of Dr. Norman Vincent Peale. These
themes occurred in 50% or more of the sermons used in
this study. Six of these themes are general — high
probability of occurrence themes which one could expect
to hear from any given Protestant pulpit. These six
themes are as follows:

1. The God/Christ Theme.-—The theme with the

 

highest frequency of occurrence was the God/Christ
heme which appeared 97% of the time. Thus, it can
be predicted that in most every sermon Dr. Peale will
speak about the omniscience, omnipotence, and

omnipresence of God. In God and Christ man finds the

130

 

 

131

key to wholeness of his mental, physical, spiritual,
and emotional faculties. As the ruler of all life
--- whether spiritual or material --— God and Christ
provide an unending supply of guidance and power;
and through God and Christ man achieves a state of
happiness, success, and dynamic living.

2. The Prayer Theme.-—The Prayer theme
occurred 63% of the time. Dr. Peale feels that
prayer does get results. It is the basic method for
problem solving, bringing about guidance, illumination,
and problem solutions. Properly utilized, it can
revolutionize a person's life. A person who plans
his life, and keeps it planned, according to the
instrument of prayer, will achieve the best aims of
life.

3. The Faith Theme.--The Faith theme occurred

 

in 58% of the sermons. Dr. Peale feels that the
secret of building a better future is to attack it
with faith. The Bible, he says, is filled to over-
flowing with the truth that faith conquers all, that
by faith all things are achieved. It does not make
any difference what difficulty you have right now:
physical, mental, spiritual, business, or moral; if

you will begin to bear upon it the power of faith

132

without doubt, it can be solved.

4. The Problem Theme.--The Problem theme,
appearing in 57% of the sermons, defines problems as
a normal and essential characteristic of all life.
Though on the external surface some people appear
to have no problems, internally their life is tense
and chaotic. Greatness stems from meeting and con-
quering problems and through the help of God,
organizing one's life, and meeting problems head-on,
they can be overcome.

5. The Interpersonal Relations Theme.--

The Interpersonal Relations theme occurred 50% of the
time. In this theme Dr. Peale was concerned with
getting along with other people. The persons we like
the best in life are those who bring out the best in

us. Similarly, if we make other people like them-
selves, they in turn will love us. In order to "bring
out the best in others," we must strive to be objective,
scientific in our relation with them , and we must
avoid emotionalism and try to understand and accept
them for what they are.

6. The Defeat/Fear Theme.-The Defeat/Fear
theme also occurred in 50% of the sermons. Here Dr.
Peale spoke of the fact that many people are literally
crawling through life on their hands and knees. The

133

accumulation of fears has destroyed their life. They
have no alertness, no snap, no vitality. Cares,
fears, difficulties, and troubles have overcome them
and they are stumbling through life half-defeated.

The six themes just discussed, then, are themes
which do not necessarily distinguish.Dr. Peale from
any other Protestant minister. They are themes which
one could expect to hear from any Protestant pulpit.
What is significant is that Dr. Peale has chosen to
speak on these themes at least 50% or more of the
time. Because of this emphasis on the part of Dr.
Peale, it can be assumed that these six themes play
a major role in his theology.

The second most frequently occurring theme was
the Thought theme. This theme occurred in 65% of the
sermons read and was rated as a specific—low probability
of occurrence theme by the coders. This high percentage
of occurrence of a theme which is not necessarily
thought of as a typical ministerial theme would appear
to differentiate Dr. Peale from the average Protestant
minister. In other words, this theme, which consti-
tutes one of the basic nhessages of Dr. Peale's
sermons, appears to be different from themes which one

might expect to hear in a typical Protestant church.

134

This theme is the message that thoughts and mind atti-
tudes determine the situation of a person's life.
Thus, a person becomes what he "thinks." The person
whose thoughts are positive gets positive results,
whereas the negative thinker leads a negative life
characterized by doom, gloom, and failure.

Through the process of linkage analysis, the
Thought theme emerges as the main cluster focal point.
No matter what other theme is introduced, the Thought
idea is either directly or indirectly related to it.
The Thought theme appears to be the most outstanding
and significant cha~acteristic of Dr. Peale's preaching.
He finds a tremendous source of energy in the psycho-
logical concept of positive thinking --- a source of
energy which could realign the direction of the soul and
bring purpose and meaning to a troubled life.

The theme is nothing new or original with Dr.
Peale. The Bible tells us that "As a man thinketh, so
is he." The great stoic philosopher, Marcus Aurelius,
said: "Our life is what our thoughts make it." Ralph
Waldo Emerson felt that "A man is what he thinks about
all day long." In the more modern world, Menninger
insisted that "Attitudes are more important than facts."

The voice of William James instructed mankind that

135

"The greatest discovery of my generation is that human
beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes
of mind." Dr. Peale read frequently from the works of
these great men, but in his searching and reading of
psychiatric literature he came across a sentence that
seemed to state these principles even more explicitly:
"In physics, the basic factor is force, in psychiatry,
the basic factor is the realizable wish."1
It is around this concept of the "realizable

wish" that Dr. Peale molds his sermons. He feels
that the mind can not directly control the circum-
stances that surround it. But it can control the
attitudes of the individual to such circumstances.
Since the most effective mind—conditioner known to man
is religion, so Dr. Peale feels, it is only natural to
make use of religion to change attitudes and, ultimately,
circumstances.

With God's help you can do amazing things in

your life if you want to do so with all your

heart, which means with all of your deep desire

and real faith. You are master of your life

--- God and you.2

Thus, for Dr. Peale, success or lack of

 

1Arthur Gordon, Minister fie Millions (Prentice-
Hall, Inc.; Englewood Cliffs, N.J., I958), p. 228.

2Norman Vincent Peale, "Are We Usin the Power
God Has Given Us?," Reader's Di est, LXXI September,
1957), p. 130.

136

success depends largely on the condition of a man's
mind. He cites example after example that the
basic teachings of Christianity -—- love, kindness,
unselfishness, and service --- are stronger than
negative thoughts. A positive thought implanted in
the mind , such as love or kindness, can drive out
negative thoughts and keep them out.

The following example is cited as an illus-
tration of Dr. Peale's phil050phy at work. After a
sermon preached at the Marble Collegiate Church , an

elder of the church came forward and said to Dr.

Peale:

That was an interesting sermon, Doctor, . . . .
Very interesting. I'm sure a lot of the congre-
gation went away feeling quite pleased With
themselves. But tell me --- is that really the
function of the pulpit, to remind people of how
good they are? I should have thought it was just
the reverse, to remind them of their shortcomings,
the need for change, the necessity for improve-

ment.
Dr. Peale's reply was:

There's evil in all of us as well as good. I
know that, and from time to time I Will say so.
But I think God wants His children to live .
fully and gladly. Pedple can't be effective if
they're frightened and discouraged.

To this the elder replied:

They won't be better people if they lose their
humility. In effect, this morning, you were
counseling those people to lift themselvesmby .
their own bootstraps. It can't be done. wishing

won't get an unemployed man a job.

 

 

137

Dr. Peale replied again:

No, . . . wishing won't. But confidence often

will. Unless a man believes in himself, nobody

else is going to believe in him. If a man has

lost faith in himself, it won't help him much

if I stand up in the pulpit and tell him that

he's a miserable worm, . . "3

Dr. Peale was once again voicing the opinion
of the great psychologist and philOSOpher, William
James: "Believe that you possess significant reserves
of health, energy and endurance, and your belief will
help create the fact."4
It is becaise Dr. Peale has placed just such

importance on the Thought theme that he has been
attacked by many critics. Most of the critics say
that he has subordinated God to the will of man. He
has made man the complete master of his fate.
Apparently the critics are overlooking the total
message of Dr. Peale, however, for in 62% of the sermons
studied the Thought them and the God/Christ theme are
both discussed together. Although the Thought theme

is the focal point of his message, it is not presented

 

3Arthur Gordon, op. cit., p. 159.

4Norman Vincent Peale, "Priceless Power of
Enthusiasm," Reader's Digest, LXXII (March, 1958),
p. 36.

 

138

in isolation, but only integrated with other themes
which are a part of the more usual Christian message.
A look at Table 9, the contingency analysis, will
reveal the frequency with which the Thought theme
occurs with other themes. Since the Thought theme
distinguishes Dr. Peale from other contemporary
Protestant ministers, however, and is representative of
a somewhat unique approach to religion, the critics
have aimed their fire in that direction.

Dr. Peale feels that preachers everywhere could
have larger congregations if they gave more attention
to teaching a practical, workable message. He feels
that the minister of today must not only be a
businessman but a scientist in his own right --- a
therapist who applies spiritual and psychological
truths in helping people to adjust in a healthful and
creative manner to the life of this world.

Thus, Dr. Peale has adapted Christianity to
meet the needs of this world as he sees them. As a
result, he has placed great emphasis on the solving of
problems. His sermons are nearly 100% problem-solving
sermons. They do not deal with the dogma and doctrine
of the church. In order to sell religion he feels that

the minister must describe his product in easily

 

139

understandable terms and make it meet the customer's
needs and deep desires. It is to this end that he
directs his attention. A subject is important only
if it has direct, immediate, and practical usage for
the members of his congregation. Therefore,
practically all of Dr. Peale's themes can be tied
directly to the solving of problems. A quick review
of the sermons listed in Appendix A will reveal the
nature of these problems: "How to Overcome Anxiety,"
"How to Combat Fear," "How to Stop Worrying," etc.
By analyzing the results of the linkage
analysis, it appears tiat each one of the clusters has
a negative-positive or problem-solution aspect. This
problem-solution quality is inherent in the clusters
which form. Also, the focal point of the cluster is
in some way amplified, intensified, or clarified by
its surrounding themes. The Defeat/Fear theme is a
focal point theme and presents a problem which many
people face. The surrounding themes give the answer
to this problem. For example: In order to overcome
a feeling of defeat and fear, a persom.must accept
the Kingdom of God which is available to him; grow
physically, spiritually, and emotionally; understand

that insecurity and failure are a normal process of

 

140

growing up; become enthusiastic about the life around
him by changing his thoughts and mind attitudes to a
positive rather than a negative nature. Also, faith
comes when a person seeks to understand, accept and
believe in himself; when a person forgoes the easy,
worldly way and puts his emphasis on the development
of spiritual riches; and when a person changes his
negative thoughts to positive ones.

In telling how to overcome a problem, Dr.
Peale presents specific techniques, methods, and
formulas. He feels that by earnestly and sincerely
attempting to find the will of God, and a stronger
foundation for faith, people will necessarily have to
eliminate their wrong—doing, and undergo a self—
examination for traces of the pride, envy, malice, or
hatred that blocks the flow of spiritual power. He
feels that this power is present -- available to all
peeple. Christianity, he says, is a dynamic religion.
It works -—— when it is worked. Simply put, Dr.
Peale declares that belief in God, if it is not
instinctive, can be acquired by working for it. For
this reason he tries to tell exactly what work is
necessary to obtain belief in God. He presents his

explanation of how to overcome a problem.and documents

 

141

it with many personal examples of friends who have
tried his methods and have succeeded. His examples
Speak freely of the material as well as spiritual
rewards they receive. Though he is often criticized
for his emphasis of the material rewards, he says he
does not refer to them through selfishness, but
because "I've seen fantastic transformations take
place in people. . . ."5

Man does play an important role in Dr. Peale's
preaching. Dr. Peale's appeal to self-interest is
strong, and some of the promises made seem large.
Apparently Dr. Peale accepts at face value the state-
ment of Jesus: “If you have faith, nothing shall be
impossible unto you." He believes that Jesus meant
exactly what he said --— literally, factually, and
completely.

Even though Dr. Peale's fame has spread
greatly and achieved its peak since 1946, this success
cannot be attributed to his introduction of new
themes, ideas, or philosophies. Rather, it can be
attributed to the fact that his message has been
slowly and steadily disseminated via mass communication

5Arthur Gordon, op. cit., pp. 253-254.

 

142

throughout the country. Table 7 presents a chart
showing the percentage of occurrence of themes over
three year periods from 1946 to 1960. Though the
chart is not representative due to the non-random
selection of the 249 sermons, it can safely be used

to show the relative stability of Dr. Peale's

themes. The significance of the chart is that it
indicates that Dr. Peale's message has not changed

to any marked degree in the last 14 years. He is
preaching today on the same themes he used in the late
1940's, and the frequency of their usage is relatively
the same. The man became associated with an idea and
with the acceptance of the idea came also the success
of the man.

Although the following observations are not
directly a part of this study, it is perhaps of
interest to relate some additional points concerning
Dr. Peale's sermons. For example, it appears that Dr.
Peale took to heart the early advice given him by
Grove Patterson and his father. His over-all sentence
structure seems to be direct and simple and the words
are assembled and related so as to convey thought with
an economy of effort. The sentences are short but do

not suffer from a choppy or staccato pattern. Other

143

than their shortness, Dr. Peale's sentence structure
is best characterized by a "normality" or "well-round—
edness," since there appearr to be no outstanding
features which call attention to themselves.
"Simplicity" is the key descriptive word in
this discussion of his style. His sentences appear
to be designed to communicate thought, and there is
little or no embellishment that might get in the way.
The use of the simile, metaphor, alliteration,
hyperbole, and allegory is kept at a minimum. On one
occasion, after a sermon, a member of the congregation
came forward and asked why Dr. Peale had made no
reference to the Blood of the Lamb. Dr. Peale
countered by asking just what the man meant by the Blood
of the Lamb. The man said he didn't know, but that all
the good preachers he had ever heard talked about it.
Dr. Peale's reply was:
Look, . . . I know what is meant by the Blood
of the Lamb, even if you don't. The reason I
don't use the old religious terminology is that
most of my listeners wouldn't understand it any
more than you do. There wouldn't be much point
in my getting up there and talking to them in
French or German, would there? I try to use

language and ideas that every person in my
audience can understand.

6Ibid., p. 252.

144

Perhaps the outstanding characteristic of his
style is his extensive use of the illustration. It
would be safe to say that his illustrative material
usually consumes from one—third to two-thirds of his
text. For the most part his illustrations are drawn
out of his own personal experience. He feels that the
minister should be able to justify everything he says
in the pulpit through laboratory experience. "I'm
afraid of theoretical stuff in that field. You haven't
any right to fool around with theory there."7 His
illustrations are down to earth, homey illustrations
used mainly for expository purposes in an effort to
amplify, intensify, and clarify. "I preach out of my
yesterdays," he once said to a friend. He feels that
people like this; that not only do they recognize the
ring of authenticity, but also they are reminded of
similar experiences in their own lives. In order to
make the illustrations as effective as possible, he
weaves into the story elements of history, human

interest, bits of dialogue, and humor.

 

7L. Nichols, "Talk With Dr. Peale," New York
Times: Book Review Section, October 31, 1954, p. 18.

 

145

It can be said, then, that Dr. Peale's style
is a personal one, directed in a conversational
language to his congregation. It is simple, direct,
concise, and unadorned.

In summary, this rhetorical and thematic anal-
ysis of the preaching of Dr. Peale has accomplished
the following: (1) It has attempted to trace the
deve10pment and growth of Dr. Peale as a public speaker
and preacher. In this biographical section the
philosophy of Dr. Peale concerning speechmaking
was also presented.

It can be concluded from this analysis that
Dr. Peale's message is not inconsistent with his
background. Even such a selective study of his
biography as this has been readily reveals the infli—
ence of both a severely Protestant (Methodist) upbring-
ing, and the influence of much contact with the world
and its problems. Dr. Peale's theology is not unex—
pected, then, nor is his concern for human beings.
Naither are his showmanship, nor even his unquestioned
ability as a speaker and writer, for these aspects of
his life and personality are also reflected in his

biography.

146

(2) It has presented both favorable and un-
favorable comment concerning Dr. Peale, raising the
question which the later thematic analysis was designed
to answer.

(3) It has analyzed the sermon themes in detail,
identifying seven themes used by Dr. Peale in 50% or
more of the sermons considered. In addition, when
analyzed over a fourteen year period, these seven themes
were found to remain relatively constant from year to
year. Thus, it can be said that Dr. Peale has consistent-
ly presented his point of view throughout the entire
period, 1946-1960.

The one characteristic theme which seems to
differentiate Dr. Peale's preaching from tiat of other
Protestant ministers is his emphasis of what has been
called Thought. Linkage analysis has shown that,
although the Thought theme is the focal point of his
message, it is not presented in isolation, but only
integrated with other themes which are a part of the
more usual Christian message.

It should be noted, however, that this study has
been concerned mainly with the surface characteristics
of themes. For example, only their presence or absence

in a sermon was coded. Then, through linkage analysis,

147

the themes were shown to gather in certain clusters in
which they tended to be more like each other member of
the cluster than like the themes in any other cluster.
As a consequence of these analyses, one implication of
the results obtained is that each theme is of equal
importance in terms of its emphasis in the sermons;
whereas, in reality, the underlying subtlties of theme
emphasis are not necessarily revealed by the techniques
used in the study.

Therefore, for future research, two questions are
worth mentioning. The first is: Did the critics of Dr.
Peale become so biased by his presentation of the
Thought theme that they overlooked the other six themes
which occurred with it? In other words, did their
expectation of what a Protestant minister should preach
become so disrupted by the introduction of the alien
Thought theme that they could no longer detect the
conservative theology of the other six themes which
occurred in more than 50% of his sermons? If such is the
case, and it is not unlikely in view of the response of
the fourteen raters concerning whether or not they
would expect this theme in a Protestant sermon, then we
can find no fault with the method used in this study.

Many people clearly think of Dr. Peale as presenting only

147 A

only one-theme-sermons (the "power of positive thinking")
and a ready implication is that the introduction of an
idea beyond the limits of their expectation caused a
bias to enter into their perception.

The second question is: is there a deficiency in
the method used for this study? Is it possible that
this method of thematic and linkage analysis is not
sufficient to get at the subtle emphases of themes?

Even though the Thought theme and God/Christ theme
appeared together in a sermon, and, thus, were given
equal rating, is it possible that the Thought theme was
really the main point being made and that the God/Christ
theme was incidental to it? (or, for that matter, the
reverse!) If such is the case, then it should be noted
that a more accurate way to handle this subtlty of
emphasis would be to work with smaller sampling units
--- such as a sentence or paragraph rather than an entire
sermon. In this study, however, the seven principal
themes occur so frequently that the question of their
relative importance and emphasis does not seem

especially crucial.

147 B

This dissertation, then, has taken a minister
with a controversial public image as reflected largely
in print, and has sought through a quantitative thematic
analysis to reject or confirm the public image. The
main conclusion is that the public image is essentially
correct, but only up to a point. In other words,
although his critics tend to isolate the ideas contained
in Dr. Peale's Thought theme , Dr. Peale does not.

In his sermons the Thought theme is never presented in
isolation, but is consistently embedded in what can only
be described as a primarily conservative Protestant
theology.

The implication of this study is that through
a quantitative analysis of themes, a congruity rating
can be made between the content of a public speaker's
message and the public image he presents. With this in
mind, many opportunities for similar studies exist,
concerning both historical and contemporary figures.

In a day when we are becoming increasingly aware of the
power of the image a persuader projects, we are also
finding it increasingly necessary that we be able to
examine these "images" objectively. Thematic analysis
seems to offer a defensible means of making such

examinations.

Number

10

11

12

13

APPENDIX A

Identification.of Sermons

Date Delivered Title
12/25/46 "How to Make 1947 a Great

Year"

1947 "A Sure Answer For All Your
Problems"

1947 "The Art of Being Popular”

1947 "It's Amazing How Wonderful
Life Can Be"

1947 "How To Change Unsatisfactory
Situations“

1947 ”You Can.Rise Above Every
Failure“

1947 "How To Be An.Intereating
Personality"

1947 "Try Kindness --- It Works
Wonders”

1947 "We Have Not Lost Those Who
Have Died"

1948 "Living At Peace With Your-
self and Others"

1948 "Technique For Solving Your
Personal.Problems"

1948 'Dontt Stumble Through Life
Half Defeated; LiIe With
Power"

1948 "You Can.Adhieve Your

Cherished Hopes"

148

Number

14

15
16

17
18
19
20
21
22
23

24
25

26
27

28

29
30
31

32

Date Delivered
1948

1948
1948

1948
1948
1948
1949
10/28/51
li/la/Bi
12/23/51

2/17/52
2/24/52

3/ 2/52
3/ 9/52

3/16/52

3/23/52
5/ii/52

5/18/52

a/2i/52

149
Title

“Method For Getting Over Hurt
Feelings"

"Prescription for Heartache"

”Never Think of Yourself As
Beaten"

"How To Successfully Meet A
Crisis“

"Whatever Ybu.Do, Donfit Stop
Growing“

"The Greatest Thing in This
Country“

"Live With.Anticipation, Not
Apprehension”

"Faith Attitude Overcomes
Every Difficulty"

"How To Increase Your Chances
For A Better Future"

"How To Keep Your Christmas
Joy”

“Self-Confidence Can Be Yours"

"The Happiest Day of Your
Life"

"Try Asking God"

"A Secret of Energy and
Vitality“

"New Heart When You‘re Dis-
heartened"

"Throw Aside All Your Fears"

"How To Keep Inspired and
Zestful”

"What To Do When Things
Upset You“

“Key to Successful Living"

Number
33

34

35

36

37
38

39
40

41
42

43
44
45

46

47

48

49

50

51

Date Delivered
lO/12/5 2

11/ 9/52
11/23/52
12/14/52

12/21/52
12/28/52

1/11/53
1/25/ 53

2/22/53
3/ 1/53

3/ 8/53
3/15/53
3/22/53

4/ 5/53
4/12/53
5/10/53
5/17/53
5/31/53

9/26/53

150
Title

"Impressions After Preac
Twenty Years on 5th Ave.”

"A Safe Course Through Life's
Storms"

"Effect of YOur Religion'Upon
Your Health"

"The Blessing of.A Quiet
Mind"

"No Wonder We Leve Christmas"

"How To make Your Future What
YOu Want"

nNo Situation is Ever Hopeless"

"How To Attract New Opportuni-
ties and Friends"

"Look and Feel YOur Best"

"Turn Your Back On Your
Failures"

"Relief From.Anxiety"
"making Things Turn Out Right"

"You Can Rise Out of Dis-
couragement"

"No Fear of Life, No Fear of
Death”

"Your Wish For Happiness Can
Come True“

"Enthusiasm Will Do Wonders
For Yen”

”Getting Rid of Your Unhappy
Thoughts"

“Change YOur Life Through
Positive Thinking"

"Lose Your Fears Through
Faith"

/’//,

jflwmber

52
53
54
55
55

57
58
59

6O

61
62

63

64

65

66

67
68

69

Date Delivered

10/ 4/53
10/ 5/53
10/11/53
10/25/53
11/ 1/53

11/ 8/ 53
11/15/53
11/25/ 53

11/26/53

11/29/ 53
12/13/53

12/20/53
12/27/53
1/10/54
1/17/54

1/24/54
1/31/54

2/ 7/54

151
Title

"How To Keep Anyone From
Hurting You”

"The Touch That Turns Failure‘
Into Success"

"You Can.Improve Yourself If
You.Want To”

"Things Go Better When You
Pray“

“Relax Mentally and Lire
Efficiently“

”Formula For Exciting Living"
"People Are Really Wonderful"

"How To Release YOur God-
Given Powers"

"What The Attitude of Grati-
tude Does For You"

"Approach Life The Joy Way”

”How To Begin.And End A Day
Calmly"

"Why’Do We Say Merry Christ-
mas?"

”The New Year Can Be Your
Best Year"

"Happy Outcome of Your Trying
Experience"

"How To Keep From Feeling
Frustrated"

"How Really to Stop Worrying"

”Getting A Lift When You.Are
Depressed“

"Wonderful Feeling of Inner
Peace"

///

number
70

71
72
73
74
75

76
77

78

79

80

81 .

82

83

84

85
86

87

88

Date Delivered

2/21/54

3/ 3/54
3/14/54
4/11/54
4/18/54
4/25/54

5/ 2/54
5/ 9/54

5/16/54
6/ 6/54
6/13/54
9/19/54
9/26/54
10/ 3/54
10/17/54

11/ 7/54
11/21/54

11/25/54

11/28/54

152

Title

"How To Stop What's Bothering
You"

”How To Have Faith"

"Believe in YOurself"

"Pattern for Victorious Living"
"What Easter Can Do For YOu”

"Living Is An Exciting
Experience“

“Applied Faith Works Wonders”

”How To Enjoy Life and Be
Useful”

"Power Over.All Your Diffi-
culties"

"Magic Qualities of Courage
and Faith“

”Secret of’Dynamic and Happy
Living"

"Where To Find Wonderful
BeOple"

“How To Take Things As They
Come"

"Healing Power of Beauty and
Insgiration“

"Expect Good.Days Ahead And
You'll Have Them"

"Great Moments in Your Life"

"How To Work Out A Difficult
Situation"

"Wonderful Technique of Being
Thankful"

"How To Prevent Depressed
Feelings"

//,l

Number
89

9O
91
92
93
94
95

96
97
98

99
100

101

102
103

104
105
106
107

108

109

Date Delivered
12/ 5/54

12/12/54

12/19/54

12/26/54
1/:.2/55
1/ 9/55 "
1/23/55

1/23/55
1/30/55
2/ 5/55

2/20/55
2/27/55

3/'6/55

3/13/55
3/20/ 55

4/ 3/55
4/10/ 55
4/17/55
4/24/55

5/ 1/55

5/15/55

153

.Title

"Where Your Greatest Experi-
ences Occur"

"Believe YOu Can.And You Can"
"Of Course.Miracles Do Happen”
"Look Ahead With Anticipation”
"Key to Self-Confidence"

"How To Feel Alive and Well"

"Wonderful Results of Faith
Attitude”

"Ways to Improve Your Situation"
"Live With.JoyOus Vitality"

"Learn Enthusiasm and Change
Your Life“

"The Magic of Creative Thinking"

"Let the Law of Abundance Work
For YOu"

"How to Bring Out Your Dynamic
Qualities”

“Live With Continuous Energy"

"How to Fulfill Your Deepest
Desires"

"Constant Victory Over Life"
“Let Easter Happen To You"
"How To Cast Off Discouragement"

"Live”With Yourself and Enjoy
It .

"How to make Successful
Decisions"

“Gaining Esteem And Affection
From Others"

Number

110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119

120
121
122
123
124
125
126

127

128

129

130
131

///

Date Delivered

5/29/ 55
5/12/55
6/19/55
9/25/55
lO/" 9/55
10/16/55
10/20/55
10/23/55
10/30/55
11/ 6/ 55

11/13/55
11/20/55
11/27/ 55
11/27/55
12/ 4/ 5 5
12/11/55
12/11/55

12/18/55

12/18/55

12/25/55

1/ 1/56
1/ 8/56

154
Title

"Don't Worry About Things"
“Re Glad You're Alive"
”Secret of Wonderful Living"
"Look Big At Life"
'"Enthusiasm.For Every Day"
"Great Human Experiences"
"What Everybody Wants“

”How To Adjust To People"
"How To Overcome Your Fears"

"What Inspiration Can.Do For
You"

"There's A Lot In People”
"spiritual.Aids To Health“
"Tensions YOu.Can Conquer”
"How To Live With Confidence"
"What You Cannot Do Without"
"Secret of Contentment"

"What Great Things Happen To
People"

'LivefiWith Yourself and Like
It

"How To Overcome Discourage-
ment"

"What Christmas Can Do For
Ybur Life“

"New Life For The New Year”

”Emotional Control and Mental
Peace"

//,.

155
Number Date Delivered Title
6 "What To Do When Things Go
132 1/ 8/5 Badly,
133 1/22/55 "HOW To Wake Up Happy"
134 1/22/56 "The Amazing Power of Prayer"
6 ”Keeping Irritation Under
135 1/29/5 Control"
6 "Faith Can Make Ever thin
135 1/29/5 Better" y , "g
2 1 56 "Your Life Can Be Full of
2 56 "God And Your Inferiorit
138 2/ 5/ Complex” y
4 56 "Practice Faith and Feel
139 3/ / Healthy“
18 56 "You Can Have What You Want
140 3/ / From Life”
2 56 "Why Jesus Is Loved B
141 3/ 5/ Millions” y
142 4/ 1/56 "God's Answer Is Life"
143 4/ 8/56 "How To Be A Better Person"
1 56 "How To Be HOpeful About
144 4/ 5/ Your Life”
4 29 56 "Live With Faith and Go
145 / / Forward”
6 56 "Secret of Health and
146 5/ / Happiness"
147 5/13/ 56 "Get Right Answers Through
Prayer"
148 5/27/56 “God And Your Difficulties”
149 6/ 3/56 ”Why Not Live A Wonderful
Life"
150 9/16/56, "Dynamic Life For You”

number

151
152

153
154
155

156
157

158

159

160

161
162
163
164
165

166
167
168
7169

170
171.

Date Delivered

10/ 7/ 56
10/14/56

10/21/55
10/28/55
9/30/56

11/ 4/55
11/11/56

11/18/56
11/22/ 55
12/20/ 55

12/23/56
3/ 3/57
3/17/57
3/31/57
4/ 7/57

4/14/57
4/21/57
5/ 5/57
5/19/ 57

5/26/57
5/ 2/57

156

Title
"The Power of Relaxed Living"

"Ability to Meet Things As
They Come"

"You.Don!t Need To Be Tense"
"Prescription For Anxiety"

"Overcome Your Difficulties
With Faith"

"How To Live A Happy Life“

”Thinking Can make You Feel
Better"

"Have More Faith In Your-
self" ’

"Why It's Important To Give
Thanks”

"Enter The New Year With
Hope”

"The Coming of the King"
"How To Feel Confident“
"How To Conquer Irritatian"

"You Can Solve That Problem"

"Where Are You Going In
Life?"

"Victorious Faith"
"Live Forever“
”Cure For Unhappiness"

"The Inner’Peace Youlve
Always'Wanted"

”New Zest For Life”

"New Strength Over Old
Weaknesses”

/’

number

172

173
174
175
176
177

178
179

180
181
182
183
184

185

186
187

188
189
190
191

192

Date Delivered

6/ 9/57

6/16/57
9/22/57
9/29/57
10/20/57
11/ 3/57

11/10/57
11/17/57

11/24/57
11/28/57
11/28/57
12/ l/ 57
12/ 48/57

12/15/57

12/22/57
1/ 5/58

1/12/58
3/23/58
4/ 6/58
4/13/58

4/20/58

157

Title

”The Mbst Wonderful Experi-
ence Ybu'll Ever’Have"

“Top Secret of Real Living"
"Life Is Fascinating"

”How To Help Another Person!
"How To Be Vigorously.Alert'

“The Amazing Untapped Power
Within You”

"How To Keep Enthusiasm"

”Solving YOur Problems
Through Creative Thinking“

“Where Your HOpes Come True"
"Everybody Is Interesting“
”A.Idfe Full Of Happiness"
"Believe You Can And You cann

"What To Do When You Are
Criticized"

“Secret Of Doing Things
Right"

"What Makes Christmas merry"

“Live At Peace With Your
Nerves"

"Why Are Happy People Happy?"
"How To Really Relax"
umha Glory of Easter Morn”

«Whatever Your Problem, It
Can Be Solved"

”How To Reach Your Goal In
Life"

u—H""'flflflflf#ffw

'Number

193
194
195
196

197
198
199
200
201
202
203

204
205
206
207

208
209
210

211

,Date Delivered
5/11/58
5/18/ 58
6/19/58
6/22/58

9/21/58
9/28/58
10/12/58
10/ 26/ 58
11/16/58

11/23/58
11/25/58

12/14/58
12/21/58
12/28/58

1/ 4/ 59

1/10/59
1/11/59
1/18/59

1/20/59

158

Title
"Man Thrives On Inspiration“
«How To Stop Being Afraid"
uThere Are Good Days Ahead”

"The Tremendous Power of
Prayer" ”

“Living'With Courage and
Faith"

"Are You Getting What You
Want From Life?“

"Recondition Your Mental
Attitudes"

“There's Something Wonderful
In People”

"Real Strength For Real
Problems“

"Happiness Can Be Yours"

"What To Do About Your
Difficulties"

“HOW To Enjoy Your Life"
"A Heart Full Of Christmas"
"Let Hope Work For You”

"The Greatest Year Of Your
Life"

"Three Steps For Improving
Your Personality“

"What To Do About A Blue
Day“

"How To Handle That
Difficulty"

"Do People Like YOu?"

//,/

Number

212

213
214

215

216

217

218

219

220

221
222
223

224

225
226
227

228
229

230

159

Date Delivered

1/25/59

2/ 1/59
2/ 8/59

2/15/59
3/ 1/59
3/ 3/59
3/ 8/59
3/15/59
3/17/59

3/22/59
3/29/59
4/12/59

4/19/ 59

9/27/ 59
10/ 4/59
10/18/59

11/ 1/59
11/ 8/59

11/15/59

Title

“The Priceless Gift Of
Enthusiasm"

"No More Failure For Yen"

”What To Do About What YOu
Are Afraid Of"

"How To Make And Keep
Friends"

"Do YOu Realize Your Own
Importance?"

"Faith Can See You Through
Anything"

"How To Increase Your
Efficiency”

"Does The Power of Positive
Thinking Always Work?“

"The Amazing Results of
Positive Thinking"

"Victory Over Every Defeat"
"Life Can Always Be Yours”

“How To Make Every Day A
Good.Day”

"Why Everyone Likes A Real
Person"

"Think Your Way To Success“
"How To Empty Out Your Fears"

"What To Do.About That
Inferiority Complex”

"The.Art Of Loving People“

"How To Adjust When Things
Go‘Wrongfl

"A Feeling Of Confidence Can
jBe 'inxrs”

// I

160
Number Date Delivered Title
1 22 59 "What To Do About Your
231 l / / Difficulties"
11 O 59 "Get Your Inspiration
232 /3 / Replenished"
233 12/ 6/59 “Tranquility And Efficiency“
234 1/ 3/60 "Formula For A Better Life"
1 24 60 “Secret Of Building U Your
235 / / Confidence" P
1 3 60 ”Three Ways To Have Good
236 / 1/ Health"
2 7/60 "Life's Greatest Experience
237 / And How To Have It"
238 2/14/60 "Don't Let Anything Get on
Your Nerves"
239 2/21/60 "How To Live Without Being
Afraid"
240 3/13/60 "What To Do When Discouraged"
241 4/ 3/60 ”How To Get What You Want"
242 4/24/60 ”The Wonderful Feeling of
Security"
243 5/ 1/ 50 "Prayer Gives You Right
Answers"
244 5/15/60 ”Handling That Problem“
245 5/29/60 "Living At Peace With Your-
self"
6 5 60 "Don't Be Afraid Of What
246 / / Life Brings"
6 12 60 "Faith Sweeps Away Life.
247 / / Troubles" s
248 6/19/60 "Try Asking God About It»
20 60 “Anyone Can Improve His
249 3/ / Personality"

APPENDIX B

Theme Occurrence

Theme Sermon
12345678
x

l. Actimn
2. Adjustability
3. Beliefs x
4 0 Bible I
5. Christianity
6. Death 1
7. Defeat/Fear x x
8. Dreams
9. Easy'Way
10 e Enthqu-asm x
11. Faith 1 X x x
12 0 GO d/Chri St X X x
13. Grace of God
14. Growth x
15 0 Heritage
16. Insecurity/Failure
l7. Interpersonal Rel.

x

18 e Kindne 83

19. Kingdom of God
20. Goals/Purpose x
x

21o Love

22. Man 1 x
23. memory

24. Nature

Politics
x
x

25.
26. Potential Power
x

27. Prayer

280 Pmblems . x

29. Repent/Houseclean x x x

30. RevelatioanISdom. x

31. Rhythm.of Life 1
x

32. Riches
33. SelféDiscipline

34. 6
35. Spiritual Life
36. x x

37.
38. Thanksgiving
39. Thought I x I x
Truimvfituflbt x
x.

40.
41. ‘Know Yburself
161

INN“

H
N

NM

N
NH

NNN Rm

N54

NH

NH

'Theme

1.
2.
3.
4

5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33-
34-
35-
36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

Action
Adjustability
Beliefs
Bible
Christianity
Death
Defeat/Fear
Dreams
Easy'Way
Enthusiasm
Faith
God/Christ
Grace of God
Growth

Heritage
Insecurity/Fai lure

Interpersonal Rel.

Kindness
Kingdom of God

Goals/Purpose

Love
Man
memory
Nature

Politics
Potential Power

Prayer

Problems
Houseclean

Repent/
Revelation/Wisdom

Rhythm of Life
Riches
SelféDiscipline
Solitude
Spiritual Life
Stewardship
Subconscious
Thanksgiving
Thought
Truth/Bi ght
Know Yourself

162

NM

H“

X

Sermon

I

X

111 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

163

Theme
20

1. Action x
2. Adjustability

3. Beliefs

4 e Bible

6 0 Death

7. Defeat/Fear x
8. Dreams

9. Easy Way
10. Enthusiasm. x
11 0 Faith x
12 e God/Chri at X

13. Grace of God

14 e GrOWth

15. Heritage

16. Insecurity/Failure x
17. Interpersonal Rel.
l8. Kindness

19. Kingdom.of God

20. Goals/Purpose

21. Love

22o Man I
23. memory

24o Nature

25. Politics

26. Potential Power
270 Prayer

28. Problems

29. Repent/Houseclean
30; Revelation/Wisdom. x
31. Rhythm of Life

NNN

32. Riches

33. SelféDiscipline x
34. Solitude

35. Spiritual Life x

36. Stewardship
37. Subconscious
38. Thanksgiving
39. Theught

41. Know Yburself

MN

21

MN

NNN

22

NM

NM

Sermon
23 24
x x
x
x x
x
x x
x
x
x x
x x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x

25

MN

HM

NNN

26

RN

NM

NM

NM

NH

27

H

NNNHH

HNN

NNN

NH

164

.Thame
28

110 Aetion

2. Adjustability

3.‘ Beliefs

4e Bibla

5. Christianity

6. Death

7. Defeat/Fear x
8 0 Dreams

9. Easy Way
10. Enthusiasm
11. Faith x
12. God/Christ x
13. Grace of God
140 GrOWth
15. Heritage x
16. Insecurity/Failure
17. Interpersonal Rel.
l8. Kindness
19. Kingdom of God
20. Goals/Purpose
21. Love
22. Man
23 . Memory
240 Nature
25. Politics
26. Potential Power
27. Prayer x
28. Problems x
29. Repent/Houseclean
30. Revelation/Wisdom. x
31. Rhythm.of Life x

32. Riches

33. SelféDiscipline

34o SOlitUde

35. Spiritual Life 1
36. Stewardship

37. Subconscious

38. Thanksgiving

39. Thought

40. Truth/Right

41. Know Yourself

29

H§<

>1H

NBihflH

N

NtfiN

Nbi

>4“ §1N

s>4s

><N

84H

>4N14>4N

)1H

33 34

#1N

H54

35

H>4

Theme
1. Action
2. Adjustability
3. Beliefs
4 9 Bible
5. Christianity
6. Death
7. Defeat/Fear
8, Dreams
9. Easy Way
10. Enthusiasm
119 Faith
12, God/Christ
13. Grace of God
14 e GrOWth
15 9 Heritage
16. Insecurity/Failure
l7. Interpersonal Rel.
18 e Kindne 33
19. Kingdom of God
20. Goals/Purpose
21. Love
22. Man
23. Memory
24 0 Nature
25. Politics
26. Potential Power
27. Prayer
28. Problems
29. Repent/Houseclean
30. Revelation/Wisdom
31. Rhythm of Life
32. Riches
33. SelféDiscipline
34. Solitude
35. Spiritual Life
36. Stewardship
37. Subconscious
38. Thanksgiving
39 0 Thought
4o. Truth/Right

41.

Know Yburself

165

36 37

X I

X

X I

X

X

X X

X X
X

X

X X
X

X X
X
X

X
I
X

X.

Sermon
38 39 40 41
x x x x
x x
x x
x x
x
x x x x
x
x x x
x x x x
x x x x
x
x x x
x x x
x x
x x x
x
x
x x x x
x x
x x x
x
X
x x
x x x
x
x x
x x x x
x x

42

HH

HHH

HH

43

HH HH HH

HHH

HH

Theme
1. Action
2. Adjustability
3. Beliefs
4 a Bible
5. Christianity
6 0 Death
7. Defeat/Fear
8 . Dreams
9‘ Easy Way
10 o mthuSiasm
11 0 Faith
12. God/Christ
13. Grace of God
14. Growth
15 0 Heritage
16. Insecurity/Failure
l7. Interpersonal Rel.
18. Kindness
l9. Kingdom.of God
20. Goals/Purpose
21. Love
22. Man
23. Memory
24. Nature
25. Politics
26. Potential Power
27. Prayer
28. Problems
29. Bepent/Houseclean
30. Revelation/Wisdom
31 o Rhythm Of Life
32. Riches
33. SelféDisciplinc
34o SOlitfldG
36. Stewardship
37. Subconscious
38.- Thanksgiving
39 0 Thought

41.

Know Yburself

166

44

HH

H§4H

NH

45

HH

HH

Sermon
46 47 48
x

x
x
x
x
x
x
x x
x x x
x
x x
x x x
x
x
x
x
x x x
x
x
x x
x

49

HH HH

HH

HHHH

H

NH

50

HH

HHH HH H

H

HH

HHH

51

HH

HHH

HH

167

Ehemo
52

l 0 Action I
2. Adjustability x
3. Beliefs

4. Bible

5 0 cm stianity

6. Death

7. Defeat/Fear x
8 . Dreams

9. Easy Way
10. Enthusiasm
ll 0 F 31th I
12. God/Christ x

13. Grace Of Gad

140 Growth

15. Heritage

16. Insecurity/Failure
l7. Interpersonal Rel. x
18. Kindness

l9. ‘Kingdom.of God

20. Goals/Purpose

21. Love x
22. Man

2 3 . Memory

24. Nature

25. Politics

26. Potential Power x
27. Prayer x
28. Problems x
29. Repent/Houseclean x
30. Revelation/Wisdom

310 Rhythm Of Life

32. Riches

33. SelféDiscipline x
34. Solitude x
35. Spiritual Life 1

36. Stewardship

37. Subconscious

38. Thanksgiving

3 9 0 Thought I
40. Truth/Right

41. Know Yburself

53

HH

HHHHH

HHH

.Sermon
54 55 56
x x
x
x
x
x x x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x x
x x x
x x x
x x
x x
x x
x
x
x x

57

HHH

HH

HH

58

HHH

HH

NH

59

HH

HHH

HHHH

H

168

Theme
60
1. Action
3. Beliefs
40 Bible
5. Christianity
6. Death
7. Defeat/Fear
8. Dreams
9. Easy Way
10. Enthusiasm
11. Faith
12 o Goa/0111.1 at X
13. Grace of God
14. Growth
15. Heritage x
16. Insecurity/Failure x
17. Interpersonal Rel. x
18. Kindness
19. Kingdom of God
20. Goals/Purpose
21. Love
22. Man x
23. Memory
240 Nature
25 o POlitics
26. Potential Power
27. Prayer
28. Problems
29. Repent/Houseclean
30. Revelatio isdom
31. Rhythm of Life
32. Riches
33. SelféDiscipline
34o SOlitude
35. Spiritual Life
36 o Stewardship
37. Subconscious
38. Thanksgiving x
390 Thought I

41.

Know YOurself

61

Sermon
62' 63 64
x
x
x x
x
x
x
x
x
x x
x x x
x
x
x x
x
x x
x x x
x x
x x
x
x
x x
x x
x x x
x x
x x
x x x
x
x x
x
x

65

HHH

H>4

66

HH

NSéx

HHH

HH

67

HH

HH HHH

HH

Theme
68
1. Action
2. Adjustability
3. Beliefs
40 Bible x
5. Christianity
6. Death
7. Defeat/Fear
8. Dreams
9. Easy Way
10. Enthusiasm
11. Faith
12. God/Christ x
13. Grace of God
140 GrOWth
15. Heritage
16. Insecurity/Failure
l7. Interpersonal Rel.
180 Kindness
19. Kingdom of God
20. Goals/Purpose
21. Love
22. Man
23. Memory
24. Nature
25. Politics
26. Potential Power
27. Prayer
28. Problems
29. Repent/Houseclean
30. Revelation/Wisdom
310 Rhythm Of Life
32. Riches
33. SelffiDiscipline
34. Solitude
35. Spiritual Life
36. Stewardship
37. Subconscious X
39. Thoueh’G ' X
40. Truth/Righ

41.

Know Yourself

169

69

HH

NH

70

HH

HH

HH

HHH

Sermon

71

HH

NH

72

NH

73 74
x

x
x

x

x

x x
x

x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x

x

x x

75

HHH

HH

Theme

1. Action

2. Adjustability

30 Baliefs

40 Bible

5. Christianity

60 Death

7. Defeat/Fear

8. Dreams

90 Easy Way

10. Enthusiasm

11. Faith

12. God/Christ

13. Grace of God
140 GrOWth
15. Heritage

16. Insecurity/Failure
17. Interpersonal Rel.
18. Kindness

19. Kingdom of God
20. Goals/Purpose
21. Love
22. Man
23. Memory
24. Nature
25. Politics
26. Potential Power
270 Prayer
28. Problems
29. Repent/Houseclean
30. Revelation/Wisdom
31. Rhythm of Life
32. Riches
33. SelféDiscipline
34. Solitude
35. Spiritual Life
36. Stewardship
37. Subconscious
38. Thanksgiving
39. Thought
40. Truth/Right

41.

Know Yourself

170

76 77
x x
x
x x
x x
x

x
x x
x x
x

x
x
x x
x

x
x
x
x x
x x
x x
x

x

x
x x

78

HHH

Sermon
79 80
x x
x
x
x x
x x
x x
x x
x
x
x
x x
x
x x
x
x x
x
x
x
x x

81

HHH

HHH

82

HHH

HHH

83

HH

Theme

1. Action

2. Adjustability
3. Beliefs

4. Bible

5. Christianity

6. Death

7. Defeat/Fear

8. Dreams

9. Easy Way

10. Enthusiasm

11. Faith
12. God/Christ

13. Grace of God
14. Growth
15. Heritage

16. Insecurity/Failure
17. Interpersonal Rel.
18. Kindness

19. Kingdom of God
20. Goals/Purpose
21. Love
22. Man
23. Memory
24. Nature
250 POlitiCS
26. Potential Power
27. Prayer
28. Problems
29. Repent/Houseclean
30. Revelation/Wisdom
31. Rhythm of Life
32. Riches
33. SelféDiscipline
34. Solitide
35. Spiritual Life
36. Stewardship
37. Subconscious
38. Thanksgiving
39. Thought
40. Truth/Right

41.

Know Yourself

171

84 85
x
x
x
x
x x
x
x
x x
x
x x
x
x
x x
x
x
x
x
x
x x
x x

86

HH

HHH

HH

Sermon

87 88

x x

x

x x
x

x x

x

x x
x
x
x

x x
x
x
x
x

x

x x

x

89

90

HH HHH

HHH

91

172

Theme

92 93
1. Action x x
2. Adjustability
3. Beliefs x x
4. Bible
5. Christianity
6. Death
7. Defeat/Fear x x
8. Dreams x

9. Easy Way

10. Enthusiasm x

11. Faith x x
12. God/Christ x
13. Grace of God
14. Growth

15. Heritage

16. Insecurity/Failure x x
17. Interpersonal Rel.

18. Kindness

19. Kingdom of God x
20. Goals/Purpose x

21. Love

22. Man

23. Memory

24. Nature

25. Politics

26. Potential Power x x
27. Prayer x

28. Problems

29. Repent/Houseclean x x
30/ Revelation/Wisdom x
31. Rhythm of Life

32. Riches

33. SelféDiscipline

34o SOlitllde

35. Spiritual Life x
36. Stewardship

37. Subconscious x

38. Thanksgiving

390 Thought X x

40. Truth/Right
41. Know Yourself

94

H

HHHH

H

Sermon
95 96
x x
x
x x
x
x x
x x
x
x x
x
x x
x x
x
x
x
x x
x

97

HH

HHH

98

99

HH

HHH

173

Theme Sermon
100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107

1. Action x x x x x
2. Adjustability
3. Beliefs x x x
4. Bible x x x
5. Christianity x x x x
7. Defeat/Fear x x x x
8. Dreams x
9. Easy Way x
10. Enthusiasm x x
11. Faith x
12. God/Christ x x x x x x x x
13. Grace of God
14 e GrOWth X
15. Heritage x x
16. Insecurity/Failure x x
17. Interpersonal Rel. x x x x x
18. Kindness
19. Kingdom of God x x
20. Goals/PurpOse x x x
21. Love x x
22. Man x x x
23. Memory
24. Nature
25. Politics X X
26. Potential Power x x
27. Prayer x x x x
28. Problems x
29. Repent/House. x x x X
30. Revelation/Wis. x x x X
31. Rhythm of Life x X
32. Riches x
33. Self-Discipline
34 e SOlitUde
35. Spiritual Life x x x x
36. Stewardship X x X

37. Subconscious

38. Thanksgiving

39. Thought I X X
40. Truth/Right

41. Know Yourself

HHH

174

Theme Sermon
108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115

1. Action x x x x
2. Adjustability x x

3. Beliefs x

4. Bible x x x x
5. Christianity x x x x x

6. Death x x

7. Defeat/Fear x x x x x x

8. Dreams x

9. Easy Way x
10. Enthusiasm x x x
11. Faith x x x
12. God/Christ x x x x x x x
13. Grace of God
14. Growth x x
15. Heritaoe
16. Insec. Fail. X
17. Interpersonal Rel. x x x: x x
18. Kindness X

19. Kingdom of God

20. Goals/Purpose x x
21. Love x x x x x
22. Man x x x
23. Memory x x
24. Nature _ x x
25. Politics
26. Poten. Power x
27. Prayer x x x
28. Problems 1 x x x x x
29. Rep./Houseclean x x x
30. Rev./Wis. x
31. Rhythm of Life x
32. Riches
33. SelfADisc.
34. Solitude x x x x
35. Spiritual Life x x
36. Stewardship X
37. Subconscious
38. Thanksgiving
39. Thought x x x x x x
x x x

40. Truth/Right
41. Know Yourself

175

Theme Sermon
116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125

1. Act.
2. Adj. x
3. Beliefs
4. Bible x x
5. Christian. x x
6. Death X
7. Def./Fea. x x x x x
8. Dreams
9. Easy W.
10. Enthus. x
11. Faith x x x X
12. God/0hr. x x
13. Grace of G.
14. Growth x X X x
15. Her. x
16. Ins./Fai.
17. Int. Rel. x x x x x
18. Kind.
19. Kin. of G.
20. Goa./Pur.
21. Love x X X x
220 lilan X x
23. Memory
24. Nature X X
25. Politics
26. Pot. Pow. x
27. Prayer
28. Prob.
29. Rep./Hou. X x
30. Rev./Wis. x x
31. Rhy. of Li.
32. Riches
33. Sel.-Dis.
34. Solit. x
35. Spi. Lif. x X x X
36. Stew. x
37. Subc.
38. Thank.
39. Thou . X
40. Tru. Rig.
41. Kno. Your. X

HH
H

Themes

1. Act.

2. Adj.

3. Bel.

4. Bib.

5. Chr.

6. Dee.

7o Def./Fea.
8. Dre.

9. LaS./Way
10. Enth.

11. Fai.

12. God/Chr.
13. Gra./G.
14. Gro.

15. Her.

16. Ins./Fai.
17. Int. Rel.
18. Kin.

19. Kin. of G.
20. Goa./Pur.
21. Love
22. Man
23. hem.
24. Nat.
25. P01.
26. ‘Pot. Pow.
27. Pra.
28. Pro.
29. Rep./H.
3O 0 Rev. 11’ ,
31. Rhy.
32. Ric.

33o sele’D,
34. Sol.

35. Spi. L.
36. Ste.

37. Sub.

38. The.

39. Tho.
4o. Tru./R,
41. Kno. Y.

176

Sermons
126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135

X X X
X
X X
X X X X
X X X X X
X X X
X X
X
X
X X X X X X
X X X X X X X X X
X X
X
x X X X
X
x X X X X X
X X
x X
X
X
X x x X X
X X X X X X X X
x X X
x X x
X x X X X X
X
x X x
X X
X x X X
X
x X X X X X X
x X X X
x x x x

177

Themes Sermons

136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145

1. Act. x x x x x x x
2. Adj.

3. Bel. x x x

4. Bib. x x x x

5. Chr. x x

6. Dee. x

7. D/F x x X
8. Dre. x X X
9. E.W. . X

10. Ent. X

11. Fai. x x X X X
12. G/C x x x x x x x x x x
13. G.G. X X
14. Gro. X

15. Her.

16. I/F x x

17. I.R. x x x x x X
18. Kin. X

19. K.G. X
20. Q/P
21. Lov. X X x X X
22. Man x X
23 0 118111.
24. Nat.
25. Pol.
26. P.P. x X X X X
27. Pra. x X X x X x
28. Pro. x X’ X x
29. R.H. x X x
30 . R/W . X X X
31. R.L. X x
32. Bio.
33. S.D. X x x
34. Sol. X
85. S.L. X x
36. Ste. x x x
37. Sub. x x x
38. The. X

39. Tho. x x x X x x x
40. T/R. x x X

41. K.Y. X x

178

Themes Sermons
146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155

10 ACto X x X x x x X x
2. Adj. x x x x
30 391. X
4. Bib. x x x x
5. Chr. x x x x
6. Dea.
7' D/F' X x X X X x X X
8. Dre. x x
90 EoWo X x X
10. Ent. x x
12° G/C- x x x x x x x x x x
130 GOG. x x x
14. Gro.
15. Her. x
16. I/F. x x x
17. IORO X x X x x
18. Kin. x
19. K.G, x
20. G/Po x x
21. Lov. x x x x x
22. man x x x x x
23. Mem. x
24. Nat. x x x
25. P01.
26. PoPo X X x x
27. Pra. x x x x x
28. Pro. x x x x x x x
29. R/H. x x x x x
30. R/W. x x x x
31. R.L. x x x
32. Bio.
330 80]). X
34. Sol. x x x x
35. S.L. x x x
36. Ste. x x x
7. Sllb. X
8. The. x
39. Tho. x x x x x x x x x
40. T/R, x x x x

410 KOYO x

179

Themes Sermons

156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165

1. Act. x x x x
2. Adj. x
3. Bel. x x
4. Bib. x x
5. Chr. x x x
6. Dee.
7. D/F, x x x x x
8. Dre. x x X X
9. ES“, 0 X X X
10. Ent. x x x
11 . Fai . x x x x x x
12. G/C, x x x x x x x x x x
13. G.G.
14. Gro. x
15. Her. X X
16. I/F. x X
17. I.R. x x x x x X
18. Kin. X x
19. K.G.
20 . G/ . x X x x
21. Lov. x x X X X
22 . Man X X X x x
23. Mem. x X X X
24. Nat.
25. P01. X x
26. P.P. x x x X
27. Pra. x X X x x X X x
28. Pro. X X x x x X x
29. R/H. X x
30. R/W.
31. R.L. x x X X x x
32. Rio.
33. S.D. X X
34. Sol. x x X x
35. S.L. x' x x X
36. Ste. x x x
37. Sub. x x
38. The. X
39. Tho. X X x X x - x
40. T/R. x X X x 3‘

41. K.Y. x

180

Themes Sermons

166 167 168 169 170,171 172 173 174 175

1. Act. x x
2. Adj.
3. Bel. x
4. Bib. x x
5. Chr. x x x x
. 6. Dee. x
7. D/F. x x x x x x x
8. Dre.
9. E.W. x x x
10. Ent.
11. Fai. x x x X X X X
12. G/C. x x x x x x x x x x
13. G.G. X
14. Gro. X X
15. Her. x x
16. I/F. X X
17. I.R. x x X X X X
18. Kin. X X
19. KIG. X
20. G.P. X X
21. Lov. x x X X X X
22. Man X X
23. Mem. X X X
24. Nat. X
25. P01.
26. P.P. x X X X
27. Para. x x X X X X X X
28. Pro. x X X X X
29. R/H. x X X X X X
30. RN. x x X X X X
31. 3.1.. X X X
32. Rio. X
33. S.D. x X
34. Sol. X X
35. S.L. X X
36. Ste. x
37. Sub. X X
38. The.
39. Tho. x x X X X
40. T/R’ x x

41. K.Y. X

181

Theme Sermons

176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185

1. Act. x x x

2. Adj. x

3. Bel. x x

4. Bib. x

5. Chr. x x x x
6. Bee.

7. D/F. x x x x

8. Dre. X X

9. E.W. x X

10. Bnt. x

11. Fai. x X X X
12. G/C. x x x x x x X X X X
13. G.G. x X

14. Gro. x X

15. Her. X X X X

16. I/F. x X X
17. LB. 3: x x x x x x
18. Kin.

19. D.G. x x X
20. G/P.
21. Lov. x X X X
22. Man x x X X X X
23. Mem. X X
24. Net.
25. Pol. X
26. P.P. x x X X X X
27. Bra. X X x x
28. Pro. x x X X X
29. R/ . x X X X
30. R/W. X X
31. R.L. X
32. Bio. X
33. S.D. X
34. 801. X x i
35. S.L. X X X
36. Ste. x X X X X
37. Sub. X
38. Tha. X x
39. Tho. X X X X x x x
40. T/R. x

41. K.Y. X

~.“'“'.".'P

182

Themes Sermons

186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195

1. Act. x x x x x x
2. Adj. x
3. Bel. x
4. Bib. x x X x x
5. Chr. x X
6. Dea. x x x
7. D/F. X X
8. Dre.
9. E.W. x x x
10. Ent. x
11. Fai. x x x x x
12. G/C. x x x x x x x x x x
13. G.G. X X X
14. Gro. X
15. Her. x X X
16. I/F. x X
17. I.R. x x X X X
18. Kin.
19. K.G. X
20. G.P. X
21. Lov. x X X X X
22. Man x X X
23. Mem. x X X X
24. Nat. X
25. Pol.
26. P.P. X
27. Bra. x x X X X X
28. Pro. X X X X X X X
29. R/H. x X X X
30. R/w. x X X X X
31. R.L. x X X X
32. Rio. X
33. SOD. x
34. Sol. X X
35. s.L. X X X
36. Ste. X
37. Sub. X
38. The. X X
39. Tho. x X X X X x
40. T/R. X

41. K.Y.

183

Themes Sermons
196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205
1. Act. x
2. Adj.
3. Bel.
4. Bib. x x x
5. Chr. x
”6. Dee.
7. D/F. x
8. Dre. x
9. E.W.
10. Bnt.
11. Fai. x x
12. G.G. x x X X
13. G.G. x
14. Gro.
15. Her. x
16. I/F.
17. I.R. X
18. Kin.
19. K.G. X
20. G.P. X
21. Lov. x X X
22. Man x X
23. Mem.
24. Nat.
25. Pol.
26. P.P. X
27. Pra. x X X
28. Pro. X x x
29. R/H. x X
30. R.W.
31o ROL. x
32. Bio.
33. S.D.
34. 801.
350 SOL.
36. Ste. x
37. Sub.
38. Tha.
39. Tho. X
40. T.R. X X
41. K.Y. X

184

Themes Sermons
206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215

1. Act. x x x
2. Adj.
3. Bel. x x
4. Bib. x x x x
5. Chr. x x x x
6. Dee. X
7. D/F. x X X
8. Dre. x x x x
9. E.W. X
10. Ent. X
11. Fai. x x X X
12. G/C. x x X X X X X X X
13. G.G X
14. Gro. x
15. Her.
16. I/F. x X X X
17. LR. X X X X
18. Kin. X
19. K.G.
20. G/P. X X
21. Lov. x X X X
22. Man X X X X X
23. Mem. X
24. Nat. X
25. Pol.
26. P.P. x x x X X
27. Pro. x x X X X
28. Pro. X X X X X X
29. R/H. X X
30. R/Wo X
31. R.L. X
32. Ric. x
33. S.D.
34. Sol.
35. S.D. X
36. Ste. X x
3%. Sub. X
3 . Tha.
39. Tho. X X x x
40. T.R. X X

41. X

185

Themes Sermons
216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225

1. Act. x x x x

2. Adj. x x

3. Bel. x x x x

4. Bib. x x x x x

5. Chr. x x x x

6. Des. x x

7. D/F. x x x x
8. Dre. x x x x x
9. E.W. X

10. Ent. x

11. Fai. x x x x x x x x

12. G/C. x x x x x x x x x

13. G.G x x

14. Gro. X X

15. Her. x

16. I/F.

17. I.R. x x x x X X

18. Kin. X

190 K.G.
20. G/ . X X X
21. Lov. X X X X
22. Man x x X X X X
23. hem. X
24. Nat. X
25. P01. X
26. P.P. x x X X X
27. Pra. x X X X X
28. Pro. X X X X X X X
29. R/H. x X X X
30. 12.17. X
31. R.L. x X X X X
32. Rio. X
33. S.D.
34. Sol.
35. S.L. X X
36. Ste. x
3;. Sub. X

. Tha.

39. Tho. X X X x x x
40. T/R. X X X f;

41. K.Y.

186

Themes Sermons
226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235

1. Act. X X x x X

2. Adj. x x x

3. Bel. X

4. Bib. x X x X
5. Chr. X X X x

6. Dea.

7. D/F. x X X X X

8. Dre. x

9. E.W. X

10. Ent.

11. Fai. x X X X X X X x
12. G/C. x x X x x X X X X x
130 GOG. X

14. Gro. x

150 Her.

16. I/F. X x x

17. I.R. X X x

18. ‘Kin. X

19. K.G. X
20. G/P. X
21. Lov. x X X X X
220 Dian X x x x
23. Mem.
24. Nat. X
25. Pol.
26. P.P. x X X
27. Pra. x x X X X X X x
28. Pro. x x X X X X
29. R/H. X X X
30. R/W. X X

31. R.L. X X X

32. Bio.

33. S.D. X X X X
34. Sol. X x X X

35. S.L. X

36. Ste. X X
323/. Sub. X

. The. X

g9. Tho. X X X X X X X X
40. T/R. X x X

410 KOYO

187

Themes Sermons
236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245

1. Act. X X X X
2. Adj. x
3. Bel.
4. Bib. X X
5. Chr. X X X X X
6. Bee.
7. D/F. X X X X X x
8. Dre. X
9. E.W. X
10. Ent. X X
11. Fai. X X X X X
12. G/C. X X X X x X X X X X
13. G.G.
14. Gro. X
15. Her. X
16. I/F. x X X X
17. I.R. X X
18. Kin.
19. K.G. X
20. G/P. X
21. Lov. X
22. Man X X X
23. Mem. X X
24. Nat. X X
25. P01.
26. P.P. X X X x x
27. Bra. X X x X X x
28. Pro. X X X X X
29. R/H. x x X X X
30. R/w. X X
31. R.L. X X
32. Rio. x
33. S.D. X
34. Sol. X x
35. S.L. X X x
36. Ste. x x
37. Sub. X
38. The. X
39. Tho. x X X
40. T/R.

41. K.Y. X

 

188

Themes Sermons
246 247 248 249

1. Act. X X
2. Adj. X X
3. Bel. X
40 Bib. X X
5. Chr. X
6. Dee.
7. D/F. X X. X
8. Dre.
9. E.W. X X
10. Ent.
11. Fai. X X X
12. G.G. X X X X
13. G.G. X X X X
14. Gro. X
15. Her.
16. I/F. X X
17. LR. X X X
18. Kin.
19. K.G.
20. G/P.
21. Lov. X X X
22. Man X X
23. hem.
24. Nat.
25. Pol.
26. P.P. X
27. Bra. X X X X
28. Pro. X X X
29. R/H. X X
30. R/.'.
31. T.L. X X
32. Tic.
33. S.D. X
34. Sol. X
35. S.L.
36. Ste. X
37. Sub.
38o Tha-
39. Tho. X X
40. T.R. X

41. K.Y.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

Berelson, Bernard. gontegt_Analysis in Communication
Research. New York: American Book—Stratford

Press, Inc., 1952.

Gordon, Arthur. Minister tg_Millions. Englewood
Cliffs, New Jersey: PrenticeéHall, Inc.,

1958.

Kris, Ernst, and Speier, Hans. German Radio Propaganda.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1944.

 

Lasswell, H., Leites, N., and associates. Language of
Politics. New York: The Cornwall Press, Inc.,

949.

Lasswell, Harold, Lerner, Daniel, and de Sola Pool,
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Stanford: Stanford University Press, 952.

Miller, James Grier (ed.). Experimen§§_lg_Social

Process:_A Symposium on Social Psycho Ogy.
New York: McGraw-fiill Book Company, Inc.,

1950.

Peale, Norman Vincent. A_Guide to Confident Living.
New York: Prentice—hall, Inc., 1948.

’9

 

. Sta‘ Alive All Your Life. Englewood

Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice—gall, Inc., 1957.
. The Art of Living. New York: The Abingdon
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and Smiley Blanton. The Art of Rea
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1950.

H

 

9

w
Ha

. The Power of Positive Thinking. New York:

Prentice—Hall, Inc., 1952.

189

“$4.4“ ‘ -‘ . . .v — . -

190

Articles

Adcock, C.J. "A Note on Cluster—Directed Analysis,"
Psycnometrika, XVII (1952), pp. 249—253.

Cate, Curtis. "Cod and Success," Atlantic Monthly,
010 (April. 1957). pp. 76'f7.

Cattell, R.B. “A Note on Correlation Clusters and
Cluster Search Methods," ngchometrikg,
IX (1944), pp. 169-184. .

Cerf, Phyllis, “Norman Vincent Peale's First Job,"
Good Housekeeping, CIIIL (July, 1958), p. 94.

"Doctor Peale: An Articulate Leader of Christianity,"
Newsweek, XLII (December 28, 1953), pp. 43-45.

Fuller, Edmund. ’"Pitchmen in the Pulpit," Saturda
Review 2£_Literature, XL (March, 1957),

PP-_29-30o

Gordon, Arthur. "The Case For ‘Positive' Faith,"
Redbook, cv (September, 1955). p. 25.

 

Hamilton, Thomas. "Social Optimism and Pessimism in
American Protestantism," Public 0 inion
Quarterly, VII (1942), pp. 280—283.

 

"Issue of Dr. Peale," Newsweek, XLV (February 21, 1955),
p. 86 ff.

Lasswell, H., and Associates. PThe Politically Signif-
icant Content of the Press: Coding Procedures,"
Journalism Quarterly, XIX (March, 1942),

pp. 12-130

McQuitty, L. L. "Agreement Analysis: Classifying
Persons by Predominant Patters of Responces,"
British Journal 9; Statisticalhgsychologw,

IX (I956), pp. 5—16.

"Elementary Linkage Analysis For Isolating

Orthogonal and Oblique Types and Typal
" Educational and Ps cholo ical

Relevancies,
Measurement, XVII (1957), pp. 20 -229.

-———

 

191

Mead, Frank S. "Down-to-Earth Gospel and Modern
Science Clasp Hands and Change Lives on
New York's Rich Fashionable Fifth Avenue,"
Grassroots in Manhattan, New York: Foundation
For Christian Living.

 

Meyer, Dr. Donald. "The Confidence man," New Republig,
CXXXIII (July 11, 1955). p. 10 ff.

 

Miller, William Lee. "Some Negative Thinking About

Norman Vincent Peale," Re orter, XII
(January 13, 1955), p. 25 If.

_________., and J. Monahan. "Pastor of Troubled Souls,"
Reader's 215221, XXIV (February. 1954),

PPo 55-59-

"Minister to Millions," Look, XVII (September 22,
1953). pp. 86—91."”“

"New One By Dr. Peale," Newsweek, IL (March 18, 1957),
p.1124.

Nichols L. "Talk With Dr. Peale," New York Times:
’Book Review Section, (October 31, I954), p. 18.

"Pastors Raise Church Issue Here," Washin ton Post—
Times Herald, (September 8, I960), p. 1.

Patterson, Grove. "What Motivates Peale‘s Critics?,"
Christian Herald, LXXIX (January, 1956),
q”
pp. 24 .

Peale, Norman Vincent. "Are We Using The Power God
Has Given Us?," Reader's Digestz LXXI
(September, 1957), P. 130.

. "Beyond Deatht There Is Life," Reader's
DigeSt, LXXI (OCtOber, 1957), PP. 8 ‘90.

. "Godis Help is Available to You," Christian
Herald, LXXIX (February, 1956), pp. 32 .

"Priceless Power of Enthusiasm," Reader‘s
Di eSt, LXXII (MarCh’ 1958), pp. 35-3 0

192

Peale, Nfrmin Vincent. "The Kind of Preaching That
Ra ers," Reader‘s Digest, LXVIII (May
1956). pp.“‘—"33—37. ’

. "Why I Preach As I Do," Christian Herald,
LXXIX (January, 1956), pp. 24—25.

 

"Peale Offers to Resign Over 'Unwise' Actions," The

Washington Post—Timeg Herald, (September
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Peters, William. "The Case Against ‘Easy' Religion,"
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"The Campaign," Time Marazine, IXXNI (September 19,
1960), p. 21 If.

"Tranquilizers in Print," Time, LXIX (March 25, 1957),
Pp. 112’1180

White, Eugene E., and Henderlider, Clair. “What
Norman Vincent Peale Told Us About His

Speaking," Quarterl Journal Speech, XI
(December, I954), pp. 457—416.

Sermons

Peale, Norman Vincent. Pawling, New York: Foundation
for Christian Living.

1946, "How to Make 1947 A Great Year."

1947, "A Sure Answer For All Your Problems"

"The Art of Being P0pu1ar"
"It's Amazing How Wonderful Live Can Be"

"How To Change Unsatisfactory Situations"
"You Can Rise Above Every Failure"

"How to be an Interesting Personality"
"Try Kindness -— It Works Wonders"

"We Have Not Lost Those Who Have Died."

1948, "Living at Peace With Yourself and Others"
"Techniques for Solving Your Personal
Problems"

 

193

"Don't Stumble Through Life Half Defeated
--- Live With Power"

"You Can Achieve Your Cherished Hopes"

"Method For Getting Over Hurt Feelings"

"Prescription for Heartache"

"Never Think of Yourself as Beaten"

"How to Successfully Meet A Crisis"

"Whatever You Do, Don't Stop Growing"

"The Greatest Thing in This Country;"

1949, "Live With Anticipation,Not Apprehension."
III, Nos. 3,7,18-24,27,31,333
IV, Nos. 2,5,8,lO—11,15—21,23,26-27,31—32;
_V, Nos. 2-3, 5-6, 8—16, 18-24, 26—32;
VI, Nos. 1—5,8-20,22-30,32-353
VII, Nos. 1-32;
VIII, Nos. 2-27;
IX, Nos. 1-28;
X, Nos. 1-29;
XI, Nos. 1-27.

__—___;_‘——i

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