The Thesis and Argumentation of Newman's Parochial and Plain Sermons : #'s 23,24,25
             Since the beginning of Christianity, man has tried to explain the great mystery of the Trinity. People from the religious to pagans went to great lengths to use language to convey messages about the existence or non-existence of the Holy Trinity; and, moreover, if there is such a thing, how does it exist (i.e. are all three persons divine). One of the most renowned orators in the history of mankind, John Henry Newman, made some attempts to explain the Holy Trinity in three of his sermons. There is no question in Newman's theology that the Holy Trinity exists; in fact, he seems so convinced of it that he seems to suggest that the simplest-minded man should know it based on simple everyday human experiences. In each of Newman's Parochial and Plains Sermons Volume 6, Sermons 23, 24, and 25, he suggests that people are "unreasonable in refusing to believe before they see the Scripture proof," "no wording can remove or explain the Adorable Mystery," and that God has given man "Peace in believing in the Eternal Trinity in Unity;" moreover, he employs a different style of argumentation in each sermon to convey his different messages.
             In Sermon 23, "Faith without Demonstration," Newman's thesis is: "...a very few words will make it evident, that they [disbelievers] are unreasonable and inconsistent in refusing to believe before they see the Scripture proof." The most frequently used technique by Newman in this sermon is the rhetorical question; he follows a pattern of asking the question (generally one to which the answer is obvious), then explaining how this obvious fact applies to our understanding of the Trinity. For example, his first question is as follows: "I would ask, in the first place, whether we reason and prove before we act, in the affairs of this life...