Paradiastole is the use of euphemism

Euphemism

A euphemism is the substitution of a mild, inoffensive, relatively uncontroversial phrase for another more frank expression that might offend or otherwise suggest something unpleasant to the audience...

 to soften the force of naming a vice or a virtue. It is often used ironically

Irony

Irony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions...

. In biblical

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 studies it has come to mean the repetition of disjunctive words in a list.

Euphemism

Paradiastole can be used to make a negative trait appear a positive one, for instance, calling someone 'confident' instead of 'vain'. This tactic is commonly used in the comic strip Frank and Ernest

Frank and Ernest (comic strip)

Frank and Ernest is a comic strip created and illustrated by Bob Thaves and later Tom Thaves. It debuted on November 6, 1972, and has since been published daily in over 1,200 newspapers...

. The character Ernest will attempt to sell an object which has some flaw (such as a car that doesn't start half the time), Frank will comment on the flaw, and then Ernest will use paradiastole to turn the flaw on its head (in this case, the car has a "very quiet engine").

Biblical Usage

In biblical studies, paradiastole is a type of anaphora (the repetition of one word at the beginning of successive sentences). Paradiastole uses a few words—either, or, neither, not, and nor—used as disjunctions. A disjunction differs from a con

Conjunction

Conjunction can refer to:* Conjunction , an astronomical phenomenon* Astrological aspect, an aspect in horoscopic astrology* Conjunction , a part of speech** Conjunctive mood , same as subjunctive mood...

junction

Conjunction

Conjunction can refer to:* Conjunction , an astronomical phenomenon* Astrological aspect, an aspect in horoscopic astrology* Conjunction , a part of speech** Conjunctive mood , same as subjunctive mood...

 because it separates things, whereas a conjunction joins them.

An example of this technique can be found in the Gospel of John

Gospel of John

The Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...

. John

John the Apostle

John the Apostle, John the Apostle, John the Apostle, (Aramaic Yoħanna, (c. 6 - c. 100) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of James, another of the Twelve Apostles...

, clarifying the meaning of τέκνα θεοῦ (God's children), writes:

οἳ [πιστεύοντες]

οὐκ ἐξ αἱμάτων

οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος σαρκὸς

οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος ἀνδρὸς

ἀλλ' ἐκ θεοῦ ἐγεννήθησαν. (John 1.13).

They [the believers],

not of blood,

nor of the flesh's desire,

nor of a man's desire,

but of God were born.

In this passage, οὐκ and οὐδὲ (here translated not and nor) function as the disjunctions. The paradiastole emphasizes that those who believed (οἳ πιστεύοντες) and became "God's children" were not
physically ("of blood", etc.) born again, but divinely.