TH201 Authors' Styles

Tara Isabella Burton

Journalistic and sociological style; uses data and pop-culture references like SoulCycle to describe modern "remixed" spirituality.

Rowan Williams

Dense, philosophical writing; uses metaphors like a "supermarket shelf" to critique the idea of freedom as mere consumer choice.

Gareth Jones

Methodological and academic; discusses how scripture functions as "normative" authority and argues for "non-coercive reconciliation."

Lisa Sowle Cahill

Academic survey of history; categorizes feminist ethics into three paradigms: liberal, social constructionist, and naturalist.

R. John Elford

Systematic categorization of historical approaches to violence, distinguishing between Pacifism, Holy War, and Just War.

N.T. Wright

Applies literary theory to biblical studies; argues against "naive realism" and proposes reading texts as stories that articulate worldviews.

Casey Cep

Narrative biographical profile; explores the tension between radical leftist politics and theological conservatism in a modern saint-to-be.

Genesis 1 (Priestly Source)

Repetitive, rhythmic, and formal style; describes creation in an orderly seven-day sequence with a transcendent deity.

Genesis 2-3 (Yahwist Source)

Earthy, narrative style; features an anthropomorphic deity forming humanity from dust and interacting directly in a garden setting.

Micah

Angry, accusatory poetry; rebukes corrupt leaders and demands justice, kindness, and humility rather than empty worship.

Psalm 22

First-person poetic lament; begins with a cry of abandonment ("forsaken me") and vivid descriptions of suffering before turning to praise.

Zora Neale Hurston

Novelistic retelling using African American Vernacular English; portrays a biblical figure as a powerful "hoodoo" man of magic.

Gospel of Luke

Narrative storytelling focused on social reversal; highlights the poor, women, and outcasts through unique parables like the Good Samaritan.

Paul (Romans)

Complex, argumentative rhetoric; uses logic and rhetorical questions to contrast "works of the law" with "justification by faith."

Hebrews

Elevated, liturgical style; focuses on the superiority of Jesus as the ultimate High Priest compared to angels and old covenants.

Perpetua

First-person diary entries; emotional and personal, detailing prison experiences, visions of a ladder and dragon, and family conflict.

Athanasius

Systematic and logical theology; treats the Incarnation as the solution to a "Divine Dilemma" between God's truth and goodness.

Augustine

Oratorical and introspective preaching style; guides the listener inward to find an analogy for the Trinity in the human mind.

Thomas Aquinas

Rigid, scholastic structure; proceeds through Objections and Replies to argue points like God's presence by essence, presence, and power.

Martin Luther

Passionate, fiery, and polemical; redefines "faith" as a daring confidence and "sin" as unbelief in the heart.

Ignatius of Loyola

Third-person autobiographical narrative; refers to the self as "The Pilgrim" while recounting a conversion from soldier to saint.

Dorothy Day

Personal, reflective memoir; discusses social justice and the "long loneliness" of the human condition in a 20th-century context.