Writing Theology Well

Acknowledgments     xviiPreface     xixWriting Theological Rhetorics WellWriting Theology Well in Its Own Context     3Starting Points     3The Sociorhetorical Context of Writing Theology     4The Sociohistorical Context of Writing Theology     6What Is Theology and Why Do Theologians Write It?     6Writing Theology as a Rhetorical Art with Augustine of Hippo     7Writing Theology as a Scholastic Science with Thomas Aquinas     8Writing Theology as a Communal Language with Teresa of Avila     9Writing Theology with Gutenberg's Printing Press and the Protestant Reformers     10Rewriting Theology as Speech with Friedrich Schleiermacher     10Writing Theology as a Theological Author with Albert Schweitzer     11Writing Theology as Nonviolent Resistance with Martin Luther King, Jr.     12Writing Theology as a Feminist Practice with Rebecca Chopp     13Writing Theology in Our Own Context and Its Audiences     14What Distinguishes Contemporary Theological Writing from Other Writing?     14To Whom and for Whom Is Contemporary Theology Being Written?     15Beginning a Theological Writing Assignment: Questions to Ask     16Concluding Reflections:Writing Theology Well as an Act of Faith     17Writing Theological Reflection Well: Rhetorics of Process, Problem Solving, and Proclamation     18Starting Points     18What Is Theological Reflection and Why Do Theologians Write It?     19A Rhetoric of Process     20A Rhetoric of Problem Solving     21A Rhetoric of Proclamation     22Writing Theological Reflection Papers: Purpose, Style, Voice     22Writing the One-Page Theological Reflection Paper in Two Voices     23Writing the One-Page Reflection Paper-An Overview     24Writing the One-Page Pastoral Reflection Paper: "Why Do You Follow Jesus?"     24Pre-writing the Pastoral Reflection Paper: Reading, Reflecting, Preparing     25Reading the assignment     25Reflecting on the task     25Preparing     26Freewriting or Outlining Draft # 1: Finding Out What You Want To Say     27Freewriting     27Outlining     28"Writing That and Only That"     30"Writing So That Others Will Want To Read It"     32Reviewing, Revising, and Refining Papers: A Theological Writers Checklist     34Concluding Reflections: Writing Theological Reflection Well      35Writing Theological Argument Well: Rhetorics of Inquiry, Reading, Reflection, and Persuasion     36Starting Points     36What Is the Genre of Argument and Why Do People Write It?     38The Deductive Path     39The Inductive Path     40What Is Theological Argument and Why Do Theologians Write It?     41The Rhetorics of Theological Argument: Inquiry, Reading, Reflection, Persuasion     43Inquiry     43Reading     43Reflection     45Persuasion     46Prerequisites of Writing Theological Argument in an Academic Voice     47Taking a Position     47Stating Premises and Defining Vocabulary     48Mapping the Argument     49Entering the Conversation     50Writing the One-Page Systematic Reflection Paper: "Was Jesus a Feminist?"     51Engaging the Question     51Re-engaging the Readings     51Developing a Thesis/Claim/"Answer"     52Elucidating and/or Qualifying the Claim     53Structuring the Argument (Grounds and Warrants)     53Concluding the Draft, Counting the Words, Revising to Size     55Writing the Theological Essay Examination Well: A "Blueprint"     57Preparing for the Examination     57Reading the Questions     58Rehearsing Your Response     58Writing the Examination     58Some Final Suggestions     58Concluding Reflections: Writing Theological Argument Well     58Writing the Theological Essay Well: Rhetorics of Identification, Correlation, Suspicion, and Construction     60Starting Points     60What Is an Essay and Why Do People Write It?     61What Is a Theological Essay and Why Do Theologians Write Them?     62What Kinds of Theological Essays Are There and How Shall We Write Them?     63What Is a Critical Theological Essay and How Shall We Write It?     63What are the rhetorics of the critical theological essay?     64Writing the Theological Summary Well: An Outline     65Writing the Theological Book Review Well: An Outline     68Writing the Theological Critique Well: An Outline     70What Is a Constructive Theological Essay and How Shall We Write It?     71What is a constructive theological essay?     72What is a constructive method?     72What Are the Rhetorics of a Constructive Theological Essay and How Do They Inform Its Writing?      73The method of correlation     73Charting the Rhetorics of the Constructive Theological Essay: Identification, Correlation, Suspicion, Construction     74Writing the Constructive Theological Essay Well: A Map of "Correlation"     75Writing the Constructive Theological Essay Well: A Structural Map     76Writing a Constructive Theological Essay of Your Own: A Progressive Model     77Concluding Reflections: Writing the Constructive Theological Essay Well     79Writing Theological and Biblical Research WellWriting Theological Research Well (I): Rhetorics of Research and Investigation     85Starting Points     85Approaching the Theological Writing and Research Process     86Writing Theological Research Well: A Preliminary Map     86What Is Research and What Makes People Do It?     87What Is Theological Research and Why Do Theologians Do It?     89How Does Writing Theological Research Differ from Other Kinds of Theological Writing?     89The Form of the Question     89A Methodology or Research Perspective     90Sources     91Conversation with the Present and the Past     92Developing the Question into a Theological Research Claim     93Narrowing Your Topic      94Is Your Research in Place or Must You Create a Research Space?     95The Research-in-Place Path     96The Create-a-Research-Space Path     96How should I begin?     96Framing the territory     98Reviewing the literature     98Curving a research niche, crafting a paper topic     100Making a research claim     103Pre-viewing the paper     104Creating a Research Space for the Historical Jesus with Albert Schweitzer     105Framing the historical Jesus research territory     105Carving a research niche for the historical Jesus     106Reviewing the literature     106Making a research claim     106Pre-viewing the research plan     107From Creating a Theological Research Space to Writing a Research Proposal     107Writing Church History Well: A Theological Writer's Outline     109Concluding Reflections: Writing Theological Research Well (I): Rhetorics of Research and Investigation     110Writing Theological Research Well (II): Rhetorics of Organization and Documentation     111Starting Points     111What Are the Organizational Dynamics of Writing Theological Research Well?      112Building on Your Strengths     112Developing Your Strengths with New Strategies     113Drafting a Preliminary "Map of Completion"     113What Are the Organizational Mechanics of Integrating Reading, Writing, and Research to Write a Theological Research Essay?     115Reading, Writing as/and Research: A Methodical Overview     115Organizing the reading for theological research     115Syntopical Reading Worksheet     117From reading researchfully to taking notes in your own way     118Mapping a research argument     119Integrating Reading, Writing, and Research to Write Theological Research Well     120Summarizing your source/author     120Questioning your source/author     121Talking back to your source/author     121Incorporating your source/author     121Organizing Research to Write a First Draft     123Organizing Research by Outlining     124Organizing Research by Drawing a First Draft     124Organizing Research by Writing     125Writing Theological Research Three Times: A Draft-by-Draft Plan     125The research-driven draft     125The writer-driven draft     126The audience-driven draft      126Writing, Revising, and Rewriting "Between the Drafts"     127Preparing and Presenting the Audience-Driven Draft     128What Are the Requirements for Documenting Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism in a Theological Research Essay?     129Plagiarism Preventions and Interventions     129Plagiarism, paraphrase, or summary?     130A cross-cultural caveat     131Preventing plagiarism as a theological task     131Plagiarism Prevention and Intervention Checklist     132Writing Theological Footnotes Well     132From writing to citing footnotes well     135Documenting Print Sources in Turabian Style: Overview     136Documenting Electronic Sources in Turabian Style: Overview     138To footnote or not to footnote?     139Keeping footnotes in their place     141Some Concluding Guidelines for Writing Theological Footnotes Well     141A Checklist for Final Preparation of a Theological Research Paper     142Concluding Reflections: Writing Theological Research Well (II)     143Writing the Biblical Essay Well (I): Rhetorics of Exegesis and Interpretation     145Starting Points     145Writing the Biblical Exegesis Well: Preliminary Questions      146What Is Biblical Exegesis?     146Why Do Biblical Scholars Write Exegesis?     146How Does Biblical Exegesis Differ from the Theological Genres That We Have Encountered So Far?     147What written biblical exegesis is Not     147What written biblical exegesis Is     147What Kinds of Papers Are Assigned in Biblical Studies Courses, and How Shall We Write Them?     151Writing Biblical Exegesis Well: Preliminary Strategies     151Writing the Critical-Historical Exegesis Well in Twelve Exegetical Memos     152From Writing Exegetical Memos to Writing the Biblical Exegesis Well     162Building a Rhetorical Framework by Beading an Exegetical Necklace     162Identifying the thread     162Stringing the beads     164Beading the necklace: "Text first" or "context first"?     164Clasping the necklace     166A Biblical Writer's Checklist for an Exegesis Paper     167Documenting Sources in SBL Style     169Concluding Reflections: Writing the Biblical Exegesis Well     171Writing the Biblical Essay Well (II): A Critical-Hermeneutical Rhetoric     173Starting Points     173A Hermeneutical Preface      174Hermeneutics as Reading the Word and Reading the World     174From the Critical-Historical Biblical Essay to the Critical-Hermeneutical Biblical Essay: A Hermeneutical Flow Chart     175E. D. Hirsch's Author-Centered Hermeneutic     177Resources for writing the biblical exegesis/essay well     177Hans-Georg Gadamer's Subject-Centered Hermeneutic     178Resources for writing the biblical exegesis/essay well     178Paul Ricoeur's Reader-Centered Hermeneutic     179Resources for writing the biblical exegesis/essay well     179The Writer-Centered Hermeneutic     180The Critical-Hermeneutical Path for Writing the Biblical Essay Well     182Introducing the Biblical Essay: Definitions and Distinguishing Features     182What Is a Critical-Hermeneutical Essay and How Shall We Write It?     183The Biblical Essay: A Critical-Hermeneutical Map     184Literary-Linguistic Locations     184Historical Investigations     184Theological Formulations     185Hermeneutical Destinations     186From Critical-Hermeneutical Memos to the Critical-Hermeneutical Essay: Outlining a Critical Framework, Building a Hermeneutical Bridge     190Outlining a Critical Framework      190Identifying the recurring threads     191Choosing the rhetorical string     191Stringing the beads     191Building Critical-Hermeneutical Bridges by Writing the Biblical Essay Well     193Building rhetorical bridges with writing     193Building contextual bridges with sociocultural models     194Building hermeneutical bridges with cross-disciplinary conversations     195Building dialogical bridges through a hermeneutics of diversity     196Concluding Reflections: From Building Hermeneutical Bridges to Finding Your Own Words     197Toward a Theological Style and Voice of Your OwnWriting with Theological Imagination Well: Rhetorics of Analogy, Metaphor, and Symbol     201Starting Points     201What Is the Theological Imagination and How Shall We Write with It?     202What Are the Rhetorics that Empower the Theological Imagination?     204Writing with Analogy Well     205Analogy: An Introduction     205Analogy: A Preliminary Definition     205Analogy: Classical Approaches     206Analogy: Contemporary Approaches     206Writing with Analogy Well: A Writer-Based Guide     207Writing analogy well as analogical method, or rhetoric      207Writing analogy well with analogical speech and syntax     210Writing with Metaphor Well     212Metaphor: An Introduction     212Metaphor: The Word-Based Approach     213Metaphor: The Sentence-Based Approach     213Toward a Writer-Based Approach to Metaphor     215Writing with Metaphor Well: A Writer-Based Guide     216Building a Bridge from Metaphor to Symbol: An Interlude     219Writing with Symbol Well     220Symbol: An Introduction     220Definitions of Symbol: Four Starting Points     221Sign-based definition of symbol     221Meaning-based definition of symbol     222Mediation-based definition of symbol     223Text-based definition of symbol     225Writing with Symbol Well: A Writer-Based Guide     228Discovering the symbol     228Developing the symbol     229Dialoguing with the symbol     229Deconstructing the symbol     230Reconstructing the symbol     230Concluding Reflections: Writing with Theological Imagination Well     232Rewriting Theology Well (I): Rhetorics of Style and Voice     233Starting Points      233What Is "Style," and How Do Writers Define It?     234Style Is "How You Write"     236Style Is "How You Write What You Write"     236Style Is "How You Write What You Write When You Write in a Given Genre"     237Style Is "How You Write What You Write When You Write from a Stance"     237Style Is "How You Write What You Write When You Write for an Audience"     239What Is Theological Style, Narrowly Conceived, and How Do Theological Writers Define It?     240Saint Augustine     240Thomas Aquinas     241Julian of Norwich     241What Is Theological Style, Broadly Conceived, and How Do Theological Writers Define It?     242What is Theological Style, Broadly Conceived, and How Shall We Define it?     243What Is Voice and the Relationship between Style and Voice in Theological Writing?     244What Is Voice?     244What Is the Relationship between Style and Voice in Theological Writing?     245Toward a Theological Voice of One's Own     246How Does One Identify, Develop, and Refine a Theological Voice of One's Own?     247Theological Plain Style: A Profile for Theological Writers     249Characteristics of Theological Plain Style for Theological Writers      249Inclusive Language Style Sheet for Theological Writers     250Concluding Reflections: Rewriting Theology Well: Rhetorics of Style and Voice     252Rewriting Theology Well (II): Rhetorics of Words, Sentences, and Paragraphs     253Starting Points     253What Do Theological Words Do? Finding, Choosing, and Using Words Well to Write Theology Well     254The Parts of Speech and Their Place in Theological Prose     254Nouns     254Verbs     255Choosing Theological Words Well-A Selective Sampling     258Concrete words     258Conceptual words     259Critical words     260Constructed words     261Figurative words     262Choosing and Using Words: A Theological Writer's Checklist     262What Do Theological Sentences Do? Writing Sentences Well to Write Theological Sentences Well     263Do You Like Sentences?     264How to Write Sentences Well: A Brief Review     264Capitalizing and punctuating sentences correctly     265Ordering sentences clearly and coherently     265Combining sentence elements skillfully     265Correcting sentence errors effectively     266Constructing sentences fluently     267Writing Theological Sentences Well: A Historical Introduction     268What do Theological Sentences Do?     268They ask questions     268The make assertions     269They define terms     270They compare and contrast theological subject matter     271They summarize and synthesize     273Writing Sentences Well: A Theological Writer's Checklist     274What Do Theological Paragraphs Do? Writing Paragraphs Well to Write a Theological Paper Well     275Unity     276Coherence     277Emphasis     277The Long and the Short of It     277Writing Paragraphs with Unity, Coherence, and Emphasis: A Revision Heuristic     278Final Considerations     279What Do Theological Paragraphs Do? Writing Theological Paragraphs Well with Elsa Tamez and Jon Sobrino     279Introductory paragraphs     280Expository paragraphs     281Evidential paragraphs     282Transitional paragraphs     283Concluding paragraphs     284Writing Paragraphs Well: A Theological Writer's Checklist     286Concluding Reflections: Writing Theological Words, Sentences, and Paragraphs Well     287Rewriting Theology Well (III): A Rhetoric of Revision     288Starting Points     288Rewriting, Revision, and Becoming Your Own Best Editor     289The Chopping Block     289The Writing Patch     290Waiting     291Watering     291Fertilizing     291Grafting     291Creating the conditions     291Back to the Drawing Board     292A Theological Style and Voice of Your Own     292The Peer Editing Heuristic     296Editing for Grammatical Grace     298A Revision Heuristic of Your Own     299Concluding Reflections: Rewriting Theology Well     301Epilogue: Writing Theology Well in Your New Context: From Writing for Professors to Writing with a Professional Voice     302Notes     305Index     348