Be Specific About Books In Favor Of Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale
| Original Title: | Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale |
| ISBN: | 0060611561 (ISBN13: 9780060611569) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Frederick Buechner
Hardcover | Pages: 112 pages Rating: 4.32 | 2945 Users | 205 Reviews
Present Based On Books Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale
| Title | : | Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale |
| Author | : | Frederick Buechner |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 112 pages |
| Published | : | May 5th 2009 by HarperOne (first published October 26th 1977) |
| Categories | : | Religion. Theology. Nonfiction. Christian. Christianity. Spirituality |
Description As Books Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale
Buechner examines the arc of the gospel using the well known genres of tragedy, comedy, and fairy tale--that is, bad news, good news, and transformation or fantasy. He begins with the tragedy of sin and the fallen world, pictured in Christ's shed tears over the death of Lazarus. From there, he movies on to the comedy of God's grace, pictured in Sarah's laughter when an angel informed her that she would bear a son in her old age. He then ties in the elements of fairy tale, familiar to us from Grimm and The Wizard of Oz, among others.This was a pleasant and poetic little book. At just under 100 pages long, it's a quick read, and Buechner's fiction writing roots show through in the highly narrative style he adopts. He takes liberties with the details of the Bible stories he retells, but they're minor enough that they don't hinder the underlying themes, and obvious enough that readers are unlikely to get confused (for example, he describes Pontius Pilate as a stressed out leader who's just given up smoking).
I don't agree with all of Buechner's statements--some of his descriptions of the tragedy of the gospel (that is, sin and the fallen world) seem to undermine the sovereignty of God, and his discussion of the gospel as comedy (the unexpected and ridiculous love of God) borders on irreverent or unclear. He describes the gospel as a a cosmic joke, not because it is untrue or a prank, but because is undoes the sequence of expected events--that is, sinners deserve wrath. Given modern usage of 'joke' and 'comedy', the terminology could be confusing.
The general point of the book seems to be that the gospel is not just a bunch of theological facts, but a story that preachers must experience for themselves before they can share it with others. All of which is well and good, but the fluffy, touchy-feely language could easily be mis-read by those with fuzzier theology and a rather amorphous idea of truth. Even though Buechner does not appear to run afoul of orthodoxy here, it could be (mis)read as an endorsement of postmodern liberal theology.
Bottom line: This book shouldn't be the basis for any substantive theological ideas, but it's useful for gaining an over-arching perspective on the story of the bible as a cohesive whole. An easy (and quick) read.
Rating Based On Books Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale
Ratings: 4.32 From 2945 Users | 205 ReviewsCriticize Based On Books Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale
Buechner examines the arc of the gospel using the well known genres of tragedy, comedy, and fairy tale--that is, bad news, good news, and transformation or fantasy. He begins with the tragedy of sin and the fallen world, pictured in Christ's shed tears over the death of Lazarus. From there, he movies on to the comedy of God's grace, pictured in Sarah's laughter when an angel informed her that she would bear a son in her old age. He then ties in the elements of fairy tale, familiar to us fromI finally finished it!!!! After many starts and stops in the last six months I managed to read all 98 pages. My problem with reading this wasn't that it didn't interest me, rather, it was that I kept rereading everything I had previously read. Every reread, something captured my imagination yet again. I just love Buechner's language. It never fails to move and encourage and excite me. He pulls things into a completely new, startling, beautiful perspective that I had never before considered, and
I love how Buechner can mashup biblical and literary characters with a 20th-century setting. Humor and compassion come through clearly.
There are two kinds of really good books - the first you devour as quickly as possible - marathon reads... The second you savour, slowly nibbling and sipping at the edges, stopping and pondering. This is one of the second...
103. Tellin the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale, by Frederick Buechner. 97 pages. Pastor Roger McQuistion tossed me this book during one of my church meetings with him. It is written from the POV of a writer who is also a preacher. I found it captivating because it uses literature to make its points. He begins wit Pilate as a cigarette-smoking nihilist who has a picture of Tiberius in his office. When Chris is brought before him, he asks Jesus, What is truth? Of course,
You mean this book has been waiting for me all my life and none of you told me about it?? I'm enchanted. Obsessed. My book is covered in sticky tabs marking passages I want to savor. This is the culmination (but hopefully not the end!) of several years of reading literary apologetics. I've been on this quest ever since I left my position teaching English at a public high school. Ostensibly, I left because I was pregnant with my third child. In reality, I was pretty demoralized about the
I've heard and seen Buechner quoted for years, but this is the first book of his I've actually read. And it was a delight. Although this is nonfiction, his prose reads like literature. This book was recommended to me as a resource for preachers, and it is that...but it also isn't. It's not a practical "how-to" kind of resource, at all. It's a lot more beautiful and complex than that, and it inspired me to think more deeply about the scope of what I'm being asked to communicate every time I'm
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