Research Paper on:
Novelist and Theologian Frederick Buechner

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
able to observe, comment, and heal the human heart. Such a writer would be Frederick Buechner. His contributions to the world of religious based literature can be said to be  far reaching. In nearly all of his thirty-some books, the steady theme of Gods redemptive love is clear. Also, interestingly enough, is the pervasive idea that death is a  companion to life which makes even the ordinary event more meaningful. His novels, no matter what the topic being explored, all seem to embody an element of hope, and that  may very well be the reason that his books have been acclaimed by people from all walks of life. In particular, his novels seem to address those disillusioned Christians  who are turned off by the traditional worship service and approaches. It would seem that he has accomplished his goal, because his books have been so widely read that he  was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1980. His attitude that a worship service should be an event and not a performance has been enthusiastically embraced in pulpits around the  country. Interestingly enough, though ordained as a Presbyterian minister, he currently attends an Episcopalian Church. His message that in the end Good will triumph over evil, would seem to have  brought immeasurable comfort to those affect by the events of September 11, 2001. Buechners consistency in the areas of death and loss become particularly poignant when applied to the losses  incurred at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Embracing topics that many authors steer clear of, Buechner, takes on the topic of sorrow and grief in his latest  book: SPEAK WHAT WE FEEL, NOT WHAT WE OUGHT TO SAY. In this book he profiles the sorrows of several literary men: Shakespeare, Mark Twain, G.K. Chesterton, and Gerald Manley