Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan

It's been a very long time since I've read The Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan for myself. I'm pretty certain that the last time I read it, I was in high school. I'm also pretty certain that I read it because my mom had put it on my required reading list. However, my memory not being stellar in this department, I could be wrong. I just know that it has been a very long time.

I was quite happy when Shonya at Learning How Much I Don't Know picked this title for the March Reading to Know Bookclub read. I had wanted to re-read it sometime this year and she provided me with the perfect opportunity of doing so! My own copy of the book was packed away being cleaned after our house was thoroughly smoked. I am happy to say that both of my copies of The Pilgrim's Progress survived the "little" mishap and are back on my bookshelves. (In fact, I'm happy to also say that I'm BACK AT HOME myself! We moved home yesterday!) This smoke-out was a great journey in and of itself (still not over in some respects) and so it was rather fitting that I read The Pilgrim's Progress in March.

It has come as a little bit of a surprise to me that many people around these parts still had not read this book. (Maybe it shouldn't be surprising at all, but it still was. This discovery made me even more glad that Shonya picked it!) In case you are unfamiliar with the basic plot, it is as follows:

This is the allegorical story of Christian, who resides in the City of Destruction. The character of Evangelist tells Christian about the Celestial City and Christian is made acutely aware of his sins. Christian longs to be released from the literal burden of sin which he carries around on his back and so he begins a journey to the Celestial City where his sins will be removed and he will be able to live with the Lord of that land. Along the way he encounters many individuals, some of whom prove an encouragement on his journey and others of whom prove to be a great distraction. Christian is a pilgrim on a difficult journey which will lead him to a promised reward.

Of course, there are a great many lessons for the Christian reader to pack away in reading this story. I could draw out any number of passages that spoke to me in one way or another. I'll just share one.

I was struck by Christian's encounter with Worldly Wiseman. Wiseman tells Christian that there is an easier way to his destination that Evangelist first led him to believe. Wiseman tells Christian to go to the house of Legality who will help remove the burden on his back. Christian sets off in the direction of Mr. Legality only to be intercepted by Evangelist who helps steer Christian back towards the straight and narrow path.

"Then Evangelist proceeded, saying, Give more earnest heed to the things that I shall tell thee of. I will now show thee who it was that deluded thee, and who it was also to whom he sent thee. The man that met thee is one Worldly Wiseman, and rightly is he so called; partly because he savoreth only the doctrine of this world, 1 John, 4:5, (therefore he always goes to the town of Morality to church;) and partly because he is of this carnal temper, therefore he seeketh to perfect my ways, though right.

. . .

This Legality, therefore, is not able to set thee free from thy burden. No man was as yet ever rid of his burden by him; no, nor ever is like to be: ye cannot be justified by the works of the law; for by the deeds of the law no man living can be rid of his burden. Therefore Mr. Worldly Wiseman is an alien, and Mr. Legality is a cheat; and for his son Civility, notwithstanding his simpering looks, he is but a hypocrite and cannot help thee." Believe me, there is nothing in all this noise that thou hast heard of these sottish men, but a design to beguile thee of they salvation, by turning thee from the way in which I had set thee. "

If I'm not careful, I could go on and on about how much truth is packed into those two short paragraphs. I think they stand alone without further need of dissertation but I did want to point out that way back in the 17th century (when this book was originally published) Bunyan was warning Christians of falling prey to the idea of being "simply moral." We aren't to strive to be "good people." Being good does not express a belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. Being good will not save you. It will help people to like you (and who doesn't like to be liked?!) but in order to be saved you must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ; you must believe in His death and resurrection.

Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

I also loved the mention of Civility which Bunyan tosses in there almost as an afterthought. Civility is often a mask for intolerance, despite what the person being civil is trying to present. The fake smile plastered on one's face is not an honest one. We should avoid wearing that mask and spending time with those who do. I can hear the argument that sometimes it is in one's best interest to be civil to get through a difficult situation. I personally am suspicious of civility because I've never known it to be honest. What I think we ought to strive towards is showing respect. Respect is quite a different matter. It requires calm honesty which is somewhat difficult to master. It involves sacrifice for another sometimes, which can be excrutiatingly difficult. I've come to like the word "respect" a great deal more in the last few years but when I say it I do not define it to mean fake smiles and half hearted attempts at communication.

Respect involves:

1. A deep emotion (hopefully built by relationship);
2. Honesty, honesty, honesty! (It is never respectful to be less than honest in my book!);
3. A deference to another, attempting to understand where they are coming from (because you care about where they are coming from.) Mostly I think it's important to understand where people are coming from so that you can build an honest relationship and be able to share truths with one another in a tactful manner; and
4. Honoring boundaries.

That last one is an interesting one to throw in there but I think it's key to showing proper respect. If you are showing respect to the President of the United States, for example, you recognize that he has more knowledge about the state of the country than you do because he has more access to more intel. (Showing respect doesn't mean that you agree with him completely or will even do all that he decrees to be right and good. It just means that you acknowledge politely that he has more intel and that he is in no way required to share that intel with you.) It never means you have to smile at him and nod your head pretending to agree when you absolutely do not. You may kindly tell him where you deviate in belief.

I slightly digress. I think that is a great tendency within the Christian community to confuse civility with respect. When the pastor stands up and preaches the Word of God and we discover that to be a painful experience, we're more apt to become angry with him than filled with repentance for our sins. It is our pastor's job to be "in your face" with the Word so that the Word can rightly divide truth from the untruth in our lives. Respect does not mean "honoring my sin" and "loving me" in a way that makes me feel no pain. To borrow from The Princess Bride:

"Life IS pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something."

We need to get the Highness out of us and take on a little humility, understanding that the Christian journey is a difficult one but full of great blessings and a wonderful reward.

I think that's why I like The Pilgrim's Progress. It is certainly filled with more admonishment that 21st century Christians are comfortable hearing, but if we read it honestly we discover that Bunyan respects the reader enough to present truth. And in accepting that truth, we find strength and encouragement for our own journeys. The book is a blessing indeed!

Interesting things to note:

1. The Pilgrim's Progress has been translated into over 200 languages.
2. It has never been out of print since it was originally published in 1678!
3. John Bunyan wrote this book when he was in prison for holding religious services apart from The Church of England.
4. According to the Wikipedia page about The Pilgrim's Progress:

At least twenty-one natural or man-made geographical or topographical features from The Pilgrim's Progress have been identified—places and structures John Bunyan regularly would have seen in his travels on foot or horseback. The entire journey from The City of Destruction to the Celestial City may have been based on Bunyan's own usual journey from Bedford, on the main road that runs less than a mile behind his Elstow cottage, through Ampthill, Dunstable and St Albans, to London.

5. The first film based on Pilgrim's Progress was produced in 1912.
6. In 1979 another film was made in which Liam Neeson played the role of Christian. (I find that very interesting, personally speaking.)

7. It is considered to be a great piece of English Literature and is recommended to Christians and non-Christians alike, due to its historical significance.

Did you read along? You can take this quick quiz and see how much of the book you remember. ;) (I missed one question about the giants.)

(The wrap-up post for this month's bookclub list goes up tomorrow!)