BY JOHN BUNYAN (1628-1688)
"Read anything of his, and you will see that it is almost like reading the Bible itself . . . his writings are charmingly full of poetry, yet he cannot give us his Pilgrim's Progress - that sweetest of all prose poems - without continually making us feel and say, 'Why, this man is a living Bible!' Prick him anywhere; his blood is Bibline . . . his very soul is full of the Word of God. I commend his example to you, beloved."
" . . . when one turns . . . to that tenderest and most theological of books, the Pilgrim's Progress . . . one has turned from shallow modern phrases to a 'dead orthodoxy' that is pulsating with life in every word. In such orthodoxy there is life enough to set the whole world aglow with Christian love."
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: The Seventeenth Century was a time of great religious and political turmoil in England. The Puritan movement was strong and growing. There was much tension between Parliament and the Stuart monarchs, who wished to make many important decisions without (or in spite of) them. This eventually led to the English Civil War, which the Crown lost. Charles I was beheaded in 1649 and the Puritan Commonwealth, led by Oliver Cromwell, began. This was a time of unprecedented (though not complete) religious toleration in the nation. Cromwell died in 1658, and the monarchy was eventually restored in 1660 with Charles II, the son of the previous king, taking the throne. Persecution of Protestant dissenters was again a serious reality. Charles II ruled until his death in 1685. His brother James II succeeded him. Opposition to James' openly Roman Catholic views, but primarily the threat of a future Catholic monarch foreseen when a son was born to him, led to his overthrow in 1688, in what is now called the Glorious Revolution. James' daughter Mary and her husband William (both Protestants) were set up as the new rulers and measures were taken to ensure that England would never again be ruled by a Roman Catholic.
AUTHOR: John Bunyan was born the son of a tinker. He received little formal education and took up his father's trade. In 1645 he joined the New Model Army, where he was exposed to Puritanism. Bunyan married a Christian woman who was instrumental in his conversion. After he was converted, Bunyan became a Puritan, joining the Puritan Free Church of Bedford in 1653. In 1657 he received his first assignment as a "field preacher." In 1660, Bunyan, also a Separatist and open-communion baptist, was arrested for preaching without a license and for not attending Anglican Church services. He spent twelve years in jail, during which he wrote Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, a small book about the events leading up to his conversion and his early experiences as a Christian. Bunyan was released from jail in 1672 when Charles II's Declaration of Indulgence outlawed incarceration for religious matters as long as appropriate licenses were held. However, this was withdrawn the following year, and Bunyan was to be imprisoned again for a brief time. In 1678, part one of Pilgrim's Progress was published. The second part followed in 1684. Bunyan died on August 31, 1688 at the house of his friend John Strudwell after developing a fever from riding on horseback during a heavy rain.
Bunyan published more than sixty works. He has been compared to Shakespeare and Milton and has been called the father of the novel.
SIGNIFICANCE AND INFLUENCE: Pilgrim's Progress, which was in its eleventh printing at Bunyan's death, has sold more copies than any other book except the Bible. It has also been translated into many languages. Its simple language was a factor in its popularity. However, some today consider the seventeenth century dialect used by Bunyan difficult to read, and have produced abridged, modern English, and children's versions of Pilgrim's Progress. However, the original is still very readable, though the modern reader might have to look up a few words. It is also available in many editions, both expensive and cheap. The book is valuable as a primary source on Puritan thought and literature.
The book has had an incredible influence since its publication. It used to be given to new converts in many churches, and is still a popular graduation gift. Spurgeon read it over one hundred times (the first time was when he was six) and J. I. Packer reads it every year. The book has not escaped from other writers of literature; Pilgrim's Progress is mentioned in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. The book's simple style and theological significance makes it appeal to the unlearned and the scholar.
STYLE AND THEMES: The book is written as an allegory and is symbolic of the Christian's journey from the City of Destruction (this world) to the Celestial City (Heaven). Pilgrim's Progress is full of Scripture, with more than 200 direct quotations and at least 500 references altogether. Names in the book always represent the characteristics of the person or place, primarily in reference to the types of people and conditions the Christian meets with in his experience. Some examples are Discretion, Mr. Worldly Wiseman, Valiant-for-Truth, Giant Despair, Obstinate, Pliable, and Faithful.
The central theme of the book is Christian experience. It begins with Christian realizing that the place he lives will be destroyed. This leads him to despair, and he cries out, "What must I do to be saved?" A man named Evangelist tells him to flee from the wrath to come and directs him to go to the Wicket Gate. After going through the Slough of Despond and making it safely to the Wicket Gate, Christian's heavy burden of the guilt of his sin rolls off his back at the Cross, when he rests on the finished work of Christ alone for his salvation. The rest of the first part details Christian's "progress" to the Celestial City; he encounters many things in this life common to all Christians. The second part of the book is about his wife, Christiana, and their children. They opposed and mocked Christian at first, but in the second part of the book they are converted and enter on the pilgrimage.
The book demonstrates typical Puritan soteriology (doctrine of salvation). The ideas of seeking salvation and the conversion experience are very much a part of Pilgrim's Progress. Other Puritan emphases are present as well, such as an obedient and holy life after conversion as an evidence of salvation, catechising children, and the examination of professed converts for sincerity. Self-examination is also illustrated, and the ignorance and mishandling of Scripture is condemned. Experience is grounded in and interpreted by God's Word.
RECOMMENDED READING:
- C.H. Spurgeon on John Bunyan
- J. Gresham Machen
Bunyan on the web:
This page has a large portion of Bunyan's complete works (still in progress)