My Review of John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress

Pilgrims Progress: One Mans Search for Eternal LifeA Christian Allegory by John Bunyan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It has been a while since I had read this book; albeit, in the Children's version. The edition I read was a copy from the 11th edition of Bunyan's work, so it still contains many of the older English phrasings and words. This time, as I read, I paid more attention to the imagery of the book and its parallels to Scripture. Along the way, Christian and his companions meet with various temptations and trials, and I was intrigued by how much of the 'casual' conversation was theological in nature. In regard to Catholic Theology, I was particularly helped by the conversation between Christian, Hopeful, and Ignorance. Often Catholics will claim their confidence is in Christ's death for sinners and Bunyan through his characters gives an answer to what is sometimes a confusing discussion with Catholics. I quote below the salient aspects of the argument, which incidentally are relevant to the recent "New Perspective on Paul" debate, too. I recommend reading Pilgrim's Progress with an eye to seeing aspects of the Christian life from an Allegorical [the good kind] perspective.

Ignorance: I think I must believe in Christ for justification.

Christian: How dost thou believe?

Ignorance: I believe that Christ died for sinners; and that I shall be justified before God from the curse, through His gracious acceptance of my obedience to His law. Or thus, Christ makes my duties, that are religious, acceptable to His Father by virtue of His merits, and so shall I be justified. [Ignorance in his response teases out the actual meaning of believing in Christ for justification which is common among astute Catholics]

Christian: Let me give an answer to this confession of thy faith:

1. Thou believest with a fantastical faith; for this faith is nowhere described in the word.
2. Thou believest with a false faith; because it taketh justification from the personal righteousness of Christ, and applies it to thy own.
3. This faith maketh not Christ a justifier of thy person, but of thy actions; and of the person for thy actions' sake, which is false.
4. ...For true justifying faith puts the soul, as sensible of its lost condition by the law, upon flying for refuge unto Christ's righteousness (which righteousness of His is not an act of grace by which He maketh, for justification, thy obedience accepted with God, but His personal obedience to the law, in doing and suffering for us what that required at our hands); this righteousness, I say, true faith accepteth; under the skirt of which the soul being shrouded, and by it presented as spotless before God, it is accepted, and acquitted from condemnation.

Ignorance: What! would you have us trust to what Christ in His own person has done without us? This conceit would loosen the reins of our lust, and tolerate us to live as we list [This is the common Catholic complaint]: for what matter how we live, if we may be justified by Christ's personal righteousness from all, when we believe it?




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