Rating: 
Summary: Well worth the effort
Review: "The Pilgrim's Progress" is a classic Christian text written by John Bunyan. Written in an allegorical format, the two-part story focuses first on "Christian", then on his wife "Christiana" and sons. Convicted of their own sinfulness, the characters set out on the journey to salvation at the Heavenly Gate. Characters such as "Honesty", "Great-Heart", and "Faithful" aid the pilgrims on their journey, whereas they face trials from the Slough of Despond, Vanity Fair, and the Valley of the Shadow of Death.Getting through the book takes some work, less because of the story and more because of the depth of the allegory. Also, the dialogues between characters regarding salvation and righteousness often require a careful read. However, the story is exceptionally creative and thought-provoking, and the lessons that can be gleaned from it are timeless and worth the effort that needs to be expended. I recommend reading this one at least twice.
Rating:
Summary: Well worth the effort
Review: "The Pilgrim's Progress" is a classic Christian text written by John Bunyan. Written in an allegorical format, the two-part story focuses first on "Christian", then on his wife "Christiana" and sons. Convicted of their own sinfulness, the characters set out on the journey to salvation at the Heavenly Gate. Characters such as "Honesty", "Great-Heart", and "Faithful" aid the pilgrims on their journey, whereas they face trials from the Slough of Despond, Vanity Fair, and the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Getting through the book takes some work, less because of the story and more because of the depth of the allegory. Also, the dialogues between characters regarding salvation and righteousness often require a careful read. However, the story is exceptionally creative and thought-provoking, and the lessons that can be gleaned from it are timeless and worth the effort that needs to be expended. I recommend reading this one at least twice.
Rating:
Summary: THE REAL AND MORAL WORLDS EVERTED
Review: A letter to Marvin Minsky about this book: I urge you tolook at a remarkable book by the English Puritain John Bunyan(1628-1688), "The Pilgrim's Progress", which is one of the great evangelical Christian classics, though clearly that is not why it interests me and should interest you (although I AM interested in the puzzle that is the religious sense, which even the irreligious feel, and this book can give remarkable insight into that as well). Rather its fascination lies in the pilgrimage it depicts, or in the fact that human traits, vices, virtues, &c are PERSONIFIED as particular individuals who are their living and speaking epitome, and who are encountered along the way in revealing situations. Bunyan's hero is appropriately named Christian. Someone once wrote that "Christian's journey is timeless as he travels from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City, meeting such characters as Pliable, Talkative, Giant Despair, Evangelist, Worldly-Wiseman, Faithful, Ignorance and Hopeful." At first this personification is merely amusing, even a bit annoying (as caricatures or truly stereotypical people can be); but after a while I found myself enthralled because I realized that the effect of this odd literary device was to give unmatched insight into the nature of such traits. The force of the whole thing comes from the fact that one journeys about in - literally INSIDE of - what is both a comprehensive and finite moral and psychological landscape (a "psycho-topography"), very much as though one were INSIDE the human mind and your "Society of the Mind" was embodied in the set of actors. This is more or less the opposite or an inversion of the 'real world' of real people, who merely SHARE those attributes or of whom the attributes are merely PIECES; in "Pilgrim's Progress", by contrast, the attributes are confined in their occurrence to the actors who are their entire, unique, pure, and active embodiment, and humanness, to be recognized at all, has to be rederived or mentally reconstructed from the essential types. The effect, for me, was something like experiencing a multidimensional scaling map that depicts the space of the set of human personality types, by being injected directly - mentally and bodily - into it by means of virtual reality technology. So Bunyan's book has something of the interest to a psychologist, neuroscientist, or philosopher that Edwin Abbot's "Flatland" has to a mathematician. I don't mean to overpraise "Pilgrim's Progress", of course; it was written for theological rather than scientific purposes, and has conspicuous limitations for that reason. But its interest to a student of the mind who looks at it at from the right point of view can be profound. - Patrick Gunkel
Rating:
Summary: underread classic
Review: As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place where was a Den, and I laid me down in that place to sleep: and, as I slept, I dreamed a dream. I dreamed, and behold, I saw a man clothed with rags, standing in a certain place, with his face from his own house, a book in his hand, and a great burden upon his back. I looked, and saw him open the book, and read therein; and, as he read, he wept, and trembled; and, not being able longer to contain, he brake out with a lamentable cry, saying, "What shall I do?" In this plight, therefore, he went home and refrained himself as long as he could, that his wife and children should not perceive his distress; but he could not be silent long, because that his trouble increased. Wherefore at length he brake his mind to his wife and children; and thus he began to talk to them: "O my dear wife, said he, and you the children of my bowels, I, your dear friend, am in myself undone by reason of a burden that lieth hard upon me; moreover, I am for certain informed that this our city will be burned with fire from heaven; in which fearful overthrow, both myself, with thee my wife, and you my sweet babes, shall miserably come to ruin, except (the which yet I see not) some way of escape can be found, whereby we may be delivered." -John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress Pilgrim's Progress, though hardly anyone reads it anymore, is one of the best-selling books of all time and was enormously influential for several centuries; in fact, we are still living under its influence. However, like Dante's Inferno, it has passed out of favor in recent years, not because of its pedantry and antiquated style, but because much of its message is simply too harsh for the tenor of our times. The narrator relates an allegorical dream in which Christian, having received knowledge that his city is to be destroyed by heavenly fire, leaves his wife and children and sets out on a quest for salvation which takes him to the Celestial City. In the Second Book, his wife, Christiana, and the kids follow. In their travels, they must pass through such places as The Valley of Humiliation and Death, the Slough of Despond, and Vanity Fair, and must resist the blandishments of folks like Ignorance and Hypocrisy. Ultimately, all of the pilgrims do make it and enter through the gates of the City, saved by their unbroken faith. It's easy to see why the story was so popular. First, it's an exciting tale of adventure; one reviewer aptly refers to Christian as a Protestant Indiana Jones. Second, it is triumphant, with Christian overcoming all the odds to arrive in the Celestial City, nor is there ever any real doubt that he is going to succeed. Bunyan, who had become a Baptist preacher after a lifetime of tormenting dreams and struggles with doubt, wrote the story (and an autobiography) during two periods of imprisonment, one lasting twelve years, for holding services that were not in accordance with the teachings of the Church of England. Especially in light of the author's circumstances, he expresses a bold certainty that Christian's path is in fact the path to Heaven. But it's here that we see why the book is no longer popular. Start with the idea that God's judgment is coming and that most of us face the fire this time. Then add in the concept that Christian's are embattled by temptation and the sinners around them, and that many will succumb. Top it all off with the notion that it is only by following in the Pilgrim's footsteps that you can attain salvation, that everyone else is doomed to Hell. These aren't exactly the humanistic, inclusive, permissive doctrines which inform modernity are they ? But there's one crucial tenet of Nonconformist Protestantism which Pilgrim's Progress captures and which is both the religion's greatest gift and worst legacy to modern times : the primacy of the individual. John Bunyan experienced the struggle for faith as an intensely personal battle and his protagonist, Christian, likewise makes his pilgrimage alone. It shocks our sensibilities for him to abandon his family and friends to their fiery fate, but such is his desire for "eternal life" that abandon them he does. Here lies the two-edged sword of the radical Protestantism of the 16th and 17th centuries, for if it is true (and I think it is) that this emphasis on the individual in religious matters also spread to economic and political matters and brought about the concurrent rise of protestantism, democracy and capitalism, it is also true that this emphasis on the individual, if unchecked by morality, ethics and institutions, leads to the complete atomization of society and a cult of selfishness which undermines the very free society that it creates. Personal freedom has been the greatest engine of progress that mankind has ever known, and it has been generated in large part by the Protestantism of which Bunyan was a part; but that same freedom, if torn loose from the laws, responsibilities and moral precepts out of which it grew, becomes mere license. The individual, though paramount, is not sufficient. Freedom, though vital, is not everything. In particular, extreme individualism and liberty are inadequate ideals around which to build a civil society. Christian's pilgrimage conveys the message that faith is the most important quality we bring to our approach towards God. As theology, this doctrine of "salvation through faith alone" is harmless enough, and for all we know it is absolutely correct. But in organizing Man's affairs here on Earth, we have to emphasize works as well as faith--works which manifest themselves in following the law, accepting one's responsibilities to one's fellow men, and behaving morally. Otherwise, come Judgment Day, God won't have to smite us with heavenly fire, we'll have destroyed ourselves already. Bunyan's book, besides being a rousing adventure tale, should be read both because of the influence it has exerted in shaping the modern world and because the issues it raises, of individualism and the like, are still just as important today, when they have gone to far, as they were when he was writing, and they had not come far enough. It is a brilliant, though flawed, work, one who's impact on English Literature and Western Culture can not be overstated. GRADE : A-
Rating:
Summary: Still the best
Review: I first read this book in High School and it is one of only two or three books that I have ever re-read. I am making plans right now to read it to my kids (right after we get through with the Chronicles of Narnia series). Though this book is old (published 1682) it is still one of the best descriptions of the Christian life available in either fiction or non-fiction form. The mental image that has stuck with me since the day I first read this book is of Christian coming up on the cross. "He ran thus till he came at a place somewhat ascending; and upon that place stood a Cross, and a little below, in the bottom, a sepulchre. So I saw in my dream, that just as Christian came up with the Cross, his burden loosed from off his shoulders, and fell from off his back, and began to tumble, and so continued to do so, till it came to the mouth of the sepulchre, where it fell in, and I saw it no more. Then was Christian glad with a merry heart. He hath given me rest by his sorrow and life by his death. Then he stood still a while, to look and wonder, for it was very surprising to him that the sight of the cross should thus ease him of his burden." Unfortunately I have met some who won't read this book due to it's length and archaic language, and this is a great loss for them. Truly this is a book that warms the heart, rekindles our affection for Christ, and provides encouragement for us in our own journey to the Celestial City.
Rating:
Summary: Still the best
Review: I first read this book in High School and it is one of only two or three books that I have ever re-read. I am making plans right now to read it to my kids (right after we get through with the Chronicles of Narnia series). Though this book is old (published 1682) it is still one of the best descriptions of the Christian life available in either fiction or non-fiction form. The mental image that has stuck with me since the day I first read this book is of Christian coming up on the cross. "He ran thus till he came at a place somewhat ascending; and upon that place stood a Cross, and a little below, in the bottom, a sepulchre. So I saw in my dream, that just as Christian came up with the Cross, his burden loosed from off his shoulders, and fell from off his back, and began to tumble, and so continued to do so, till it came to the mouth of the sepulchre, where it fell in, and I saw it no more. Then was Christian glad with a merry heart. He hath given me rest by his sorrow and life by his death. Then he stood still a while, to look and wonder, for it was very surprising to him that the sight of the cross should thus ease him of his burden." Unfortunately I have met some who won't read this book due to it's length and archaic language, and this is a great loss for them. Truly this is a book that warms the heart, rekindles our affection for Christ, and provides encouragement for us in our own journey to the Celestial City.
Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Book of All Time!
Review: I have read this book many times, and I never get tired of it. Each time I come across a treasure of truth I did not capture in the previous reading. I have given this book as a gift to five people out of love for them and as a guide for their spiritual purposes. I am disappointed many bookstores do not carry this book, for they are depriving people access of one of the greatest stories ever told.
Rating:
Summary: The book of my life
Review: I have read this book once already and I am reading it agian right now. It is the most inspiring and motivating book that I have ever read. It seems that every time that I am loosing the sight of my spiritual path this book seems to pop up. I love it and recommend to every one, no matter if they are a spiritual person or not.
Rating:
Summary: LETS YOU KNOW YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN YOUR TRIALS/TRIBULATIONS
Review: I READ THE CHILD'S VERSION AND FOR A NEW CHRISTIAN IT WAS JUST THE LEVEL FOR ME - I COULD IDENTIFY WITH ALL THE CHARACTERS CHRISTIAN MET AND THE TRIALS HE ENDURED ON HIS WAY TO THE CELESTIAL CITY. THIS IS A WONDERFUL ANALOGY OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE AND LETS YOU KNOW YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN GETTING THROUGH THIS LIFE AND MAKING IT TO ETERNAL LIFE.
Rating:
Summary: The book of Inspiration
Review: I read this book about 8 years ago and still have it in memory. I cannnot recollect everything the book said vividly as at now. However, I still recollect what the story entails: a guy named christian who decided to leave his home to the celestial city. Basing all his actions on his strong faith in God, he went through a lot of up's and down's. I remember at one time he gave up and decided to return but he had a change of mind on the way and decided to pursue his journey. This is a great book and I'll encourage anyone who gets the opportunity to spend a little time reading it. It is highly inspirational.
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