Pilgrim's Progress

Paved with Good Intentions: Ignorance Ignorance is a character that shows up toward the end of The Pilgrim's Progress. Christian and Hopeful have a lengthy dialogue with him, revealing more of this character's real beliefs and motives. In our study of the “bad guys” of Pilgrim’s Progress, Ignorance helps us see the importance of orthodox theology when it comes to salvation. Do we rely on Christ alone to make us holy before God, or do we rely on our own works? Getting Started: Read read the ninth and tenth stages of Pilgrim's Progress. 1. Character sketch of Ignorance: a. Ignorance is from the Country of Conceit ...Read More

Tickling Itching Ears: The Flatterer The Flatterer is one of the villains the pilgrim's meet in their journey in The Pilgrim's Progress. While the Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains prepare Christian and Hopeful, both fall into the Flatterer's trap. In our study of the "bad guys" of Pilgrim's Progress, this scene helps us understand the great importance of listening to the counsel of those who have charge over us. Getting Started: Read all of the eighth stage and the beginning of the ninth stage of Pilgrim's Progress. 1. The pilgrims come to the Delectable Mountains (another picture of the church) a. These ...Read More

The Prison of Doubt: Giants Despair and Diffidence In our study of the "bad guys" of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, we come to one of my favorite scenes: Christian and Hopeful's capture by Giant Despair. For anyone who has ever wrestled with self-condemnation or doubt in one's salvation, this story is very instructive. The pilgrims narrowly escape the Giant. Had they not escaped, we later learn they would have been blinded and forced to roam endlessly among the tombs. Getting Started: Read the end of the seventh stage of Pilgrim’s Progress. 1. Christian and Hopeful find the By-path Meadow a. Before this, the ...Read More

Root of All Evil: By-ends and Friends As we continue our theme of the "bad guys" of Pilgrim's Progress, we come to the characters By-ends, Save-all, Hold-the-world, and Money-love. These three talk with Christian and Hopeful on the road to the Celestial City. While they appear religious, we soon their their faith is nothing more than going with a fad of the times. Their real loves are money, comfort, and popularity. Getting Started: Read all of the seventh stage of Pilgrim's Progress. 1. Character Sketch of By-ends ...Read More

Blood of the Martyrs: The Court of Vanity Fair In our look at the "bad guys" of Pilgrim's Progress, no scene is filled with more enemies than the court of Vanity Fair. It is surmised by scholars that John Bunyan based Vanity Fair off of the famous Stourbridge Fair, a yearly festivity in Cambridge that at its peak was the largest festival in Europe. In the story, Christian and Faithful have to walk through Vanity Fair on their way to the Celestial City. Both men encounter great opposition. Getting Started: Read all of the sixth stage of Pilgrim's Progress. 1. Vanity Fair a. Vanity Fair is set up in the town of ...Read More

All Talk, No Power: Talkative Sometimes the greatest enemies of the gospel are those who look the most Christian. We continue our study of the "bad guys" of The Pilgrim's Progress. In this portion of the story, Christian and Faithful are approached by the character Talkative. He desires companionship and conversation on the road to the Celestial City, but Faithful soon learns Talkative is not what he appears to be. Getting Started: Read the last portion of the fifth stage of Pilgrim's Progress. 1. Talkative's character a. He is the son of Say-well from Prating (i.e. foolish chatter) Row in the City of ...Read More

Slander of the World: Shame As Christians continues to converse with Faithful, he hears about the characters Faithful encountered on the road. In our continued study of "the bad guys" of The Pilgrim's Progress, we now come to the character Shame. This is one of Faithful's most formidable foes and deserves careful attention from the reader. Getting Started: Again, read through the latter part of the Fifth Stage of Christian's journey. especially his conversation with Faithful about Shame. ...Read More

Death Reigned: Adam and Moses We continue our look at the "bad guys" of Pilgrim's Progress. Today we shift our focus from Christian's journey to Faithful's. After they meet on the road, Faithful tells Christian about episodes in his own adventure. During his story he tells Christian about his run-in with Adam and Moses. Getting Started: Read all of the fifth stage of Pilgrim's Progress. 1. Faithful recounts the phases of his journey: a. City of Destruction: This is also Faithful's hometown. After Christian left town, there was great discussion about his conversion. Faithful soon set out on the same journey.  ...Read More