By Ing. Yayah A.B. Conteh.
A work of compelling power and unusual beauty, “The Pilgrim’s Progress,” is a book that has always fascinated me since I became old enough to differentiate between truth and falsity. Its enduring appeal has been felt far and wide by scholars of different generations, past and present, who consider it an undying story that has undeniably stood the test of time. No wonder it has been regarded as the most widely read book in the world after the Bible. The Pilgrim’s Progress indeed has a vital and significant message for contemporary man.
One might therefore wonder what this book is all about and what moral lessons can be learnt and deduced from it in contemporary times.
First and foremost, The Pilgrim’s Progress was originally published in English over three hundred and forty years ago by God’s devoted and faithful servant, John Bunyan, an English writer and Puritan preacher.
It is a Christian allegory regarded as one of the most significant works of religious, theological fiction in English Literature. From the time of its publication, to date, it has never been out of print and has been translated into more than 200 languages the world over.
The work is a symbolic vision of the good man’s pilgrimage through the vicissitudes of life and is the most famous Christian allegory still in print.
The Pilgrim’s Progress tells the story of a Christian and his long and arduous journey from the City of Destruction (representative of Earth) to the Celestial City (representative of Heaven).
It is considered a Christian allegory because the author uses names to represent abstract qualities.
The entire book is presented as a dream sequence with Christian as the allegory’s protagonist.
Christian, in fact, is everyman.
The plot fundamentally centres on his journey from his hometown ”this World“ to “that which is to come“; in other words, from Earth to Heaven, atop Mount Zion.
Emmanuel’s land in the allegory is synonymous to the Celestial City, which is Christian’s ultimate goal in the story. It can be equally related to the City of God, Holy City or Heavenly City.
Christian, in this allegory, is both husband and father from the City of Destruction. He is stricken by spiritual crisis and in desperate search for spiritual purification that would enable him enter the Celestial City through the King’s Highway.
At the beginning of the story the main character, Christian, feels dejected and discouraged because he carries a burden on his back. Although he is made to enter the Wicket Gate, he still yet retains his burden. And not until he reaches the Cross and the Sepulcher of Christ, amidst a myriad of temptations and challenges, did his burden fall off his shoulders.
The Wicket Gate represents the narrow road to salvation described in the Bible in Mathew 7: 13-14: “Enter through the gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Holy Bible: New International Version).
Entering therefore through the Wicket Gate represents God’s grace that will ultimately lead to salvation.
The mere knowledge of his sin was the great burden that weighed down on Christian, a fact he had captured from the constant reading of the Bible- the book he carried in his hand. He therefore must seek deliverance; otherwise that burden which was so unbearable would cause him to sink into Hell. Reaching the Cross of Calvary and the open Sepulcher of Christ allegorically represented that ‘place of deliverance’, where the ‘straps’ that bound Christian’s burden broke and rolled away.
Christian’s torturous journey, from the City of Destruction to the Celestial Kingdom, was fraught with a myriad of difficulties, challenges and temptations, occasioned by the influence and intervention (more negatively than positively) of several characters whose names Bunyan use to represent abstract qualities.
Amongst such names can be identified Obstinate, Pliable, Help, Faithful, Evangelist, Formalist, Hypocrisy, Worldly Wiseman, and Ignorance, etc., etc. Each one has demonstrated the traits for which they are named in this undying allegory and they all greatly affect Christian’s journey in search of spiritual purification for entry into Emmanuel’s land.
‘Faithful’, for example, remains faithful to the truth, as did the Lord Jesus, and he is condemned to die because of the sins of others, not any sin of his own.
‘Evangelist’ is representative of the messenger carrying the gospel or word of Christ to Christian.
‘Obstinate’ is Christian’s neighbour in the City of Destruction who refuses to accompany him on an uncertain journey, whereas ‘Talkative’ is spurned by Christian for valuing spiritual words over religious deeds, etc., etc.
There is also the mention of ‘Vanity Fair’ in ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’- a Fair that goes on perpetually in the town of Vanity, which symbolizes worldly ostentation and frivolity.
It is considered any place or group, like the world we inhabit today or any fashionable society, characterized by or displaying a preoccupation with idle pleasures or simply a world in which there exists an exaggerated display of wealth. In fact, this Fair is representative of evil and a metaphor for sin in this all-significant allegory, for everyone in this Fair represents some sort of evil and opposition to God.
Although he had authored other works of importance, Bunyan’s allegory stands out above his predecessors because of his simple and effective prose style, steeped in Biblical texts and cadences, which run throughout the length and breadth of the book. It equally blends facts and fiction side by side.
The main message of “The Pilgrim’s Progress” is one of perseverance on the part of us humans in the Christian faith, irrespective of all manner of trials and temptations we might encounter in the process towards spiritual cleansing.
The Pilgrim’s Progress has its main theme centered around the cost of salvation. The road from this world to Heaven is not easy as Christian’s journey demonstrates; the cost is astronomically great and the true Christian must be willing at all times to pay the cost no matter what.
We must endeavor to make not our temptations, lusts, shames, doubts, fears, guilt and sins of our present condition of being sinners used to sink us into the abyss of destruction that would be filled with scum and filth of sin, but that we must try to march triumphantly towards the ground that is stable and good at the narrow Wicket Gate.
We cannot be sinking under the weight of our sins and expect to reach Emmanuel’s land.
Let us don’t appear before the gates of the Celestial City without a valid passport.
We must beware too of the flatterers and deceitful ones along the way who might intend to lure us away into forbidden and enchanted ground instead of directing us to the straight and narrow King’s Highway.
And in order not to have our tremendous efforts thwarted to reaching Emmanuel’s land, let not our human emotions of depression and hopelessness make us descend into the ‘Slough of Despond’ and thus further weaken our faith in our desperate quest for spiritual purification.
May we continue to pray that the ‘Shining Ones’ be our guardians throughout our worldly journey to the Celestial City!
May they be prepared too (depending on the outcome of our stewardship on Planet Earth) clothe us with new garments and give us valid certificates at the Gate that would qualify us entry into Emmanuel’s land!
Are we fully inclined and prepared to make it to Emmanuel’s land?
Ing. Yayah A.B. Conteh is the Director of the Mechanical Services Department (MSD) of the Sierra Leone Roads Authority (SLRA).
Tel. Nos: 076640364 / 077718805.
E-mail: contehyayahab2020@gmail.com.