Book Review: Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan

Aside from the Bible, there has been no other book more often printed than John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progess.  It is the epitome of Christian classics and a must read for all.  I recently finished The Pilgrim's Progress for the first time this past year, and let's just say, I'll be reading it again soon.  So why all the hype?  Here's the rundown of this classic Christian work.

John Bunyan was born in England in 1628.  Throughout his life, he only received 2-4 years of schooling.  Therefore, we are not talking about some Havard graduate; Mr. Bunyan had a difficult life.  Sometime after his conversion, he began to preach.  It was because of his preaching that he thrown in prison.  Though he was only initially incarcerated for 3 months, his stay in prison lasted 12 years.  Why?  Bunyan continued to say, "If you release me today, I will preach tomorrow."  It was during this 12-year stay in prison that Bunyan began his allegorical tale of The Pilgrim's Progress.

The Pilgrim's Progress is an allegory that tells the story of a man named Christian from the city of Destruction who leaves his home, family, and friends to embark on a journey to the Celestial City.  The rest of the book tells of all the adventures in between and beyond.  He'll meet friends along the way such as Faithful and Hopeful.  He'll dodge deceivers and temptors such as Legalist, Obstinate, & Mistrust.  He even battles the dreaded Apollyon in a fight to the death.

But the real worth of this book lies in its application to the lives of Christian believers of all ages.  Since it is an allegory, Christian's life in Pilgrim's Progress is meant to parallel that of the life of Christian believer, including all of the temptations, victories, persecutions, and graces found throughout a believer's life.  Often times as I read through it, I found myself being encouraged, admonished, and taught through Christian's story.

Now that you know what Pilgrim's Progress is about, check this out...  Crossway has reprinted it in living color.  The 30 beautiful and colorful illustrations add so much to the book and aid in Bunyan's depiction of Christian's story.  Here are a couple of illustrations from the book as posted by Tony Reinke.

Illustration copyright © 2009 by Michael Wimmer. Posted by permission of the publisher. The Pilgrim’s Progress: From This World to That Which Is to Come (Crossway 2009), p. 18.

Illustration copyright © 2009 by Michael Wimmer. Posted by permission of the publisher. The Pilgrim’s Progress: From This World to That Which Is to Come (Crossway 2009), p. 129.

If you have a choice between 3 different versions of The Pilgrim's Progress, you might just want to pick this one.  Happy reading!!

Buy it here.