The Pilgrim's Progress

When my friend, Larry, loaned me his audio copy of John Bunyan's classic allegory, The Pilgrim's Progress, I wondered 1. whether I would be able to get through it; and 2. whether I would like it. I have bad memeories of attempting--but failing--to complete this book when I was in high school and college. However, I said to myself, "It's a classic. It's been translated into more than 200 languages, has never gone out of print since its first publication in 1678, and many images from it still show up in the English language today. It's one of those books you ought to read."

Besides, Larry's version advertised itself as a "lively, heartfelt reading taken from a slightly updated, easier-to-follow text." So, after 5 1/2 hours of listening, here is what happened: 1. I got through it; and 2. I still didn't care for it.

Here are some thoughts and observations that the book provoked:

• Pilgrim's Progress is full of biblical illusions, images, and scripture quotations. People must have been much more biblically literate or they could not have understood the book. Perhaps they valued the Bible more because it had not always been available to them. For many centuries, the Roman Catholic Church suppressed all translations other than the Latin Vulgate.

• My favorite part of the story occurs when the pilgrim, Christian, has the burden on his back (his guilt and accumulated sins) lifted. "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, till it came to the mouth of the sepulchre, where it fell in, and I saw it no more. Then was Christian glad and lightsome, and said, with a merry heart, 'He hath given me rest by His sorrow, and life by His death.' Then he stood still awhile to look and wonder; for it was very surprising to him, that the sight of the cross should thus ease him of his burden."

• What I disliked--disagreed with really--was the implication that people could, right up to the gate of the Celestial City, go astray and fail to enter Mount Zion. Indeed, the story so emphasizes the need for the pilgrim to be diligent and alert that it comes close to teaching a kind of works righteousness, i.e. that heaven is attained through our own effort rather than through trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ.

When all is said and done--and more is usually said than done!--I would not recommend this book. However, I would recommend a more recent allegory that was heavily influenced by Pilgrim's Progress. Hannah Hurnard wrote Hinds' Feet on High Places in 1955. It is the story of a young woman named Much-Afraid (a character from Bunyan's book), and her journey away from her Fearing family and into the High Places of the Shepherd, guided by her two companions Sorrow and Suffering.

There are a number of other spiritual classics that I would recommend. But I'll save that for another day. Happy reading!

Surprising News!

No, Susie's not pregnant -- that would be a surprise! But Paul, our son, is engaged! He called me Saturday night to let me know. As it turns out, Susie already knew he was going to propose, since they had been "conspiring" on this for most of the day.

Once Paul secured the ring--his grandmother's--he had it polished and got a box for it. He and his girl friend, Cassey, like to go geocaching together (sort of like treasure hunting using a GPS system; there is a large geocaching community, believe it or not!), so Paul planned for Cassey to locate the ring in a wooded area at the end of their hunt. When they reached the location, though, the trail was getting dark and Cassey wasn't sure she wanted to go down the path. However, with Paul's strong encouragement and a little bit of assistance--brushing aside some leaves and twigs--she located the box that contained a toy ring. Then he proposed, she accepted, and he gave her the "real" ring--his grandmother's ring.

I understand why Cassey was reluctant to go down the dark path, but I got to wondering. How often do we miss life's best surprises because we don't want to leave our comfort zones? How important is it that we have a friend or two who will encourage us to brave the dark, go down the path, and claim the prize? Personally, I have more regrets about playing things too safe than I do about risking too much.

So, congratulations, Paul and Cassey. May your life together be filled with a finely-tuned balance of comfort, risk, and surprise, so that you will know the joy of living by faith.

Reading, reading, reading!

Recently, I was seated at a luncheon next to someone I didn't know well . He initiated our conversation by asking, "So, what have you been reading?"

The truth was that I'd been reading the newspaper more than anything else. I would like to be able to say it was the Bible--that sounds more appropriate for a pastor--but it wouldn't be good to lie in my very first blog. Besides, I don't read the Bible like I read the newspaper; it's usually a slow read, and I'm okay with that.

But I knew my new acquaintance would not have been satisfied if I had said either "the newspaper" OR "the Bible." He wanted to know what books I'd been reading. So I told him: The Character of Leadership (Jeff Iorg), Walking with Saints (Calvin Miller), and Rosie (Anne Lamott).

"Why those books," he queried. I told him I started reading the first one because of the message series I was working on, the Calvin Miller book as part of my devotional reading, and the Anne Lamott book because I like her writing and because she opens a window into a world with which I have little contact.

Then he asked me a great question. "If you could read just for yourself--not anything because of work--what would you choose?" I've been thinking about that ever since. And here's my answer.

I would read many of the same books--simply because I like the work I do, and I want to do it well--but I would change the mix. I still would read Dallas Willard, Calvin Miller, Mark Buchanan, and some serious theology or history, but I would read more fiction and less non-fiction. Why? Because fiction fuels my imagination, helps me to think "outside the box," and is usually a lot of fun! So, in the not too distant future, I'm looking forward to some Wendell Berry, David James Duncan, and Alexander McCall Smith.

Don't make me choose between lasagna and ice cream. I love 'em both!