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John Bunyan
The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
One of the most controversial issues in Christian teaching during the era in which John Bunyan wrote The Pilgrim's Progress was the question, originally posed by Martin Luther, if Christian salvation could be achieved through good deeds or through faith alone. According to the initial appearance of the structure of the book to the eye of a unenlightened modern reader, it might seem as if good works or deeds were all that were required on the part of the pilgrim, Christian, at the center of the narrative. After all, the act of pilgrimage is a physical action of a good deed, of movement in the world from a secular place to a sacred place. Christian does travel a long and hard journey to fully apprehend the true nature of the Christian faith. However, the ultimate (Protestant) truth that Christian learns at the end of The Pilgrim's Progress is that that salvation is achieved by faith in Christ alone.
The reason that Bunyan's tale makes it initially appear that salvation is the result of work rather than of faith...
Because the book contains a plot or story, its structure almost invariably involves at least the appearance of external struggle. However, Christian struggles not with the difficulty of doing good works, but with emblematic representations of the spiritual crisis within himself. The struggle appears to be an outer struggle, but really it is an inner struggle, as the book really takes place in the main character's head, in the form of a dream. Only when Christian realizes the importance of faith does he become saved and is able to enter the Celestial City. However, the entrance into the Celestial City is not based upon Christian's ability to open up the city's gate through a physical action, rather it comes from a psychological or inner truth that Christian is now capable of understanding. The challenges Christian has most difficulty in resisting throughout the book are those which involve misunderstandings of the truth of faith, rather than more obvious temptations…
Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress A sign of the enduring popularity and influence of The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan is that one of the more memorable episodes of the allegory -- the passage of Christian and Faithful through the town of Vanity, and its market festival of "Vanity Fair" -- continues to be a recognizable allusion long after Bunyan's death. In 2012, Vanity Fair remains the title of a Conde-Nast magazine celebrating
Lengel says, "That's all right...but this isn't the beach." And after a counter-protest by another of the three girls, Lengel lectures, "We want you decently dressed when you come in here." For all the readers know, Lengel himself is turned on by the lovely young women, and is only ranting at them in order to gaze at the splendor on display. In any event, Queenie says, "We are decent"; she
Nashe, Greene, Bunyan and English Fiction Thomas Nashe’s The Unfortunate Traveller, Robert Greene’s Coney-Catching pamphlets and John Bunyan’s Vanity Fair each captured something of the imagination of early modern England. Bunyan’s vision of “juggling, cheats, games, plays, fools, apes, knaves and rogues” in Vanity Fair was a reality a century before for Greene and Nashe, who actually depicted these visions in a realistic manner. The realism (and satire) that Green and
STYLE OF WRITING AND TEACHING METHODS IN PILGRIM'S PROGRESS Teaching and preaching have always been considered cornerstones of Christian beliefs. For devout Christians, teaching others about various things of value is what their entire religion is based upon as Gospel of Matthew mentions that Jesus is believed to have instructed his disciples to "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the
1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested in Birmingham for his participation in the demonstrations against segregation. While imprisoned, King took the time to respond to the statement against non-violent protests contained in the article "A Call for Unity." In his response from the Birmingham jail, King explains the reasons behind his actions, as well as the imminent social threat that looms over the South. In "The Letter from
He stated that, "I mean printed works produced ostensibly to give children spontaneous pleasure and not primarily to teach them, nor solely to make them good, nor to keep them profitably quiet." (Darton 1932/1982:1) So here the quest is for the capture and promotion of children's imagination through stories and fables that please as well as enlighten. There is always the fallout that once a child learns to love