In this present-day rendition of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian Pilgrim drives a high-end SUV with his wife and three teenaged children toward Celestial City and the promise of relief from the burden of their sins. They stay in B&Bs and inns, eat in diners and cafés as they confront the same sins that plagued Bunyan’s characters yet with expressions sometimes unimaginable 350 years ago.
The Pilgrim’s Progress for the 21st Century will resonate with the modern reader as the original has for centuries. This adaptation is the first to update context and language while preserving the characters, form and flow of Bunyan’s best-selling allegory. Students of the classic text and those intimidated by it will relate to Christian and his family as they struggle to be the men and women God intended them to be.
In this present-day rendition of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian Pilgrim drives a high-end SUV with his wife and three teenaged children toward Celestial City and the promise of relief from the burden of their sins. They stay in B&Bs and inns, eat in diners and cafés as they confront the same sins that plagued Bunyan’s characters yet with expressions sometimes unimaginable 350 years ago.
The Pilgrim’s Progress for the 21st Century will resonate with the modern reader as the original has for centuries. This adaptation is the first to update context and language while preserving the characters, form and flow of Bunyan’s best-selling allegory. Students of the classic text and those intimidated by it will relate to Christian and his family as they struggle to be the men and women God intended them to be.
I ARRIVED HOME exhausted from a long day and night of international travel for work. The house was silent and dark; even my night-owl teen-aged children were asleep. Sitting on the sofa nearest the door to take off my shoes to preserve the quiet, I fell fast asleep, my tie still tied. In my sleep, I dreamed.
My dream started at an elegant home, as if I had stepped into a photo shoot for an Architectural Digest spread on the best Hallmark movie set. A middle-aged man wearing a custom-tailored suit in dire need of dry cleaning was sitting at a turquoise picnic table in a well-manicured, weedless expanse of lawn under an ancient, Spanish-moss-hung oak. He was struggling to sit upright, the beautiful glove-leather backpack he wore straining the seams on the straps. When he opened it, I expected to see heavy books or stacks of papers and a thick laptop, but it was full of the weight of the sins he carried with him. Reading the Bible on his smartphone, he wept. This man looked unaccustomed to shedding tears.
He cried out in more of a moan than a shout, “I’ve done everything I was supposed to do. I’m a good person. What more do I have to do?”
He took time to collect himself and then spoke his truth to himself. “I am a wealthy, self-made man and my family looks to me to lead them well. I am the problem-fixer, not the needy one. God has rewarded me with the good life, a beautiful wife, and three incredible children. Pull yourself together, Christian. Time to show them your usual confidence and poise.”
“Dad’s home!” his daughter exclaimed to the household as he walked in the door.
The setting sun visible through expensive Belgian lace curtains, he joined his wife and children, who were already seated for their evening meal. Each member played his or her part of their picture-perfect lives as scripted, no one commenting on the bulky backpack weighing Christian down at the table.
After dinner, the family retired to the living room and melted into the country-chic sofas and chairs. Christian barely held back tears as he commanded the room, each of his listeners surprised and concerned. “I can’t maintain this charade any longer. When I try to keep up appearances, it adds to the painful weight of the sins I carry. Christiana, children, I know Pleasantown is home. God has blessed us with comforts and health and good standing here. Our friends love us and we love them. But as I was reading through the Bible, I became convinced that the town is destroying itself. If we stay, it will also destroy us.”
Christiana responded through her own tears, her voice conveying disappointment mixed with anger. “You are so consumed with growing your business, making a good impression at church, and networking in the community that you ignore your family’s needs. We have been trying to tell you we felt our home was doomed, but you wouldn’t even entertain the idea! Have you not noticed the burdens we carry?”
“I’m so sorry. I want the best of everything for you and assumed your packs were heavy because of the rich leather. We must convey the right image! Now I realize that each of us carries physical weight that reflects the burden of our sins. Digging through my backpack earlier, the sheer volume of my offenses overwhelmed me, going back to how I disobeyed my parents, through the years where I placed my faith in my own abilities alone or blamed God for my poverty early in my career, to the ways I have treated you with disrespect, Christiana. We will leave first thing in the morning and figure out how to lighten these bags on the way.”
The Pilgrims packed well into the night for their uncertain journey, shuttling back and forth to their climate-controlled, immaculate garage to pack their large, top-of-the-line SUV that looked like it belonged to a U.S. senator or CEO of a Fortune 500 company. After prayers together, each tossed and turned most of the night and slept little.
“Christian, we cannot leave without warning our friends of the imminent destruction of Pleasantown, especially the DoWells,” Christiana pleaded with her husband at breakfast the next morning. “Our families have known each other since before the children started school. We have always talked about church things with them. I’m sure they will recognize the tragic state of Pleasantown after we share what the Bible has revealed to us. It will be nice to have their company on our journey.”
The family hurried through the well-maintained lawns, arriving as the DoWells finished breakfast at an antique farmhouse table on their deep, covered veranda. The children left for the outdoor sofas in the sitting area on the other end of the porch as the parents settled at the table, enjoying the breeze of the ceiling fan. None of the DoWells seemed to notice the heavy bags their friends carried.
After brief pleasantries over fresh-squeezed orange juice, croissants, and lattes, Christian got to the point. “I have been reading through the Bible, and I believe Pleasantown has doomed itself to destruction—a modern-day Sodom or Gomorrah. We are leaving to find a place where people live out the truths of scripture. You are our oldest and closest friends, and given how often we have spoken of God and church, we thought you would want to join us.
“By the looks on your faces, it looks like you don’t share our concerns.”
“We love your family, but I’m afraid you are way off base here,” Mr. DoWell condescended in a concerned, patriarchal tone. “I’ve talked to other people who have put too much confidence in those outdated words in that ancient book. Pleasantown is renowned for its tolerance. God will continue to bless you with prosperity and health because of your tolerant lifestyle. There’s no reason to leave when you have everything you want here.”
Christian and Christiana tried to show their friends from scripture how the highest worldly values of relative truth, or “tolerance,” and comfort cannot satisfy one’s deepest desires. Despite the DoWells’ non-confrontational word choice, it was clear from their body language that they did not agree.
Mr. DoWell excused himself. “It’s getting warm. I’ll go get us some homemade lemonade.”
During their continued pleadings with Mrs. DoWell, her husband was talking on his phone inside, at times loud enough to be overheard.
“This is Child Protective Services, right? Our neighbors, the Pilgrims… Yes, Christian’s family… Yes, they are a great family, or so I thought. Anyway, I think they mean well, but I’m afraid they have become religious fanatics: closed-minded and intolerant. They are trying to convince us to leave the safety and comfort ensured by the policies set down by our city council… I agree, they are the most tolerant in the state. I’m worried about the children. They are at the age that they need the inclusive curriculum just introduced by the school board to help them as they determine their identities without the constraints of outmoded thinking. But, even more, the Pilgrims are one of the most well-respected families in the town. If they are allowed to leave, their departure would set a dangerous precedent that we cannot allow. With some re-education, I’m sure we can protect their family.”
The Pilgrims downed their lemonade as Christian tried to cover their exit. “We are behind in preparing for Sunday School tomorrow. As we are planning something different, we need to run some errands to get ready. Maybe we can pick up our conversation next week.”
With additional pleasantries, Christian and Christiana gathered their children and said their goodbyes.
Their neighbors gone, Mr. DoWell collected his family. “Let’s learn from what Mom and I discussed with the Pilgrims. I’ve repeatedly told you I thought Mr. Pilgrim led his family well. They are good people. They go to church most Sundays. Mr. and Mrs. Pilgrim teach Sunday School classes and their children help with Children’s Church. They don’t add stuff from the Bible that would conflict with the inclusiveness and tolerance curriculum approved by the school board. I don’t think they’ve ever broken the law or hurt anyone. They are wonderful neighbors, always ready to help, and give money to causes that are important to them. We’ve volunteered together at various events, and they have always seemed tolerant and pleasant.
“I’m not sure what has gotten into them, but I bet their ‘errands’ are such that we’ll never see them again. It’s so sad when people become religious fanatics. I hope you kids will learn from their mistakes. When you work hard to earn a good life and all the comforts that come with it, plus the respect of your friends and neighbors, you don’t just throw it all away on a whim.
“There they are, backing out of their garage now. Just wave as though it was any other day. I’ve notified Child Protective Services and I don’t want the Pilgrims to get suspicious.”
Backing their land yacht out of the garage, the Pilgrims set out on their journey, listening to an Audio Bible they downloaded to the vehicle’s audio system.
They stopped at a picnic table at the first rest stop on the way out of town.
“I don’t know what lies ahead of us, but I wanted to stop before we got too far to talk to you about the conversation Mom and I had with Mr. and Mrs. DoWell. On the one hand, I’m surprised at their lack of interest in what we have learned and shared with them from scripture. However, to be fair, I would have agreed with them as recently as a few days ago. I thought I was leading you well. I believed we were good people and others affirmed that without exception. But I have led you to a false confidence in our own self-worth. Our Savior confers our value on us through faith in him alone. I brought you into my deception, that my goodness was my path to Heaven. I know that’s wrong, but the problem is that I’m not sure what is right!”
Christian led his family in reading the Bible for direction as they discussed what to do next and where to go. While they were doing this, another car pulled into the rest stop. A clean-cut, distinguished-looking old man without a single white hair out of place got out and approached them.
“Good morning. My name is Good-Guide. You look lost. I have been sent to help you.”
“Welcome! Somehow, I know we can trust you. I thought I was leading my family in righteous living, but as we’ve been listening to the Bible, it convicted us of our sins and, now that we understand the consequences we will suffer, we are terrified. These weighty burdens we each carry are incontrovertible evidence that will condemn us at the time of trial on the last day we read about in the Bible. The resulting judgment will be unbearable. We have always believed we were good because we did good things and, therefore, deserved eternal reward. None of us has ever gone to jail for breaking the law, or even had to visit the principal’s office at school. But now we know our good deeds will not save us.”
“You do well to look to scripture, for the answers you seek are there when taken in context. It not only convicts of sin but provides the way out. What is your plan?” asked Good-Guide, his tone demanding a response, yet expressing great love and kindness.
“I don’t have one. I’m leading my family like sheep without a shepherd.”
The answer was as simple as it was confusing, “Escape the wrath to come.”
“I sensed the need to leave, but where do we go?” Good-Guide sent Christian a pin for the SUV’s map app. “This is Narrow Gate—look over there, you should be able to see it.”
“Where?” they responded in unison.
“Can you see the bright light?”
They all nodded.
“To get to Narrow Gate, follow the directions for the pin I sent you, but if you lose your cell signal, keep the bright light in sight. Knock on the door and you will be welcomed and given further instructions.”
“Thank you,” Christiana said with a beautiful, genuine smile as the family got back into the SUV, which their daughter had named “The Chariot.”
“Your destination is safe, but the route is not. You must remain alert… Do not fear.” This is a core messages in this updated version of John Bunyan’s 17th century classic, The Pilgrim’s Progress. David Harakal’s modern version, The Pilgrim’s Progress for the 21st Century, is highly readable and thoroughly enjoyable!
Christian Pilgrim and his wife, Christiana, live a comfortable, cushy life in Pleasantown along with their three kids, daughter Joyful and sons Looks-Good and Self-Disciplined. After reading the Bible, Christian becomes convinced that staying in Pleasantown will lead to their destruction. Friends and neighbors think they’re nuts. One neighbor even notifies Child Protective Services about the “religious fanatics” next door. But the Pilgrim family packs up their land yacht SUV, “The Chariot,” and hits the road. They’re searching for a place where people live out the truths of Scripture. They’re also looking for a way to lay down their heavy backpacks loaded with sin.
The Pilgrims meet Good-Guide at a rest stop. He advises them to “Escape the wrath to come” and head for the Narrow Gate en route to the Celestial City. The road is indeed narrow. The Pilgrims reach a hill with high walls and a cross at the top. Here their burdens are rolled away. They receive new, clean clothing and an envelope to present at the gate of the Celestial City. But they must be on their guard for a ravenous beast that’s on the prowl, looking for prey to devour.
Indeed, the Pilgrims encounter many perils and pitfalls on the way to Immanuel’s country. These includes storms, prisons, dungeons, Error Hill, and the towns of Self-Deception and Vanity. While Christian and his family must face many of the same sins and deceptions encountered in Bunyan’s original, this updated version adeptly mirrors many of the same per modern culture. True to the original, Christian and his family also find shepherds, guides, and many others to help them on their journey as they hold fast to their one foundation and solid rock.
Also noteworthy is that Christian and his family start out on their journey only to escape impending doom and destruction. But then…. Oh, wait. You’ll have to read the book yourself to find out more.
Reading The Pilgrim’s Progress for the 21st Century is like waking up to the first day of spring sunshine after a long, dark winter. Soaked in scriptural truth, hope and joy, it's a breath of fresh air!
Those familiar with Bunyan’s original allegory will be delighted with this updated version. Those who aren’t will enjoy the modern-day rendition. The language is modernized and easier to follow for today’s readers. Questions for personal and/or group reflection are included at the end of the story.
This is a brilliant adaptation of a well-loved classic. Beautifully written and scripturally sound, this updated allegory will resonate with modern day readers as they join Christian through many dangers, toils and snares. They’ll see that grace has brought them safe thus far, and grace will lead them Home. This one's a keeper!