The Pilgrim's Progress: A Readable Modern-Day Version of John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress (Revised and easy-to-read) (The Pilgrim's Progress Series)

Description

The most readable version of Pilgrim’s Progress available! Reading The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan can be a bit challenging even for the best of readers. Not so with this new, easy-to-read version that translates the original archaic language into simple conversational English allowing readers of all ages to easily navigate the most popular Christian allegory of all time. The story chronicles the epic adventure of a man named Christian who leaves his home in the City of Destruction and begins a life-long quest to the Celestial City. Set against the backdrop of a hazardous journey, this powerful drama unfolds as Christian’s adventures lead him into fascinating lands and encounters with interesting people who either help or hinder his progress along a narrow way. With a gallery of memorable characters and visits to colorful places, Bunyan’s allegorical narrative describes one man's extraordinary adventure on his journey to faith. Without losing any faithfulness to the original text, now you can read Bunyan’s timeless classic and reimagine this famous quest that has challenged and encouraged believers for centuries. The book includes the original Bible references and a Bible study guide is available separately for individual and small group use. Frequently Asked Questions: Is the book unabridged? Yes. The most important consideration was to convert the original, archaic language into simple conversational English without losing any faithfulness to Bunyan’s text. When compared to the original version, you will find no key element missing. What you will find is sentence construction and certain interpretations of character reactions modified or enhanced to produce a more contemporary style of expression without sacrificing the intrinsic message. Also, instead of using the antiquated term “stages” to separate book sections, you will find chapter headings and subdivisions. Does this book include Part 1 and Part 2? This book only includes Part 1 of The Pilgrim's Progress which chronicles the journey of Christian to the Celestial City. Part 2 chronicles the journey of his wife and children and is not included in this book. What age group is the book for? The book is appropriate for all readers 12 and up and is a favorite of renowned authors such as Charles Spurgeon, C.S. Lewis, John Newton, George Whitefield, and many others. Is there a Bible study? Yes. The Pilgrim’s Progress Study Guide, available separately, will guide you through Bunyan’s masterful use of metaphors to a better understanding of key concepts of the book, supporting Bible passages, and the relevance to our world today. Each study question is ideal for group discussion and answers to each question are available online. Can I use other book versions with the study? No. Although, there are many versions of this Bunyan classic, this version is the only book made specifically for this study. Each chapter, sub section, and study question of both the book and study guide are designed to be used with each other. Other book versions will feel drastically different and not match up with the study questions and format of this study. Review: A good story - One of the best books next to the bible I have read.Very interesting a good and easy read.It is worth your time to read this book. Review: We are all pilgrims with our own unique life's journey from this world to the next. - The crucial question is in which world do we end up when life ceases. What can one do or can one do anything at all concerning our destiny because that inner voice steering our thoughts & actions, the people we crossed paths with that influenced our directions in life vary from person to person? None more aptly depicted indeed than in John Bunyan's timeless and very entertaining book which is also a stark cautionary tale for all, believers and non-believers alike. The impact on believers by Bunyan's profound puritan Calvinism theology expounded in this tale will no doubt differ from reader to reader depending on his age, the depth of a person’s biblical knowledge, and his theological leanings. Framed like an adventure journey, the allegory of the difficulties and triumphs of our pilgrim reflect also our lifelong race to the end of the road that is full of potholes and land mines. On the journey, the pilgrim would meet a series of key people, the evangelist being the first and the most critical, who steered the pilgrim onto the path of the straight and narrow. Not by random chance or by the pilgrim’s own superior strength and virtues, but only and only by God’s Grace did our pilgrim Christian make it to the pearly gates. The pilgrim encountered many colourful characters along the way, some good others bad. It was the many dialogues and much discourse between the characters that presented the salient biblical themes in the Old & NewTestaments. Themes regarding God’s favouritism for Jacob over Esau even though Jacob was dishonest and cunning; what real God-fearing attitudes entailed, and the precious salvation by the saving grace of God obtained through the limited atonement of Jesus Christ's ultimate blood sacrifice, the one and only pearly gate to the promise land. Admittance is limited because many would never make it because the Evangelist chose some like Christian to reveal to him the Way while ignoring others like Ignorance despite Ignorance’s strong desire to reach the Celestial city. Was Christian morally superior to Ignorance, or was Jacob more righteous than Esau? Not relevant because it is God’s unconditional grace that decides whom He shall favour. Can the clay make demands on the potter? So popular is John Bunyan’s book that there are already >1000 editions and >200 translations into other languages since it was published 4 centuries ago. In Alan Vermilye’s edition, he has modernized the language to spare most modern readers the agony, who may not appreciate the archaic English language. However, Vermilye’s edition is outstanding because he added many biblical annotations relevant to the text to expose us to God’s words (which is never often enough). Checking up on the bible verses was the best part of reading the book. Vermilye’s edition also prepares readers for an accompanying bible study book, which is very substantial in covering the many themes in the Pilgrim's progress, vis-à-vis the Bible. Some themes are quite contentious theologically dare I say. John Bunyan was an absolute genius to present the Gospel through this adventure tale. It also brought feelings of déjà vu because it loosely paralleled with Divine Comedy, where author Dante took a guided tour through hell, purgatory and Heaven. While Bunyan used characters in his dreams, Dante saw historical characters that ended in hell, purgatory and the saints who made it to heaven. I was quite curious about the book in the pilgrim’s hand at the beginning of the story. There were only two English versions of the bible when John Bunyan was born in 1628. The Tyndale Bible and the King James Version. Today there are so many. I love the ESV and NASB best.