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Charles Spurgeon read it twice a year and C.S. Lewis said it astonished the world. Novelist Jasper Fordde had a character describe it as one of the dullest books ever created and my mother-in law hated every page of it when she read it in school. John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress is a divisive book.

John Bunyan (1628 - 1688) turned 16 during the English Civil War and signed up to fight for Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentarian side. After the war he became a tinkerer before becoming a free church preacher and pastor. Being part of an unofficial church wasn't looked upon highly in those days and he spent 12 years in prison for refusing to give up preaching, where he started to write this book.

Pilgrim's Progress is a two part allegorical tale explaining the Christian life. The book is the story of the trials and encouragement of Christian (in part one) and his wife Christiana and her companions (in part 2) on their journey to heaven. This isn't some metaphorical journey to heaven either. They are literally journeying on their way to a place called Celestial City. To get there they must literally be shown the way to it by a man called Evangelist, and literally flee the City of Destruction, and literally walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death and literally pass through the waters of death. This is what an allegory is: each person and thing in the story directly represents something in real life. So, when Christian meets someone called Mr Money Love, he directly represents the love of money, and tries to tempt Christian with the love of money. And so Christian doesn't try and rescue Mr Money Love, because you don't rescue your love of money in real life, you put it to death.

The unusual style of writing is probably why it's so divisive. Allegory is odd and we don't know what to do with it these days (the only recent allegorical fiction I can think of that succeeds is the season 2 Christmas stop-motion episode of Community. If you can think of another then answers on a postcard). Allegory also doesn't make for a great narrative. When Christian escapes the clutches of the Giant Despair in Doubting Castle because he remembers that he literally holds a key called Promise that unlocks the chains Despair has placed in him, narratively it feels like a cheat and people rightly find it annoying. But once you get your head around the allegory you find it gives an amazing clear view of the Christian life. Despair is overcome by remembering the promises given to you by God himself.

As Christians, the insight Bunyan gives to our daily pilgrimage towards the new creation with Christ is to be treasured. As youth workers we get a double bonus, because Bunyan also shows us another way of communicating truth to our young people. As people who love thinking through different methods of teaching truth to young people, this is a book that could inspire you to do great things.