Valiant-for-truth, Enchanted Ground, & Death

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4P95oSpOFSoAZkYdI2qPjA?si=1P2ShZqWTyy3Z7-FIg50fQ After last reading of the pilgrims’ assault and triumph over Giant Despair and of their coming to the Delectable Mountains and what the Shepherds there revealed to them, we come now to the end of their journey and to the end of John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. In these final pages, the company meets …

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Despair & the Shepherds

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3hQsnQUwVYTtH74JMOwOEQ?si=Psxwla1YQSS_1-75KjIKEw In our previous reading, Christiana and her ever-increasing company of pilgrims added Feeble-mind and Ready-to-Halt as well as Gaius' daughter, Phoebe, as James' wife. They then came to the town of Vanity and stayed in the house of Mnason, finding the town much less hostile to pilgrims that it was during Christian’s time. While …

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Feeble-mind & a Monster

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6m7nHYIIg1udg33QIHo9an?si=AJY5BP62RcOgQlQwdZT0gA When we last left Christiana and her companions, they added another pilgrim to their party, an older man named Honest, and then came upon the house of Gaius, where they were able to stay for over a month. We pick up the story once more with the pilgrims still resting in Gaius' house. Here …

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Honest, Fearing, & Gaius

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3T3r2JrW6N1d8aHT3qV1oF?si=SJFc76HMSluq7RLoyelxRw Having previously ventured through the Valleys of Humiliation and the Shadow of Death and defeated the giant Maul in combat, we continue onward with the pilgrims' journey. Over the course of this stage, they meet a fellow pilgrim named Honest, who recounts for them the pilgrimages of Mr. Fearing and Mr. Self-will. Lastly, they …

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Catechisms at Beautiful

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5KGQq9ZO6lvR0nNOgmlkJm?si=PtPWU0RXQtK4S0PouoeSaQ When we last left Christiana and her fellow pilgrims, they had left Interpreter's House with a new companion to be their guide and protector, Great-heart. Together they came upon the place of deliverance, found the hanged bodies of Simple, Sloth, and Presumption, and began their climb up the Hill of Difficulty. In our present …

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Lessons at Interpreter’s House

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7naGqwxhKj7vpyuQBXTEwR?si=bBhf2TqkT7yxzdcInEIttQ In our previous reading, Christiana, her four sons, and Mercy set forth upon their journey and entered through the Wicket-Gate. Though Mercy was fearful of being rejected for not having a received a letter from the King as Christiana had, the Keeper assured her of her acceptance. In our present section, the pilgrims continue …

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Mercy & the Wicket-Gate

https://open.spotify.com/episode/40wWIMlsOcPt21KskeueTm?si=04BxaQ7PTr-g4P2PtZqSGA Last week, we began our journey reading through the second part of the Pilgrim's Progress. There we met Christiana, Christian's wife, as she wrestled with the guilt of having mocked Christian's desire to become a pilgrim. After some visions in the night and a visit from Secret, Christiana resolved to set forth for the …

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Christiana, the City of Destruction, & Mrs. Timorous

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6wwxABqLDlMaXmCHnXaHYd?si=Kl5rerI-TpCBcX45J09BtQ As we begin reading Part II, we are greeted again by Bunyan who transmits this story to us as the sharing of his dream, and from the very first paragraph, we discover the subject of this tale: Christian's wife and children that he left behind in the City of Destruction. Yet unlike the First …

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Let’s Read Part II of The Pilgrim’s Progress

Even among those who are familiar with The Pilgrim’s Progress, many are unfamiliar with its Second Part. As we noted, the First Part was written while Bunyan was imprisoned in Bedford jail, and many of the events throughout the story correspond to events from the author’s own life. Although the First Part was immediately well-received, …

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The River Death & the Celestial City

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1Ro1bNYkrANomWHVEChlvy?si=0sXEOQ8XRiqcX6aDGaX93A Having only been blown off course of our initial projected reading schedule by two weeks, we come now to the conclusion of the first part of John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. Here Christian and Hopeful conclude their pilgrimage and finally arrive at their eternal home in the Celestial City. Of course, while this is …

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