How we cite our quotes: Paragraph (P#) or Line (Line #)
Quote #7
All the King's Subjects are not his Champions, nor can they when tried do such feats of War as he. Is it meet to think that a little child should handle Goliah as David did? Or that there should be the strength of an Ox in a Wren? Some are strong, some are weak; some have great faith, some have little: this man was one of the weak, and therefore he went to the wall. (P683)
The story of Little-Faith could be one of the most difficult parts of this book to stomach if you're not Puritan yourself. There's definitely an undercurrent of the idea of predestination here. This is the Calvinist notion that whether or not a soul will go to heaven or hell is already decided by God from birth. While we might think that the weak should be particularly good candidates for forgiveness (after all, they literally can't help themselves, right?), it's just the reverse for Bunyan. Christian likens the weak to children here—simply not capable of doing the deeds of adults. How does this argument strike you as a reader? Are there places in the book, or even in this example of Little-Faith, where there seems to be a chance for faith to grow and strengthen?
Quote #8
And he said, Go, and thou shalt find him upon a mercy-seat, where he sits all the year long, to give pardon and forgiveness to them that come. I told him that I knew not what to say when I came. And he bid me say to this effect: God be merciful to me a sinner, and make me to know and believe in Jesus Christ; for I see that if his righteousness had not been, or I have not faith in that righteousness, I am utterly cast away: Lord, I have heard that thou art a merciful God, and hast ordained that thy Son Jesus Christ should be the Saviour of the world; and moreover, that thou art willing to bestow him upon such a poor sinner as I am, (and I am a sinner indeed) Lord, take therefore this opportunity, and magnify thy grace in the Salvation of my soul, through thy Son Jesus. (P761)
In this excerpt, Hopeful is explaining to Christian how his conversion actually came about. We remember that he was inspired by Faithful's words and death at Vanity Fair, enough to join Christian on the road, but in this later conversation he explains the process more specifically. The main issue was the depth of his conviction of his sinfulness and not knowing how to seek forgiveness. Sound familiar? Here, Hopeful remembers the very specific instructions that Faithful gave him for seeking this mercy. The "mercy seat" is a figure from both the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, traditionally a part of the Arc of the Covenant on which sacrifices would be placed for atonement. In Paul's letter to the Hebrews, he speaks of the mercy seat as a foretelling of Christ's sacrifice. This is significant theologically, as the sacrifice of Christ for the sins of the world is understood as having wiped out the need for ritual sacrifice.
Quote #9
The shame that attends Religion lies also as a block in their way; they are proud and haughty, and Religion in their eye is low and contemptible; therefore when they have lost their sense of Hell and wrath to come, they return again to their former course. (P872)
Here, Christian and Hopeful, nearing the Celestial City, enumerate the reasons why certain men fall back from their faith and good intentions. As Hopeful explains in this passage, losing the fear of Hell and judgment is intertwined with pridefulness. Being proud, you lose the sense of being under a higher law; while, conversely, losing sight of ultimate judgment, your head is destined to grow too big for your shoulders.