{"id":597,"date":"2017-01-10T06:32:22","date_gmt":"2017-01-10T11:32:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kenpulsmusic.com\/blog\/?p=597"},"modified":"2017-01-23T22:18:51","modified_gmt":"2017-01-24T03:18:51","slug":"trial-in-vanity-fair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kenpulsmusic.com\/blog\/2017\/01\/trial-in-vanity-fair\/","title":{"rendered":"Trial in Vanity Fair"},"content":{"rendered":"

Then a convenient time being appointed, they brought them forth to their trial, in order to their condemnation. When the time was come, they were brought before their enemies and arraigned. The judge’s name was Lord Hate-good. Their indictment was one and the same in substance, though somewhat varying in form, the contents whereof were this:<\/p>\n

“That they were enemies to and disturbers of their trade; that they had made commotions and divisions in the town, and had won a party to their own most dangerous opinions, in contempt of the law of their prince.”<\/p>\n

Then Faithful began to answer, that he had only set himself against that which hath set itself against Him that is higher than the highest. And, said he, as for disturbance, I make none, being myself a man of peace; the parties that were won to us, were won by beholding our truth and innocence, and they are only turned from the worse to the better. And as to the king you talk of, since he is Beelzebub, the enemy of our Lord, I defy him and all his angels.<\/p>\n

Now, FAITHFUL, play the man, speak for thy God:
\nFear not the wicked’s malice; nor their rod:
\nSpeak boldly, man, the truth is on thy side:
\nDie for it, and to life in triumph ride.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Lord<\/a>In many ways The Pilgrim\u2019s Progress<\/em> is a retelling of John Bunyan\u2019s own pilgrimage<\/a> as he escaped destruction to find eternal life. His journey was not easy. Throughout his ministry he faced many hardships for the sake of the gospel, including persecution and imprisonment. Now in Vanity Fair we read of Christian and Faithful enduring persecution and imprisonment<\/a>. They are brought before the judge, Lord Hate-good, to face the indictment against them. As Faithful begins his defense, Bunyan\u2019s own resolve to stand up for truth before his accusers can be heard. Cheever notes:<\/p>\n

Now came on the trial. And here again, as in every part of the allegory, Bunyan\u2019s own experience served him in good stead; here again he draws his picture from real life, from his own life. Little could he have thought, when a few years ago, amidst the taunts of his enemies, he himself stood at the bar to be examined for the crime of preaching the gospel, that the providence of God was then laying up in store materials of human life and character to be used with such powerful effect in his then unconceived imagined allegory. These phases of a world at enmity against God were indelibly impressed on Bunyan\u2019s mind; and now, in all the freshness of their coloring, he transferred them to the tablets of the Pilgrim\u2019s Progress<\/em>. (from Lectures on The Pilgrim\u2019s Progress<\/em> by G.B. Cheever)<\/p>\n

Christian and Faithful are described in the indictment as enemies, disturbers of the peace and law-breakers. They are accused of dividing the town, swaying some to accept their views, and speaking against the established traditions and laws of the fair. As Faithful answers the charges in the indictment, he tries to make clear that he only desires what is right for the glory of God and for the good of the town:<\/p>\n