'The Pilgrim's Progress'

One of the greatest and most well-known religious texts of all time. It was published in 1678 and has never been out of print.

It's a Christian allegory, retelling the trek of "Christian" the pilgrim, who leaves his family and home to heaven, or Mt. Zion. Along the way, he meets and encounters a series of characters, appropriately named by their countenance or what kind of person they are ("Piety," "Timorous," "Prudence," "Obstinate" et al.)

The second part of the book is the tale of Christian's wife and her sons as they decide to follow their husband and father to Mt. Zion. Along the way, they collect a crew of characters.

The book in its entirety is a giant analogy for the trials and tribulations of a believer in the world as he or she is tempted and led astray and placed back on the straight and narrow by good characters and an unrelenting faith.

I've grown up in the Christian church and never did I know of The Pilgrim's Progress. I say this because religion is considered a sign of civilization. But never was it a sign of intellectualism, literature, thought and debate, which is a shame.

If you consider that the cornerstone of most religion are based on texts and the foresight of early progenitors to chronicle things that happened and the teachings of Christ or Buddha or Muhammad. It is thought and philosophy with its roots set solid in the idea of debate. Modern religion is not about just faith and belief in the things unseen. It's about what is real. That Jesus or Buddha were real people with real ideas about how we should treat others and act. Thoughts on what is good and what is bad.

Instead, it's become this parade of pep talks, TV networks, mega-churches and slogans. It's based solely on the idea that we real have no clue what happened so we have to live our lives within this bubble of faith instead of reality. Just doesn't feel right.