Most Christians have read The Pilgrim’s Progress.
John Bunyan’s famed allegory is one of the most well-known books in the world.
But did you know that Bunyan wrote another powerful allegorical novel?
Filled with swords, armies, and Christ’s struggle for the soul of man, The Holy War is one every Christian should read.
Just as The Pilgrim’s Progress began as its narrator’s dream, The Holy War begins with a narrator describing his travels through the world.
Bunyan, the traveling narrator, quickly fixates on one city in particular: Mansoul.
Built by a gracious king called Shaddai, Mansoul is strong, beautiful, and home to “the best, most wholesome, and excellent law that then was extant in the world.”
It seems that such a city, ruled by such a king, could never fall. But things swiftly change when Diabolus appears on the scene.
Diabolus, once a servant of Shaddai himself, rebelled against Shaddai and fell from grace. Now he searches for a way to gain “greatness and honor,” and a takeover of Shaddai’s favorite city seems like a powerful statement.
The reader will quickly recognize the first few pages of the book as a dramatization of Satan’s fall from heaven and subsequent temptation of Adam and Eve.
Bunyan weaves the tale to show vividly Satan’s designs on mankind.
Diabolus plots to take over the city of Mansoul, recruiting the worst villains to aid him. When they appear at the gates of Mansoul, they are met by the townspeople, who symbolize different and intriguing aspects of a human’s spiritual life.
The Lord Mayor of Mansoul, named Willbewill, represents the will and decision-making capacity of a human. His close colleague, Mr. Recorder, is the conscience of a soul.
Together, these two characters take on much of the struggle against Diabolus. Mr. Recorder is a faithful representative of Shaddai and reminds the city over and over of Shaddai’s commands, while Willbewill eventually makes the decision to grant Diabolus entrance into Mansoul.
Bunyan’s imagery beautifully conveys the ever-present conflict between our sinful impulses and the promptings of our consciences.
Once he is inside the city, Diabolus establishes his reign as the new king, determined to make the people forget Shaddai and his commands.
He knows that this is the surest way to hurt Shaddai and get his revenge.
The transition isn’t completely smooth, however: Mr. Recorder often wanders the streets of Mansoul, crying out for the people to return to the ways of Shaddai.
As much as Diabolus tries, he can’t fully silence the conscience of the soul.
But the city is still in dark times. Willbewill and the other townspeople revel in their new “freedom” under Diabolus’ reign, forsaking Shaddai’s ways completely and erasing any reminders of their former king.
“And now Diabolus thought himself safe,” Bunyan writes, just as Satan thought he was safe in the new world stained by sin after the Fall.
But the story of Mansoul has barely begun!
When Shaddai receives the news of Mansoul’s reign, he knows he must retake the city and cast out Diabolus. He also knows that his victory will come at great cost.
Here Bunyan begins to expound on the intricacies of the Gospel. When Shaddai and his army come to the city gates, characters like Captain Conviction, Sorrow, and Captain Judgment represent often overlooked aspects of the grace that Shaddai—or Christ—extends to humanity.
Although the citizens of Mansoul resist Shaddai’s advances, insisting they are happy and fulfilled under the rule of Diabolus, Shaddai presses on, confessing that he “gave body for body, soul for soul, life for life, blood for blood, and so redeemed my beloved Mansoul.”
The scenes that quickly follow are breathtaking symbols of the work that Christ does in our lives through the Gospel. Though the townspeople fight Shaddai’s work at every turn, he promises to “make [them] a monument of the richest grace.”
Christian readers see familiar truths when Mansoul finally surrenders to Shaddai’s rule, and they may expect the story to simply end there. But half of Bunyan’s book remains after Mansoul is saved!
Through the rest of the book, Bunyan seeks to address the following question: what does life look like for the new Christian soul?
Well, you’ll have to read The Holy War to find out!
Readers of The Pilgrim’s Progress will not be surprised to find that this book is written in a slightly cumbersome style for the modern reader. Bunyan’s language is often verbose and his allegory is complex.
I found, however, that these qualities helped provide a fresh look at what often seem like old truths for the Christian life. Bunyan touches on so many aspects of Christianity that may get overlooked, such as the place of desire and the meaning of hope.
This book is definitely on the same level as Bunyan’s classic The Pilgrim’s Progress and clarifies some theological points that are important to the development of the Christian faith.