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The Pilgrim's Progress - Chapter 12 The Pilgrims Suffer at the Vanity Fair

Christian and Faithful emerge from the wilderness and see a town before them, the notorious Vanity, home of the Vanity Fair, a year-end market of ancient origins, where everything sold or that comes there is meaningless, as in the saying of the Wise, "Everything to come is meaningless".

The origins of the fair are ancient, founded almost five thousand years ago, as Pilgrims going to Celestial City were observed going along this path. Recognizing that the path went through this town, Vanity, Beelzebub, Apollyon, and Legion and their companions conspired to set up this fair which would sell all sorts of worthless things, and would always be open. All sorts of merchandise are sold, such as "houses, lands, businesses, places, honors, promotions, titles, countries, kingdoms, desires, pleasures, and delights of all sorts such as prostitutes, brothels, wives, husbands, children, masters, servants, lives, blood, bodies, souls, silver, gold, pearls, precious stones, and so forth". There are also all sorts of games, cheats, fools, and rascals, and all sorts of thefts, murders, adulteries, and perjury. There are many streets here, named after the nations and kingdoms of the world, such as Britain Avenue, French Avenue, Spanish Avenue (and others).

One day, the Prince of princes Himself, came to this fair, and Beelzebub personally invited Him to purchase the meaningless things of the fair, and would have made Him Lord of the fair if He would only have worshipped him. The Blessed One had no desire for the merchandise and left the fair.

So, returning to Christian and Faithful: they have to go through the fair, so in they go, and the whole town is in a hubbub for several reasons -- first, that Christian and Faithful are wearing strange clothes (remember Christian's armor); second, they talk funny, speaking the language of the land of Canaan (the language of the land of promise), and third, they regard the wares of the fair as utterly unimportant and worthless. One merchant, particularly perturbed that our Pilgrims refuse to buy asks, "What do you intend to buy?" They reply, "We buy the truth."

At that, mocking and taunting break out in the mob and a great uproar ensues, so great that the great one of the fair is called, who appoints some of his friends to take and interrogate the Pilgrims. They are asked where they came from and where they are going, and why they are there in such strange attire. They reply that they are pilgrims and strangers in this land, and going to their own country, the Heavenly Jerusalem. They deny doing anything to the men of the town to deserve such abuse, except maybe for saying "We buy the truth." They then ask to be allowed to continue their journey.

Christian and Faithful are not believed to be anything other than lunatics, so they are beaten and put in cages to make a public spectacle. But their patience and forbearance move many in the crowd to check and blame the meaner ones among them for their abuse. This results in fighting amongst the crowd as the meaner ones attack the ones urging better treatment for the pilgrims.

Christian and Faithful are then brought before the examiners again, where they are beat again, and have irons hanged upon them, and are led through the streets in chains. Again, Christian and Faithful face their persecution with meekness and patience, so that some in the crowd are moved in their behalf. However, this puts the rest of the crowd in such a rage that they decide that the pilgrims should die for the outrage they had done and for deluding the people of the fair. Christian and Faithful are returned to their cages to await trial. The pilgrims then take comfort from the words of Evangelist, and comfort each other with the knowledge that he whose lot it is to suffer death would have the best of it.

The trial begins: they are brought forth before their enemies and arraigned. The judge's name is Judge Hate Good. They are charged with being "enemies of and disturbers of the town's trade; they had made commotions and caused divisions in the town, and in contempt of the law of the town's ruler they had won over a number of individuals to their own most dangerous opinions."

Faithful offers his defense, "And as for the disturbance, I didn't cause any being myself a man of peace. Those who were won to us were won by acknowledging our truth and innocence, and they have only been turned from the worse to the better. And as for the king you talk of, since he is Beelzebub, the enemy of our Lord, I defy him and all his angels."

Witnesses are called to testify against the pilgrims; three come in, Envy, Superstition, and Gainglory. Envy accuses Faithful of being "one of the vilest men of the country. He does not regard either ruler or people, or law or custom, ...and I heard him once declare that Christianity and the customs of our town of Vanity were diametrically opposite and could not be reconciled." Superstition accuses Faithful of saying that the town's religion was nothing, and tells the judge that he must know what follows his reasoning. Gainglory accuses Faithful of making critical remarks of the town's noble ruler, Beelzebub, and his honorable friends, "the honorable Mr. Old Man, the honorable Mr. Carnal Delight, the honorable Mr. Luxurious, the honorable Mr. Desire of Glory, my old master Mr. Lechery, Mr. Having Greedy, together with all the rest of our noble leaders."

When the witnesses are finished, Judge Hate Good asks Faithful, "You Renegade, Heretic, and Traitor, have you heard what these honest gentlemen have testified against you?" Faithful replies that he has and asks to speak in his defense. Judge Hate Good replies that Faithful deserves to be put to death immediately, but "so that all men may see our gentleness toward you, let us hear what you have to say."

Faithful replies, to Envy's testimony, that he only said that what is opposed to the Word of God is also diametrically opposed to Christianity. To Superstition's testimony, he replies that divine faith is required for worship of God, and divine faith requires a revelation of the will of God. Whatever is thrust into the worship of God that is not subject to divine revelation is an invention of human faith, "and that is faith that will not gain anyone eternal life." In reply to Gainglory's testimony, Faithful says, "I say that the ruler of this town, with all the riffraff--his attendants who were named by this gentleman--are more fit for being in Hell than in this town and country. And so, the Lord have mercy on me."

The judge then instructs the jury and they return a guilty verdict. Faithful is condemned to the most cruel death that could be invented. They whip him, beat him, lance his flesh with knives, stone him with stones, prick him with swords, and burn him at the stake.

John Bunyan, speaking as the narrator, then says "Now I saw that behind the multitude there stood a chariot and a team of horses waiting for Faithful, who as soon as his adversaries had taken his life was taken up into it and immediately carried up through the clouds with the sound of a trumpet. He was taken by the nearest way to the Celestial gate."

Christian is returned to prison, but He Who Rules Over All Things, turns things around so that Christian can escape, as as he goes, he sings:

Well, Faithful, thou hast faithfully profest
Unto thy Lord, with Him thou shalt be blest;
When faithless ones, with all their vain delights,
Are crying out under their hellish plights.
Sing, Faithful, sing, and let thy Name survive;
For tho' they kill'd thee, thou are yet alive.

Thoughts on this chapter
Vanity Fair represents the world and all the things it presents to us to keep us from seeking God. Christian and Faithful confront the world, say the truth, and are persecuted. Faithful is executed, and is sent home. His journey is complete. Christian continues alone, for now.

Vanity Fair reminds me of Renaissance Fairs that I've gone to, a popular summer attraction around the United States. I haven't been to one in a long time, but they are a lot of fun. You can pick up a lot of interesting, yet useless, things at these fairs. They also sell a lot of occult paraphernalia. I won't be buying any of that, nor should you. Actually, come to think of it, at the last fair I attended, I don't think I bought anything except food and drink. Thinking of this chapter will give me a new perspective the next time I attend one.

This chapter is challenging--it is critical of a market where goods are bought and sold in freedom (and license), a system of capitalism. Should we take it literally as saying that capitalism is wrong? I don't think so, even though I wonder if Bunyan does. As long as one seeks to know and do God's will, handles all their transactions honestly and without any intention to defraud or injure others, and does not limit their own wealth to their own benefit, I don't see them as being enslaved by the wares of Vanity Fair. That's consistent with the Two Great Laws: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your soul. Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37,39)

Posted by joelfuhrmann at March 23, 2003 12:48 AM