Rose Baker - Pilgrim's Progress, faith, and "The Call"

     In my exploratory essay I discussed the two prerequisites for a hero to partake on a journey: a) an experience of spiritual or emotional preparation, and b) the call. Typically, stories that feature a "Refusal of the Call" stage result from the character failing to experience these steps in the appropriate order, perhaps beginning with a call that is scorned, followed by a preparatory experience, and then---if they are lucky---a second call. In the narrative journey of the hero, their initial refusal is a symptom of their naivete, signaling the need for the growth that will take place throughout the course of their journey.

    One of the artifacts in my exploratory essay was Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, and though I didn't end up getting into it in that essay, the primary inspiration behind the topic and the artifact choice was because the faith journey has similar requirements, in my view. Rarely does the desire that draws people to accept Christ burst forth spontaneously upon hearing the gospel. More often, awareness of brokenness, loneliness, and emptiness acquired through preparatory experiences has put them on a search, even passively, for answers. In terms of narrative progression, the search is often distinct from "The Call" and generally must begin before if the character is able to accept it outright. Even within The Pilgrim's Progress, Christian, a man we meet in an already sin-aware state, sets out on the journey almost immediately upon hearing the gospel. His wife, however---who ultimately reaches the Celestial City, therefore establishing that individuals with similar responses are not lost causes---initially derides Christian for his faith, and it is not till after his death, when reflecting on that loss and experiencing sorrow for how she treated Christian, that her heart is opened to accept "The Call."

    The process of conviction and salvation has always retained some mystery for me. Translated into the terms I've established, Christians generally preach either a Calvinist theory: only the select few receive God's call to their soul (preparatory spiritual experience), or: everyone receives the call, and anyone who hears the gospel has already had the necessary internal experiences via the conviction of conscience (and perhaps The Holy Spirit) needed to answer "The Call" of the gospel. If they fail to follow, the church's following conclusion is that they've already rejected the call in their heart. 

    This has always felt like a dramatic oversimplification to me and could certainly contribute to difficulties the church has spiritually mentoring their youth, their "deconstructing" members, and their new members who may want to know God, but have more to work through within the church before being ready to jump in the baptismal. 

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