Charles Spurgeon loved John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. He first read the book as a young boy, and he began his commentary on the classic with these words: “Next to the Bible, the book I value most is John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. I believe I have read it through at least a hundred times. It is a volume of which I never seem to tire; and the secret of its freshness is that it is so largely compiled from the Scriptures.” As Spurgeon said elsewhere, he loved Bunyan because Bunyan bled Bible. But he did have one qualm with the great book:
I am a great lover of John Bunyan, but I do not believe him infallible; and the other day I met with a story about him which I think a very good one.
There was a young man, in Edinburgh, who wished to be a missionary. He was a wise young man; he thought—”If I am to be a missionary, there is no need for me to transport myself far away from home; I may as well be a missionary in Edinburgh.”
Well, this young man started, and determined to speak to the first person he met. He met one of those old fishwives; those of us who have seen them can never forget them, they are extraordinary women indeed. So, stepping up to her, he said, “Here you are, coming along with your burden on your back; let me ask you if you have got another burden, a spiritual burden.”
“What!” she asked; “do you mean that burden in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress? Because, if you do, young man, I got rid of that many years ago, probably before you were born. But I went a better way to work than the pilgrim did. The evangelist that John Bunyan talks about was one of your parsons that do not preach the gospel; for he said, ‘Keep that light in thine eye, and run to the wicket-gate.’ Why—man alive!—that was not the place for him to run to. He should have said, ‘Do you see that cross? Run there at once!’ But, instead of that, he sent the poor pilgrim to the wicket-gate first; and much good he got by going there! He got tumbling into the slough, and was like to have been killed by it.”
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According to the New Testament, part of a Christian pastor’s job assignment is to warn his congregation concerning false teaching. It is entirely right for him to say that the Jesus of Mormonism is the begotten offspring of an exalted man and one of his many wives who lives on a planet circling a star named Kolob, and his “gospel” is the message of how you, too, can be exalted to godhood. He should point out that the Mormon (LDS) Church denies Christ’s full deity and the “god” they worship is not eternal but merely an exalted man who has achieved godhood by obeying certain laws. He should make it clear that Christianity is actually closer to Islam than Mormonism as both Islam and Christianity affirm monotheism (there is only one God) while Mormonism is one of the most polytheistic religions in existence. It is therefore right for him to say that it is certainly not in any way compatible with biblical Christianity. Where a pastor goes astray is when he then says to his congregation, “you should not vote for any presidential candidate who holds to such beliefs.” Even while he makes people aware of the theological facts, all should be encouraged to vote according to their conscience.