THE CELESTIAL RAILROAD
by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804 – 1864)
Introduction
This little booklet is a spin-off from Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress“. It is an allegory depicting the radical distinction between “the broadness of contemporary Christianity”, and “the narrowness of Biblical Christianity”. The vast majority of Christian professors have abandoned the Bible’s demanding lifestyle of the narrow way, which alone leads to eternal life. A socially fashionable brand of ‘easy religion’ now masquerades as biblical Christianity.
Hawthorne’s dream carries him off to Bunyan’s ‘City of Destruction’ where to his surprise, he is told that a RAILROAD has recently been built from the ‘City of Destruction’ to the ‘Celestial City’. Sadly, this railroad never arrives at its promised destination.
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14
A PDF copy of the book is available in right column under resources.