Pilgrims on the Way
A Scientist -Spiritual Quest Towards God
Why This Book
I am a natural scientist who lives with faith.
There was a time when I deeply admired Richard Dawkins—not for his denial of God, but for his powerful way of writing about animal behavior. His words were so persuasive that, for a while, even my own faith began to waver.
In that season of inner conflict, I encountered The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. Through that journey, I came to recognize Dawkins as a figure much like Bunyan’s “Worldly Wiseman”—a guide shaped by reason alone, sincere yet ultimately limited.
I do not write this book to argue about the existence of God.
Rather, as a contemporary scientist and fellow human being living in the same age, I write as one pilgrim to another.
From a small country in the East where the sun rises, I offer these paintings and reflections to Western readers—especially to younger generations who live without reference to God.
This is not a debate, but an invitation:
to walk, to question, and perhaps to listen for a quieter voice along the road.
About the author
Professor Shi-Ryong Park(Dr.rer.nat.) is a renowned natural scientist and consultant for animal-related programs at KBS. He has published numerous works on natural science for general audiences.
Prologue
On the Road of Pilgrimage
I have walked the road of natural science for most of my life.
With binoculars and a hand lens, I followed wild birds and small creatures,
searching for truth in numbers, data, and patterns.
Yet at the end of all that accumulated knowledge,
one deeper question confronted me:
“Where does humanity come from, and where are we going?”
This question shook not only the direction of my research
but the entire architecture of my life.
When I opened the Scriptures in search of an answer,
I encountered John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress.
It was more than a literary masterpiece;
it was a spiritual map—
a journey of the human soul traveling toward the Celestial City.
Along that road walked characters such as Christian, Faithful, Hopeful, and Little-Faith—
each enduring trials and sorrows,
yet arriving, at last, before the gates of heaven.
Following their stories, I came to realize
that my own life, too, belonged on that same pilgrimage path.
The Stork in Flight and the Pilgrim’s Path
I have studied storks for many years.
Their flight has always filled me with awe.
When they stretch their long wings
and rise into the open sky,
they remind me of the human soul
lifting itself toward the Creator.
A stork in flightEach year, storks travel thousands of miles
to return to their homeland.
The journey is perilous—
winds, storms, hunger, and hunters.
But they do not lose their way.
The compass of heaven seems engraved
upon their very being.
In their soaring wings
I saw the image of Christian the pilgrim—
buffeted by the storms of the world,
yet pressing on toward the eternal home above.
For this reason, storks appear again and again
in my paintings and writings.
To me, they are more than birds—
they are symbols of the soul setting out for heaven.
The Path of Meditation, and the Pilgrimage of Writing
This book is a spiritual meditation on The Pilgrim’s Progress,
rewritten for the present age.
In each chapter, I met Bunyan’s characters anew—
Faithful resisting the temptations of Vanity Fair,
Little-Faith holding on despite trembling,
and the pilgrim who refuses to surrender hope
even in the dungeon of despair.
They were not distant figures.
They were beside me:
The elderly deacon preaching the gospel
on the streets of Seoul,
the brother who sold all he had
to live among the poor,
and the sick believer who prayed
with a trembling yet steadfast heart.
In them I discovered today’s Christian.
Though I am a scientist,
my spiritual desire has always leaned toward
the prophetic vision—
not the languege of tongues,
but the voice that conveys the will of God.
This book was born out of that longing:
an attempt to interpret faith through the lens of reason,
and to re-examine the sciences
through the language of faith.
The Sound of Silence, the Revelation of Love
The pilgrim’s road is always wrapped in silence.
In the hours of prayer,
in the long nights of suffering,
and in the stillness where God seems not to answer—
there, I learned the true weight of His Word.
God often speaks more through silence
than through speech.
In the storm,
at a hospital bed,
or in the fragile chamber of the heart,
He whispers quietly:
“Do not be afraid.
I am with you.”
When that voice filled my soul,
I no longer asked for further proof.
For I understood at last
that faith is not explanation—
but trust.
Longing to Finish the Race Toward Heaven
This book is a seventeen-chapter record
of a pilgrim’s journey.
From the “Narrow Gate”
to the crossing of the “River of Death,”
the path has been lined with tears and repentance,
yet also with joy and resurrection.
Along the way,
I saw countless storks rise into the sky.
Their wings became my prayers,
and their return to their homeland
became the very conclusion of my faith:
Death is not something to fear—
it is a homecoming
into the arms of God.
He never abandons us.
His love is both our beginning
and our end.
It is my hope that this book
may serve as a small lantern
on your own pilgrimage.
May weary hearts find a moment of rest
within these pages,
and feel the wind of heaven upon their souls.
“He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.”
— Psalm 23:2
Winter 2026,
St. Isidore Pilgrim Trail, Jeju
Park ,Shi-Ryong