| Home |
John Bunyan
John Bunyan (1628-1688), author of the "Pilgrim's Progress," "Holy War," "Grace abounding," &c., was born at the village of Elstow, Bedfordshire [England], a little more than a mile south of the town of Bedford, in November 1628.
John Bunyan was arguably one of the most influential writers in human history. Consider the fact that after the undoubted supremacy in circulation of the English Bible, Bunyan's classic allegory The Pilgrim's Progress, has commonly ranked second. This has led it to be called "the second best book in all the world."
Even secular critics have agreed that this uneducated mender of pots and pans was a writer of uncommon genius. Raised during the turbulent seventeenth century in England, following conversion from an unsavory past, Bunyan began to preach and receive a welcome hearing. His first venture at writing at this time was a vigorous response to Quaker doctrine. Staunchly nonconformist, he was imprisoned for 12 years in the Bedford County jail for refusing to remain silent.
During imprisonment, Bunyan was not idle. He made shoelaces to raise support for his family and preached to the inmates. His spiritual autobiography, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, was written at that time, it becoming one of Bunyan's several classics. However his magnum opus, The Pilgrim's Progress, was also written while a prisoner, and then, following his release in 1672, was published in 1678.
His Works
Bunyan_BadMan "The Life and Death
of Mr. Bad Man by John Bunyan"