John Bunyan, author of The Pilgrim's Progress, was born in November, 1628, to a poor family in the village of Elstow, about a mile from Bedford, England. He followed in his father's occupation and worked as a Tinker—a mender of pots and pans.
Bunyan admits in his autobiography, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (his first book, originally published in 1666) that he was a veritable ringleader among the youth who kept company with him in "all manner of vice and ungodliness." He struggled for years with his sin and the Holy Spirit's conviction and finally chose to repent and follow God.
His journey of Christian discipleship is directly communicated to readers of Grace Abounding but also clearly reflected in Bunyan's most famous work, The Pilgrim's Progress.
John Bunyan became one of England's foremost Christian leaders—and without doubt the leading Puritan clergyman of his time. His ministry as a non-anglican, protestant believer was effective to the point of posing a threat to the Church of England, and he was imprisoned for preaching and teaching the Bible without the authority of the established church.
His imprisonment, however, did nothing to stop his ministry as he became a prolific writer during his twelve-year imprisonment. Altogether, John Bunyan authored some sixty books during his lifetime. His most well-known and most-read book is The Pilgrim's Progress. It has been continuously sold in various versions since its original publication in 1678, and at one time in America hardly a Christian household existed without a copy of it.
The Holy War, originally published in 1682, is known as Bunyan's second-most-popular book.
John Bunyan died on August 31, 1688 after many fruitful years of ministry. He is buried in Bunhill Fields, a London burial ground for nonconformists.
The following Books by John Bunyan were translated from their original seventeenth century text and further edited and annotated by L. Edward Hazelbaker. They are included in the Bunyan Collection of Pure Gold Classics™ published by Bridge-Logos Publishers. All are available for purchase through The Worn Keyboard™.
⇒ Click on the book covers for more information.
