John Bunyan
| John Bunyan | |
 | |
John Bunyan | |
| Activity (s) | itinerant tinker and preacher |
|---|---|
| Birth | 23 November 1628 Harrowden, near Bedford |
| Deaths | 31 August 1688 Holborn Bridge between Reading and London |
| Writing language | English |
| Genre (s) | tale , allegory |
| Major works | |
| |
| Supplements | |
| |
John Bunyan ( 23 November 1628 - 31 August 1688 ), preacher and allegorist English , world famous for its religious tale
Summary |
Biography
John Bunyan was born in 1628 in the hamlet of Harrowden, near the town of Bedford in a very modest family. His mother, Margaret Bentley is the second wife of Thomas Bunyan. It works as a tinker. Despite the extreme poverty of his parents, John Bunyan attended some time at the school where he learned to read and write. But he soon abandoned his studies to start working with his father. He later confessed to have quickly lost what he had learned then. In 1666 , in his spiritual autobiography (Grace Abounding To The Chief of Sinners), John Bunyan described his youth as a dissolute and depraved. His "curses, insults, lies and blasphemies of the Holy Name of God" led him to suffer at the age of 9 or 10 years of horrible nightmares about the hell. He lives now in constant fear of hell and its demons who would work to take with them and he says a voice telling him often to "sell Christ".
The Civil War (1644-1649)
At the age of 16, in November 1644 during the Civil War , he joined the " Roundheads , "the parliamentary army. It is placed in garrison at Newport Pagnell in the company of Colonel Richard Cockayne. Although the victory of the Parliamentarians in the Battle of Naseby in June 1645 has meant the end of hostilities, Bunyan will remain two years in the army until the demobilization of his regiment July 21, 1647.
The gathering of these men are underpaid - the delay in payment of salaries reached 14 weeks - that the unrest grew, causing the emergence of a great religious fervor and attracts many preachers and preachers of all kinds. In October 1644 , the city has up to seven theologians there gave two sermons each Sunday, plus Friday and every morning before the changing of the guard, one prays and reads a chapter from the Bible. The exegesis, and preaching sermons make their way rapidly among men who are a particularly strong focus for the development of sects. No doubt John Bunyan was greatly influenced by them.
Family Life
Returning home after his discharge, John Bunyan resumed the profession of his father. Shortly after his return (the exact date is unknown, probably 1649 ) he marries. The name of his first wife does not reach us. His first daughter, Mary, was baptized on 20 July 1650. But this little girl is born blind. John, full theological doubt, can not have failed to see a sign from God, a divine punishment against his impiety. He feared to have committed such sins would no longer be forgiven by God. His distress led him to open theological discourse of sects such as the Ranters and Quakers. Their ideas will attract and convince almost, but they can not provide what he expected Bunyan probably more, the assurance of his salvation. This disillusionment led him later to take a harsh speech against Quakers.
Baptist Deacon (1653-1660)
After his many inner spiritual conflict and several years of doubt, John Bunyan joined the Baptist congregation of the Church of St. John of Bedford in 1653. This community believed the right of each congregation to follow his own religious policy. In 1655 he moved to Bedford and was appointed deacon by the charismatic leader of this congregation, the Rev. John Gifford , shortly before the death of it. Gifford's influence on John Bunyan and his later work is undeniable. Shortly after arriving in Bedford, his first wife died, leaving John alone with her four children.
Her years of doubt and inner spiritual struggle and his journey that led him to faith enable him to write some years later allegory The Pilgrim's Progress, based on his own spiritual experience. This struggle, he also expresses becoming gradually after the death of John Gifford, an important preacher in his community. The sermons help him out of his spiritual crisis, it is for him a kind of therapy. Bunyan seemed rather collect his talent for preaching as a gift from God that he must exploit to the glory of it.
In his sermons, John Bunyan will attack hit the Ranters and Quakers. His struggle with pamphlet and sermon interposed with a young Quaker, Edward Burroughs, and their heated debates establish the reputation of John. In 1657 he was formally appointed by his congregation as preacher record. John Bunyan fully assumes his duties while his detractors are more numerous and that a first warning in the form of a charge that seems to have remained unanswered, it is forwarded in 1658.
Imprisonment (1660-1672)
The restoration of the monarchy and the accession to power of King Charles II in 1660 will hinder the religious freedom on the Commonwealth. Charles II will attempt to restore religious unity of the country at the expense of dissident movements such as including John Bunyan. Bunyan was arrested in 1660 , he was accused of preaching in public and holding illegal meetings. His background supporter of the parliamentary army and its refusal to stop preaching, mission for which God would have invested, do not play in his favor. He was sentenced in January 1661 and sentenced to three months in prison and perpetual banishment from the kingdom if he refused to stop preaching or if it does not attend Sunday Mass after his release from prison. This ruling will not be applied as such but it will remain twelve years in prison.
The conditions of detention of Bunyan vary depending on the political situation. It is indeed several times allowed to leave prison to preach and even went to London. He will also receive many visits. But his opponents whenever they learn tancent roundly goalkeeper and make more stringent the conditions of his detention. In 1666, he was released a few weeks but quickly returned to prison because he can not bring himself to stop his preaching. During his imprisonment he was allowed to write and publish his works. Most of his literary works are also written during these twelve years in prison. During the first six years of detention, he wrote prose works as Of the Resurrection of the Dead, The Holy City (1665) and Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (1666) but also with poetry Profitable Meditations (1661), Prison Meditations (1663), One Thing Needful IS and Ebal and Gerizzim (1665).
After 1666 , however, and until 1674 , it will not publish anything. Indeed, the persecution seems to get worse this time and work of Bunyan experience more enmity and the publisher of Bunyan see his shop looted in 1666. John Bunyan probably do not stop writing so far and it is possible that he worked at that time on his most famous work, The Pilgrim's Progress.
Pastor Bedford
In 1672 , he was released under the terms of the Declaration of Indulgence of Charles II. He also received permission to preach and was called to become pastor of the Church of Bedford. His reputation still attracts growing crowds and in his many travels around Bedford merely increase it. But in 1675 , the situation will again becomes unfavorable and is called to appear before the court of the archdeacon to have breached its obligations parish. He prefers to hide rather than stand and his case is transferred to a government court. John Buyan is arrested and jailed in December 1676 to June 1677. Shortly after his release from prison he published The Pilgrims Progress from This World to That Which Is To Come: Delivered Under the similarity of a dream who is very fast a great success. This success led him to write other religious allegories such as The Life and Death of Mister Badman (1680) who claims to be the parallel of Pilgrim's Progress but also The Holy War where he uses his experience as a soldier to describe attacks against the devil City Mansoul (1682).
His popularity continues to grow and gather his sermons always a strong meeting until his death in 1688 of pneumonia contracted during a heavy storm.
Works
The Pilgrim's Progress
This allegorical novel was published in 1678 , a time when publications are starting to be less censored but John Bunyan probably started working there as early as 1660. This allegory traces the journey of an ordinary man named Christian (Christian) who decides to take the road to reach the city of Zion. He left the city of destruction (land) and makes its way to the heavenly city. He faces many trials and through places with names like: Slough of Despond (Marsh discouragement), Vanity Fair (Vanity Fair), Hill of Lucre ... The many characters are also a name indicative of their personality: Faithful (faithful, loyal), Giant Despair (Despair gigantic), Mr. Great-Heart (big heart). The book is divided into two parts. The first chronicles the journey of Christian and the second that of his wife Christiana and their children.
Through this allegory, Bunyan recounts the path to true faith through doubt and all oppositions and temptations, both internal and external that. His own spiritual experience built through years of doubt and questioning by facing his inner demons is told in pictorial form. The man who guides the pilgrim to its destination is the evangelist, one who defends religion Bunyan. The Pilgrim's Progress can thus be regarded as an apology of evangelical Protestantism.
The strength of the work of John Bunyan probably lies in its simplicity and accessibility. Her prose sometimes simple and efficient naive contributed to his rapid success. Bunyan gives life to abstractions, creating anthropomorphic figures representing emotions and temptations, and demonstrates a real talent for storytelling. Bunyan does not have the scholarship of Milton and his references are mostly confined to a well-established verbal knowledge of the Bible. The structure, turns of phrase and imagery used by the allegory also greatly resemble those of the Bible. The images used by Bunyan often refer to his normal environment and this may explain his rapid success because it evokes elements close to the daily lives of its readers and may be related to their own experience. Christian suggests a man of the people and demonstrates the superiority of the poor over the rich in his spiritual quest since the latter are presented as opponents.
The Pilgrim's Progress has been translated into over 200 languages. He stayed for over 200 years the most translated book and read more in the English speaking world after the Bible.
Other Works
- Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners
- The life and death of mister badman
- Holy War, Editor / Publisher: Cedar, ( ISBN 2907282549 )
- The abundance of grace, 2001, Publisher / Edition: The age of man, ( ISBN 2825114472 )
- Christiana. The story of the Pilgrim, 1997 Editor / Publisher: Cedar, ( ISBN 2911003020 )
- Prayer, 1991, Publisher / Edition: Grace and Truth ( ISBN 2853310055 )
- The Pilgrim's Progress, 1982 Editor / Publisher: CLC, ( ISBN 2722200201 )
- Starting with Jerusalem, Editor / Publisher: Europress ( ISBN 2914562004 )
External Links
- (En) Site dedicated to John Bunyan
- John Bunyan - Boilermaker, poet, evangelist Robert Farrelly. 1935. Book online.
- The Pilgrim's online translation,
Source partial
Marie-Nicolas Bouillet and Alexis Chassang (ed.), "John Bunyan" in Universal Dictionary of History and Geography, 1878 [ detail editions ] ( Wikisource )
Loading ...