John Bunyan

John Bunyan (November 28, 1628 – August 31, 1688), a Christian writer and preacher, was born at Harrowden (1 mile south-east of Bedford), in the Parish of Elstow, England. He wrote The Pilgrim's Progress, arguably the most famous published Christian allegory.

Life

Bunyan had very little schooling. He followed his father in the Tarish Tinker's trade, and served in the parliamentary army at Newport Pagnell (1644 - 1647); in 1649 he married a pious young woman, whose only dowry appears to have been two books, the Plain Man's Pathway to Heaven and the Practice of Piety, by which he was influenced towards a religious life. He lived in Elstow till 1655 (when his wife died) and then moved to Bedford. He married again in 1659.

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In his autobiographical book, Grace Abounding, Bunyan describes himself as having led an abandoned life in his youth; but there appears to be no evidence that he was, outwardly at any rate, worse than the average of his neighbours: the only serious fault which he specifies is profanity, others being dancing and bell-ringing. Bunyan, as shown in his autobiography, is perhaps the most clear cut historical example of obsessive compulsive disorder. His obsessions, which seem to have begun during his childhood, had a religious content, and contributed a lot to his thorough study of the scriptures and his devotion on writing and preaching. Although some have conjuctured that Bunyan heard voices (something which would have made him psychotic and in the long run would impair his intellectual capabilities) what he actually experienced was a clear case of pure religious obsessions, a common form of obsessive compulsive disorder. He experienced obsessions about acts of impiety and profanity, and the hypothetical dangers these involved. His most persistent and feared obsession regarded the "unpardonable sin," and the pathological doubt if he had already committed it. After severe spiritual conflicts he escaped from this condition, and became an enthusiastic and assured believer. Ian Osborn, an OCD expert discusses Bunyan's life and how he managed to cope with OCD in his book, "Tormenting Thoughts and Secret Rituals". Bunyan was received into the Baptist church in Bedford by immersion in the River Great Ouse in 1653.

Related Topics:
Baptist - River Great Ouse

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In 1655 he became a deacon and began preaching, with marked success from the start. In 1658 he was indicted for preaching without a license. He continued, however, and did not suffer imprisonment till November 1660, when he was taken to the county jail in Silver Street, Bedford. There he was confined at first for three months, but on his refusing to conform or to desist from preaching, his confinement was extended for a period of nearly 12 years (with the exception of a few weeks in 1666) until January 1672, when Charles II issued the Declaration of Religious Indulgence.

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In that month he became pastor of the Bedford church. In March 1675, he was again imprisoned for preaching (because Charles II withdrew the Declaration of Religious Indulgence), this time in the Bedford town jail on the stone bridge over the Ouse. (The original warrant, discovered in 1887, is published in facsimile by Rush and Warwick, London). In six months he was free and as a result of his popularity he was not again molested.

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On his way to London he caught a severe cold from being wet, and died as a result of a fever at the house of a friend at Snow Hill on August 31, 1688. His grave lies in the cemetery at Bunhill Fields in London.

Related Topics:
August 31 - 1688 - Bunhill Fields

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