Number 8: The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan | 100 Books That Changed The Church

Estimated Reading Time - 2 minutes

There is a reason this book has never been out of print since it was first published in 1678. The Pilgrim's Progress — included among Premier Christianity's books that changed the Church — is not a period piece or a theological curiosity. It is a living map of the Christian journey, drawn with such accuracy that readers in every generation have looked at it and said: "That is exactly where I am."

The story follows Christian, an ordinary man carrying a great burden, as he travels from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City. Along the way he passes through the Slough of Despond, is imprisoned by Giant Despair in Doubting Castle, is seduced by Vanity Fair, and walks — finally — through the River of Death. Every landmark is a spiritual experience that generations of readers have recognised from their own lives.

What is remarkable is how John Bunyan, a tinker with almost no formal education, writing from a prison cell, produced something of such lasting power. His prose is plain, vivid, and alive — and his theology is exact without ever being cold.

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About the Author: John Bunyan (1628–1688) was a Nonconformist minister who spent twelve years in Bedford jail for preaching without a licence. Part one of The Pilgrim's Progress was written during that imprisonment. He later wrote Part Two (following Christian's wife Christiana) and the allegorical Holy War.

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