John Bunyan

On August 31, 1688, John Bunyan, English minister and author of 'The Pilgrim's Progress', died at the age of 59. An excerpt from the article:

"Life Behind Bars

For political reasons, Charles II released a number of prisoners. Bunyan was not among them. He was told he would have to apply for a pardon. He refused. To do so would be to admit he had done wrong. Elizabeth, his wife, pleaded for his release, but sympathetic court officers said John could go free only if he complied with the authorities. So John remained in prison. He was cheerful, believing he suffered for Christ. He had true freedom, he said. In prison, he could read the Bible, preach and sing hymns with no one to stop him. He was also allowed to write. While imprisoned he completed many of his sixty books, including the best known: Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners and The Pilgrim's Progress.

Bunyan's first book, Some Gospel Truths Opened According to the Scriptures, had attacked Quaker beliefs. Ironically it was Quakers who freed him. Told by the king to prepare a list of names for pardon, they included Bunyan's with their own members; names.

Released, Bunyan immediately returned to preaching. By now the authorities realized he was concerned only with the Kingdom of God. They jailed him again for six months in 1675, but otherwise, he remained free until he died at sixty years of age, having written The Pilgrim's Progress, the world's most widely circulated book next to the Bible.

One of the unforgettable images from The Pilgrim's Progress is the heavy load that Pilgrim always carried around on his back. This crushing load was his sin which rolled away when he came to the cross."