Histories that Mansoul and Her Wars Anatomize: The Drama of Redemption in John Bunyan's Holy War

• Published in: Bunyan studies no. 16; p. 138
• Main Author: Runyon, Daniel V
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Newcastle Upon Tyne Northumbria University, Department of Humanities, Faculty of Arts, Design and Social Sciences 01.01.2012
• Subjects: British & Irish literature; Bunyan, John (1628-1688); Bunyan, John (1628-88); English literature
• ISSN: 0954-0970

'The Road to Mansoul', chapter two, summarises Bunyan's life and his development as a writer and theologian, then unfolds the intricacies of Calvinism in a 30-page exploration asserting that 'the background of Bunyan's covenant theology extends beyond Luther's rudimentary thought to his seventeenth-century milieu, which manifests a highly developed federal theology with connections to sixteenth century Reformers' (p. 46). The fourth chapter contends that Bunyan's poetic 'To the Reader' introduction has been too often neglected and then corrects this oversight by presenting well-documented and plausible theories on Bunyan's thoughts on history-writing, philosophy of history, doctrine and approach to scripture, and use of allegory and marginalia. From his analysis of the introduction, McKelvey discerns that Bunyan saw himself writing a universal history that 'expresses the reality of the unseen and eternal world where a cosmic spiritual war rages in the background of the visible and temporal world' (p. 229).