Identification and Difference in John Bunyan's Reading of Reformation History

• Published in: Bunyan studies no. 18; p. 42
• Main Author: Curtin, Kathleen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Newcastle Upon Tyne Northumbria University, Department of Humanities, Faculty of Arts, Design and Social Sciences 01.01.2014
• Subjects: British & Irish literature; Bunyan, John (1628-1688); Bunyan, John (1628-88); English literature
• ISSN: 0954-0970

In The Doctrine of Law and Grace Unfolded, Bunyan describes a 'Historicall Faith' as one that is 'begotten meerly by the history of the word, not by the co-operation of the Spirit with the Word'.3 For Bunyan, a merely 'historical' view of Scripture leads to legalism and ritual, while personal reenactment of biblical event directed by the Spirit characterizes authentic religious practice. Because the sixteenth-century Reformation4 was a period of rediscovery and reinterpretation of Scripture, it serves as a link between Bunyan's own life and the world of biblical event. According to Bunyan, Fowler's beliefs resemble those of the Quakers because Fowler locates human capacity for righteousness within the individual rather than outside the self, in Christ. Bunyan provides further evidence that he is talking about conflict among Reformed communities by explaining that this conflict arises over the interpretation of Scripture and by asserting that 'this opposition lies not so much in fundamentals, as in things of a lesser import'.52 While identifying this disagreement among Protestants as a new development, he nonetheless argues that this struggle is a continuation of the perennial battle with the Antichrist. [...]in Bunyan's reading of church history, the conflicts he faces differ from those faced by sixteenth-century Reformers because he battles an Antichrist hidden in the 'light' of Reformed communities, while the Antichrist of the sixteenth century was more blatantly 'Antichristian'. According to the author of the introduction, however, while Luther's soteriology aligns with the teachings of the Church of England, his view of the sacraments does not.