 outward evidence that he was any worse than his neighbours.
Examples of sins to which he confessed to are profanity, dancing, and bell-ringing. The increasing awareness of his (in his view) un-Biblical life led him to contemplate acts of impiety and profanity; in particular, he was harassed by a curiosity in regard to the "unpardonable sin", and a prepossession that he had already committed it.
He was known as an adept linguist as far as profanity was concerned; even the most proficient swearers were known to remark that Bunyan was "the ungodliest fellow for swearing they ever heard".
John Bunyan: Claimed God, or an Angel Spoke to him!
He continually heard voices urging him to "sell Christ," and was tortured by fearful visions. While playing a game of Tip-cat on Elstow village green, Bunyan claimed to have heard a voice that asked:
Because Puritans held the Sabbath day sacred and permitted no sport, John believed that this had been the voice of God, chastising his indulgent ways. John's spirituality was born from this experience and he began to struggle with his sense of guilt, self-doubt and his belief in the Bible's promise of damnation and salvation.
In 1649, when he was about 21, he moved from 'Bunyan's End' into a cottage on the western side of the northern end of Elstow's High Street (the cottage shown above).
In 1650 he married a young woman, an orphan whose father had left her only two books as her inheritance.
The two books were Arthur Dent's Plain Man's Pathway to Heaven and Lewis Bayly's Practice of Piety, and the content of these two books appears to have strongly influenced John towards a religious life.
John's wife's name is not recorded, but the Bunyan's first, blind, daughter (born in 1650), was called Mary, and it is possible that she was named after her mother.
The Bunyans' life was modest, to say the least. Bunyan wrote that they were "as poor as poor might be", not even "a dish or spoon between them".
As John struggled with his new-found Christian faith, he became increasingly despondent and fell into mental turmoil.
During this time of conflict, Bunyan began a four year long discussion and spiritual journey with a few poor women of Bedford who belonged to a nonconformist sect that worshipped in St. John's Church. He also increasingly identified himself with St. Paul, who had characterised himself as "the chief of sinners."
As a result of these experiences, John Bunyan was received into the Independent church and he began to follow the teachings of its pastor, John Gifford.
A second daughter, Elizabeth, was born in 1654, and in 1655 Bunyan moved his family to St Cuthberts Street, Bedford. That same year John Gifford died and John started preaching.
John's son Thomas was born in 1656, his first book “Some Gospel Truths” was published and John Bunyan became a member of the church; in 1657 he became a deacon. His son John was born and his second book “Vindication” was published.
John Bunyan: Imprisonments
As his popularity and notoriety grew, Bunyan increasingly became a target for slander and libel; he was described as
In 1658, aged 30, he was arrested for preaching at Eaton Socon and indicted for preaching without a licence.
That same year his wife died leaving him with 4 children, one of which was blind. He continued preaching, however, and did not suffer imprisonment until November 1660, when he was taken to the County gaol in Silver Street, Bedford.
In that same year, Bunyan married again, Elizabeth, by whom he had two more children, Sarah and Joseph. The Restoration of the monarchy by Charles II of England began Bunyan's persecution as England returned to Anglicanism:
John Bunyan: Arrested for Preaching:
He was arrested on 12 November 1660, whilst preaching privately in Lower Samsell In Westoning Westoning, Bedfordshire, 10 miles south of Bedford.
John was brought before the magistrate John Wingate at Harlington House and refused to desist from preaching. Wingate sent him to Bedford County Gaol, to consider his situation. After a month, Bunyan reports (in his own account of his imprisonment) that 