Page 31 - History of Christianity II- Textbook

John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress – Published in 1678

One of the greatest Christian classics of all time came not from the halls of a great
university, but from a jail cell. John Bunyan lived during the reign of King Charles II.
The King determined that the only acceptable church was the Anglican Church, and
dissenters were jailed. The King had passed laws that prevented any person from
preaching without a state license. Refusing the license, Bunyan was jailed in
Bedford from 1661 to 1672 and was released for a short time. In 1675 Bunyan
again found himself in prison where he wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress. This humbly
written work has touched thousands of lives and become one of the most famous
classics of all time.

Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress” is one of the most important books you can read besides
the Bible. Have you read it? It is called an allegory. The characters and places described
in the book represent “real life” events in the life of a person who is seeking salvation
through Jesus Christ.

The book tells a story of a man called Christian who lives in a city called “Destruction.” The story
chronicles the journey that Christian must make to arrive at the Celestial City (heaven). He must first
go to the Cross and have his sin burden taken away. Then, on his journey, accompanied by other
Pilgrims, he faces great difficulties as he seeks to become more like Christ. If you have not read it, you
are really missing out!

Awakening at Herrnhut Launches Moravian Brethren, 1727
Nikolas Ludwig Graf von Zinzendorf 1700-60 –

The spiritual descendants of John Hus met on the estate of Count Nicholaus von
Zinzendorf in 1727 and experienced a revival like no other in their days. The Spirit of
God was moving in their midst. These 300 were refugees from various areas, some
speaking different languages, but all fleeing from religious persecution. The group,
under the leadership of Zinzendorf, organized and in 1732, they branched out into
foreign missions, sending Leonard Dober and David Nitschmann to the West Indies.
The next year three more Moravian missionaries went to Greenland, others to
Lapland and Georgia, and to St. Thomas. By 1742 more than 70 Moravian missions had left the
community of 600 for missionary service.

By the time Zinzendorf died in 1760, 226 missionaries had led more than 3,000 people to Christ. At his
death, Zinzendorf said, “What a formidable caravan from our church already stands around the Lamb!”
He setup new Moravian brotherhoods all over the world, which have remained alive to this day. His
religious writings, sermons, daily supplements, and over 2,000 hymns are filled with deep worship of
Jesus Christ.

From the Moravians came the Wesleyan (Methodist) movement. William Carey, the pioneer of the
modern Protestant missions movement, was greatly influenced and inspired by the Moravian
missionaries. “See what these Moravians have done,” he told others. “Can we not follow their
example, and in obedience to our Heavenly Master, go out into the world and preach the Gospel to the
heathen?”

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