34. The Puritan Revolt and the Life of John Bunyan

The repressive policies of Charles I and his chief henchman, Archbishop Laud, ultimately led to the downfall and execution of both under the Puritan controlled Long Parliament. Oliver Cromwell led England in an attempt to implement republican political principle, but in the end, the English people returned to monarchy, calling in Charles II in the Restoration of 1660. The harsh policies of Charles II led to the imprisonment of John Bunyan, a non-conformist preacher, but his incarceration afforded him the opportunity to write one of the best-known, and best-loved, of all Christian classics, The Pilgrim's Progress. This presentation highlights the career of this famous English preacher, and gives an overview of the events leading to his story. For more free resources, please visit www.brucegore.com.

[@lesleyhowie1239]

What a great video. You have such clarity as you convey the information so clearly and reteach veiwers interested in church history. I am a ' backsliding' Seventh Day Adventist. I was up a Presbyterian but converted to SDA after my mother died, and embraced it fully in the 1980's but we've grown weary of Ellen White's views about how to be a good adventist ,eg: being vegetarian which I did back then. When we moved to another town in NSW Australia my daughters and I decided not to attend church any more. They now describe themselves as having no religion,but my husband and I still call ourselves Adventist. We do not attend the church here as it's a long way from our home. Thanks for the lessons.

[@jimhuffer]

Well done. One of the first books I read after coming to the Messiah was Pilgrim's Progress. Thank you for making mention of the treasures within its pages.

[@Apol-los]

I absolutely love this series. As a future History teacher, I cherish getting to hear the Christian perspective all throughout human history.

[@GoreBruce]

I am delighted to have a future history teacher taking an interest in this material! Always remember my friend, history is 'his story', and with that in mind the narrative of history takes on much deeper and richer meaning.

[@Apol-los]

Bruce Gore thank you for taking the time to reply! I can only hope to have the same insight, passion, and whismy by which you teach Church History with. I’m glad you brought that up as I’m a fan of poetry and naturally couldn’t resist writing one called “His-Story” lol

[@victorydaydeepstate]

Awesome

[@MTB214]

Thanks for the great lessons. When you said about Pocahontas becoming a Christian, that reminded me of the dating advice I always give. If you’re interested in someone and go out then invite them to church. If they don’t want anything to do with God and going to church cut them out of your life.

[@GoreBruce]

Good counsel!

[@BonikaShears]

I was fascinated by the word “tinker” and hat to research it. They would use molten metal to mend holes in pots, burning themselves often. The term, “I don’t give a tinker,s curse,” or “I don’t give a tinker,” grew from this. Tinkers were reported to swear and curse so often that it was accepted and ignored as being of no value. Tinker today has to do with any kind of repair. I am in the business of sharpening and repair shears and clippers for the beauty shops. Maybe “Edge Tinker” would be a good thing. Tinker was somewhat a low occupation. Perhaps Tinker Bell the fairy was meant to convey she was a fairy of low consequence. I think we should embrace this word more in our vocabulary.

[@arthurbrugge2457]

An interesting point. It is amazing all the facts and such that we often ignore or take for granted. I appreciate your curiosity, and your knowledge improving mine:)

[@AdullFiddler-ez7tm]

Not sure about that. I've read that a tinker's dam was a piece of gear they used in their work. Not an expletive.

[@JulieQ150]

Enjoyed your lecture. I have a natural revulsion against hierarchy as Bunyan did(and the Levellers) - I even disliked the idea of getting a license to Busk! Why didn't he get a license - have a collection to get him one? Or did the authorities make it really too hard? 12 years is a long time to get some peace and quiet to focus on his writing!

[@Ohio12mom]

Has Bruce Gore done a series like this on American history? or can someone recommend something similar? I have thoroughly enjoyed these and learned so much!

[@GoreBruce]

Thank you! The last nine lectures of this series treat the Christian history of the Pacific Northwest. I am currently planning a series that will being fall of 2021 which will be entitled 'Presbyterians and the American Revolution,' which will trace the first two centuries of American History beginning with the Swiss Reformation, the Scottish Reformation, the Puritans and Presbyterians in colonial America, the Great Awakening, and the way all these forces contributed to our unique experiment in creating a constitutional republic. I hope you will be able to follow along at that time!

[@Ohio12mom]

@@GoreBruce I will be eagerly waiting for this! I am teaching history chronologically to a group of middle schoolers. We just finished 1450-1620 and our spring semester covers 1620-1776 so I will have to muddle through without your lectures since they won't be ready until fall. Any resources you would point me to for the Puritans or the Great Awakening?

[@GoreBruce]

@@Ohio12mom There is a pretty good book by J.D. Dickey entitled 'American Demagogue,' which is a treatment of George Whitefield and the Great Awakening, with its related stories and events. A word of caution, Dickey is quite critical of Whitefield (hence 'demogogue'), but actually is reasonably fair to the actual history, and he documents his facts thoroughly. Bottom line, he reports Whitefield's story accurately enough, he just doesn't like him much!

[@noramanwiller4578]

I look forward to this. I will be teaching American History in 2022/23. I am planning to use your series on Early Church History for teaching through the Reformation era. :)

[@NicholasWongCQ]

So many John's

[@Kitiwake]

Torquemada and the Spanish inquisition started the principles of fair procedure in courts 100 years beforehand.

[@deetsy4jesus]

I understood that James II was the one who converted to Catholicism, and he tried to get Charles II to do so. However, Charles II didn't convert until on his death bed. Am I mistaken on this?

[@GoreBruce]

+Donna Perez Charles seems to have been a Catholic 'in his heart' years before he officially converted to the Catholic faith by Catholic baptism. His delay to officially convert was, of course, for political reasons.

[@Hudson-1947]

A minor point but Charles was succeeded by his brother James, a Roman Catholic as he had no legitimate children.

[@malamati007]

It's not a complete picture to discuss the Levelers, Diggers, Quakers, Baptists, etc. (all "enthusiasts") primarily, or only, with respect to their views on governance. The profound roots of their 'radical' views lay in their insistence on the primacy of personal revelation and personal interpretation of scripture. They didn't use the technical term 'hermeneutics' much, if at all, but they hung their entire belief system on personally- experienced and personally-interpreted readings of the Bible. That belief drove everything they did--their personal divergences and idiosynchracies, their communities, and their unique insistence on direct revelation. The expression of those beliefs in matters of governance was vitally important to them, but grew out of (and was therefore secondary to) revelatory experience.

[@GoreBruce]

+Seneca Well said!

[@Kitiwake]

And that's why they are 39,000 Protestant denominations today in the United States.

[@mynonameyt]

I find your lectures very interesting,but, I also find it very disturbing that you can’t see that Jesus didn’t come to make a “better” religion, denomination, program, etc….. He came to set us free from sin and the trappings of a system made with human hands. Why aren’t you fighting against that, instead of joining it, as in joining the Presbyterian movement.

[@GoreBruce]

Hebrews 10:25.

[@nehemiahvaughn4768]

1611 he authored the kjv bible

[@rebanelson607]

James AUTHORIZED scholars to translate text into what is called the KJV. James was not a religious person.

[@nehemiahvaughn4768]

Ireland means black land

[@togotogo3629]

CD t

[@suem6004]

Major point averted under the Puritans was the decimation of arts and entertainment, leisure of all sorts. Cromwell banned theater, sports, pubs, Christmas church, most holidays. A real fundamentalism turned extremism which the public turned sour to.

[@GoreBruce]

Yes, it's true. The holidays had been buried in such abuses and superstitions through Catholic and later Anglican influence, that the Puritans felt the need to reject all these celebrations for a time.

[@karenwickhorst8226]

Two more lectures in one evening (making dinner and doing the dishes)! As for going over the first American settlements, and reviewing that fascinating period of British history-I can say is: “Wow!” I did go back to your recent Presbyterian series, but the greater number of details provided in these earlier lectures just keep me riveted. Again, thank you!

[@kevimeru6990]

Very informative, concise, and refreshing.

[@GoreBruce]

I appreciate your interest!

[@JohnAllenRoyce]

You're seeing the malignancy first-hand, people. The Puritans didn't "revolt," they made total war against their traditional religion and society and initiated civil war and cut off the head of their own king and killed their fellow citizens. Always the Puritans act to rename and otherwise excuse themselves and cover their tracks. "Revolt" is a weasel word to gloss over the crimes of this false doctrine. You are looking at the act right here. The speaker and this video are not honestly educating others in the true history, but giving a very narrow viewpoint that omits human suffering to the point of sociopathy.

[@GoreBruce]

Accept my appreciation for such an even-handed and thoughtful review.

[@nehemiahvaughn4768]

King James was a Jacobite not this white man

[@jhlovingiii]

I actually did this lesson yesterday and now I'm getting the picture that, the bible, it isn't over. Gods story isn't over it just got transformed into history books. And it's like what they said about Jesus, If everything he did were written down the world would not be able to contain it all. The Christian story is always a sad one filled with prisons and persecutions. Why should this one be any different. It wasn't until you got to the end that I realized who this was. I have a copy of Pilgrims Progress laying around some where. Maybe this time I'll pick it up and finish it.

[@mdurant719]

Hey Comon Bruce....As a Reformed Baptist, I hold to the 1689 2nd London Baptist confession Here 🖐

[@phillipsugwas]

As a charismatic, non reformed , non cessationist, non dispensational, enacted inugurated eschatological, Kingdom focussed Christian, I love the Westminster Confession