Blog | Professor Pilgrim's Progress

Jul 27, 20221 min read

sighs and tears...after a hiatus

Whereas his family wanted him to sleep off his confused state of mind, the burdened man spends his night time in 'sighs and tears.' I...

andydraycott7

Apr 12, 20213 min read

Catechesis by the letter # 7

Illustrated with William Blake’s sketch of Faithful’s fiery carriage up to heaven from his place of execution in Vanity, the...

Writers and Their Work, Tamsin Spargo's John Bunyan

andydraycott7

Apr 10, 20214 min read

Writers and Their Work, Tamsin Spargo's John Bunyan

Tamsin Spargo (2015) ‘Writers and Their Works’ British Council/ Northcote House Publishers Ltd. 103pp Spargo’s John Bunyan is really the...

Adding your own color to The Pilgrim's Progress

andydraycott7

Apr 7, 20211 min read

Adding your own color to The Pilgrim's Progress

There's a pop book, a children's choir musical and several board games, but one way to capture a young reader is to offer them the change...

andydraycott7

Apr 6, 20212 min read

Catechesis by the letter # 6

Some people’s Christianity is way too touchy-feely, we sometime conclude. Sometimes this critical appraisal is meant metaphorically –...

Christian Biographies for Young Readers (2020)

andydraycott7

Apr 5, 20215 min read

Christian Biographies for Young Readers (2020)

John Bunyan, by Simonetta Carr, Grand Rapids, MI, Reformation Heritage Books, 2020 In the Christian Biographies for Young Readers series,...

Colportage-"Book Missionary," Pilgrim's Progress, and Milton Pierpoint

andydraycott7

Apr 3, 20214 min read

Colportage-"Book Missionary," Pilgrim's Progress, and Milton Pierpoint

Although undated, the rather tatty copy of Pilgrim's Progress I've recently come across has the copyright date of 1904 under the cover...

andydraycott7

Mar 31, 20212 min read

Catechesis by the letter # 5

Principle 3 is Baptism. Q: Who should be baptized? A: Having begun the Christian journey by turning my life over to God and trusting by...

Is there no balm in Gilead? Reading reflections on race

andydraycott7

Mar 26, 20212 min read

Is there no balm in Gilead? Reading reflections on race

The reformed tradition shapes English Puritanism that in turn informs Bunyan and The Pilgrim's Progress. It also throws up Apartheid-era...

andydraycott7

Mar 23, 20212 min read

Catechesis by the letter #4

Principle 2 is Faith, and the catechesis articulates the question and answer like this: Q: What is faith? A: Faith is trusting that my...

andydraycott7

Mar 17, 20212 min read

Catechesis by the letter # 3

Principles 1: Repentance I used to write letters. Perhaps some of you did too. If you were going to go to the bother and spend the sum on...

andydraycott7

Mar 13, 20212 min read

The People's Pilgrim

Peter Morden's 2013 biography of Bunyan, subtitled, 'The People's Pilgrim', matches the promise of the colorful cover art by being a very...

andydraycott7

Mar 11, 20213 min read

Catechesis by the letter #2

Rather than writing as the Interpreter, Freeman breaks character in his ‘Preface’ to explain the reasons for the book. I wish this had...

If you give a missionary Pilgrim's Progress...

andydraycott7

Mar 10, 20212 min read

If you give a missionary Pilgrim's Progress...

Along the lines of 'If you give a mouse a cookie...', I noticed a feature of Tyler Van Halteren's children's adaptation of PP: Little...

andydraycott7

Mar 8, 20212 min read

Catechesis by the letter #1

Curtis Freeman has written a little catechesis entitled 'Pilgrim Letters' drawing on this lifelong companionship with Bunyan's classic. I...

Adaptation Bonanza for Fall 2020 class, and Christmas gift tip.

andydraycott7

Nov 13, 20202 min read

Adaptation Bonanza for Fall 2020 class, and Christmas gift tip.

My Pilgrim's Progress class is a hybrid class, with recorded lectures and discussions fully online with a number of synchronous online...

andydraycott7

Oct 12, 20202 min read

As I walked...(Part 1)

The famous first words of Bunyan's book are memorably alliterative when read in full context. For now I'm happy to keep a snail's pace in...

Blogging Biographies: an unfolding series

andydraycott7

Oct 2, 20201 min read

Blogging Biographies: an unfolding series

John Bunyan famously records his own spiritual autobiography under the title borrowed from the Apostle Paul 'Grace Abounding to the Chief...

Should The Pilgrim's Progress be professed?

andydraycott7

Sep 24, 20201 min read

Should The Pilgrim's Progress be professed?

If professing is meant to be about Christian confession, isn't it a misstep to have a website devoted to The Pilgrim's Progress rather...

Professors to look up to - Bunyan Scholars

andydraycott7

Sep 24, 20201 min read

Professors to look up to - Bunyan Scholars

Collected editions of scholarly essays like the Cambridge Companion to John Bunyan and the Oxford Handbook of John Bunyan glitter with...