Christian Encounters Series: John Bunyan by Kevin Belmonte

Book Description from the Book Sneeze site:


Christian Encounters, a series of biographies from Thomas Nelson Publishers, highlights important lives from all ages and areas of the Church. Some are familiar faces. Others are unexpected guests. But all, through their relationships, struggles, prayers, and desires, uniquely illuminate our shared experience.


John Bunyan’s world was a turbulent age of regicide, civil war, and revolution. Against this backdrop emerged a man whose matchless literary gifts were burnished amidst suffering and who profoundly influenced western culture. This Christian Encounters biography presents the life story you’ve never heard—how, amidst the crucible of repeated imprisonments, civil war, and violent persecution, John Bunyan crafted The Pilgrim’s Progress, a testament unlike any other to the triumph of the human spirit.




My Opinion:


As a Christian and homeschooling parent I'm always on the look out for books that are safe for my children to read and that show great Christian character and morals. I'm glad that Thomas Nelson has put these book on the market in the form of the new series, Christian Encounters, as they are perfect for an adult or a child to read about upstanding Christians from the past but that can still be learned from today.


The book is short, 170 pages and that includes the end notes, acknowledgements, about the author and epilogue and while some may find this disappointing I thought it a great size for a short look into John Bunyan's life. Although there are 21 chapters and we get to glimpse into the life of the man who gave us Pilgrim's Progress . His exact date of birth is not known but he was in 1628 on November 30th and spent time in prison, a wonderful timeline in the back of the book gives more details and when they happened.


I enjoyed this book and will be using it in our school so that my children can learn about Christians who lived their faith and can be a good role model. The book is purse size and can easily travel for reading aloud times in the car while stopped at trains or in the doctor's office. I think this is a great addition to any family's library that wants good Christian books that focus on the person's faith and devotion to God.


I was given a copy of this through Thomas Nelson's Book Sneeze book review program.