John Wesley and the Means of Grace
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
JOHN WESLEY AND THE MEANS OF GRACE: AN APPROACH TO CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION A Dissertation presented to the Faculty of the Claremont School of Theology In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by Dean Gray Blevins MAY 1999 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. © 1999 Dean Gray Blevins ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This dissertation, written by Dean Gray Blevins____________________ under the direction of Faculty Committee, and approved by its members, has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty of the School of Theology at Claremont in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Faculty Committee Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Permission is given for Methodist Church purposes, for permission to use excerpts of the following: John Wesley and Education, by Alfred H. Body,© 1936 by Epworth Press; The Eucharistic Hymns of John and Charles Wesley, by Ernest J. Rattenbury © 1948 by Epworth Press. Reprinted with the permission of by the Methodist Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes, and by permission of the Methodist Publishing House. In addition, the publishers have generously given permission to use extended quotations from the following works: The Works of John Wesley: Letters 1 & 2, vol. 25-26 of The Works of John Wesley, Bicentennial ed., by Frank Baker, ed. © 1980-82 by Clarendon Press, reprint, Abingdon Press, 1982; The Methodist Societies: History, Nature and Design, vol. 9 of The Works of John Wesley. Bicentennial ed., by Rupert Davies, ed. © 1980 by Clarendon Press, reprint, Abingdon Press, 198 9; The Works of John Wesley: Sermons, vols. 1-4 of The Works of John Wesley, Bicentennial ed. by Albert C. Outler, ed. © 1984-1987 by Abingdon Press; The Works of John Wesley: Journals and Diaries, vols. 18- 23 of The Works of John Wesley, Bicentennial ed., by Reginald W. Ward and Richard P. Heitzenrater, eds. © 1988-1995 Abingdon Press, used by permission of Abingdon Publishers. John Wesley's Instructional Groups Ph.D. diss., Indiana University, 1980, by David Michael Henderson, © 1980 by David Michael Henderson, published by UMI, 1981. Used by permission of David Michael Henderson. John Wesley's Social Ethics: Praxis and Principles, by Manfred Marquardt, trans. John E. Steely and W. Stephen Gunter, © 1992 by Abingdon Press. Used by permission of Abingdon Publishers and by Vandnhoeck and Ruprecht Publishers. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Chapter 1. Introduction ..................................... 1 The Problem in Context: The Church of the Nazarene................................. 2 The Problem of Recovering Wesley's Theology of Christian Religious Education .......... 19 The Means of Grace as a New Approach....... 21 Thesis..................................... 24 Method..................................... 26 2. John Wesley as a Christian Religious Educator . 31 Educational Influences and Practices ....... 33 Wesley and Childhood Education .............. 42 Wesley's Child Rearing Practices ........ 43 Formal Childhood Education ............... 50 Wesley and Adult Discipleship .............. 57 Personal Spiritual Direction ............ 59 The Methodist Societies .................. 60 Wesley's Writings ......................... 65 Summary........................................ 67 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Page Chapter 3. British Education and Social Structure in the Eighteenth Century .......................... 70 Wesley and the British Schools............. 71 British Education ......................... 72 Grammar Schools ........................ 72 Private-Enterprise or Vocational Schools........................... 74 Charity Schools ........................ 7 6 Wesley's Schools .......................... 82 Wesley's Adult Discipleship and British Social Structure .......................... 87 Wesley and Social Status ................. 88 Wesley and Social Custom ................. 94 Summary........................................ 97 4. Interpreting the Interpreters of Wesley ...... 100 Charting the Literature on John Wesley and Christian Religious Education ............ 101 Interpreting Wesley's Education for Children................................ 104 Interpreting Wesley's Approach to Adult Discipleship ........................... 108 Interpreting Wesley's Goal as Social Action.................................. 114 Interpreting Wesley's Goal as Evangelism 118 Charting the Literature: Summary ........ 122 Alternative Interpretation .................. 122 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Page Chapter Holiness of Heart and L i f e ............. 124 Mediating Grace: An Approach to Education 128 5. A New Departure: The Means of G r a c e ......... 136 Historical Overview of the Means of Grace . 138 Prelude to Controversy ................... 143 The Fetter Lane Controversy............ 149 The Means of Grace and Early Methodism . 169 Wesley's Practice of the Means of Grace .... 175 The Instituted Means of Grace ........... 180 Prayer................................ 181 Fasting............................... 185 Scripture............................. 188 The Lord's Supper.................... 194 Christian Conference and Congregational L i f e ................................. 200 The Prudential Means of Grace ........... 209 Communal Gatherings ................... 211 Guidelines for Practicing the Prudential Means ...................... 214 Other Practices and the Means of Grace . 217 Baptism and the Means of Grace ..... 218 Foot-washing and the Means of Grace . 222 Summary.................................. 226 v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Page Chapter 6. Wesley: A "Graceful" Sacramental Theologian ... 228 Wesley's Eucharistic Theology ............... 231 Wesley's Original Sources and Context ... 232 Wesley's Definition of Sacrament ........ 234 Eucharistic Theology in Context ......... 235 Eucharist and Sacrifice ............... 240 Eucharist and Doxology ................ 245 The Nature of Grace in the Means of Grace .. 249 The Trinitarian Activity of God in the Means of G r a c e ............................ 256 Wesley's General Portrayal of the Trinity 257 Trinity in the Means of G r a c e ........... 262 Revelation and Conveying Grace .............. 269 Conveyance of G r a c e ....................... 269 Analogia Gratia ........................... 277 Duality and Prevenient Grace ............ 282 Meanings in the Lord's Supper........... 287 Memorial................................ 290 Presence................................ 291 Promise................................. 292 Summary ...................................... 293 vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Page Chapter 7. The Means of Grace and Ways of Knowing..... 297 Ways of Knowing or Epistemology............ 299 Women's Ways of Knowing in Gender Studies 301 Ways of Knowing in Educational Theory . 305 The Means of Grace and Ways of Knowing .... 310 Knowing through the Instituted Means .... 311 Scripture as Narrative Memorial ...... 312 Prayer as Imaginative Presence ....... 316 Fasting as Critical Presence ......... 323 Conference as Interpersonal Promise . 329 Eucharist as Ritual Presence and Promise.................... 336 Knowing through the Prudential Practices 343 Knowing through Works of Mercy ............ 34 7 The Interactivity of the Means of Grace .... 350 Interactive Capabilities ................. 351 Overcoming Limitations through Interactivity .......................... 353 Summary..................................... 360 vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Page Chapter 8. The Means of Grace and Christian Religious Education ..................... 362 Three Educational Approaches ................ 362 Formation as Christian Religious Education ............................. 363 Discernment as Christian Religious Education ............................. 370 Transformation as Christian Religious Education ............................. 374 Continuity and Change ........................ 380 Future Possibilities in Wesleyan Education . 385 Appendix 1: Curriculum Overview....................... 392 Curriculum Design Process ................... 393 Curriculum Review ......................... 394 Curriculum Examples ....................... 401 Curriculum Methods and Techniques: A Summary 403 Design Critique ............................... 407 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Page Chapter Appendix 2:Anglican Eucharist in Historical Context . 409 The "Real Presence" of Christ in the Eucharist.................................. 410 Epiphany in the Eucharist................ 418 Epiclesis in the Eucharist............... 413 Epiphany and Epiclesis in Dialog ........ 414 The Eucharistic Community ................... 419 Oblation and the Eucharistic Community . 420 Doxology and the Eucharistic Community . 420 Oblation and Doxology in Dialog ........