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John Wesley's Eucharist and the Online Eucharist John Wesley’s Eucharist and the Online Eucharist By KIOH SHIM A thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Theology and Religion College of Arts and Law The University of Birmingham March 2013 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract Since the late 20th century information technology has changed the lives of individuals and relationships at local, nation and even global levels. In particular the internet is used by many religious groups for theological and spiritual purposes. Some parts of Christianity have confronted the issue of how to deal with the use of internet. As a result, an internet church has emerged, offering Eucharistic services online across the globe. Even though the numbers of internet churches/Eucharistic groups have sharply increased in the last two decades, the attitude of the established churches does not appear to have taken account of this change yet. To achieve this it is necessary for such initiatives to be guided by certain theological norms or church regulations. This may relate to the definition of church, Eucharistic theology, or how to deal with emerging cultures. However, no public theological agreement about the development of a cyberspace Eucharist ecumenically, or even within single denominations such as the Methodist church, has yet been achieved. This thesis sets out to explore the possibility of developing of an internet Eucharist within the context of John Wesley’s Eucharistic theology, practice and fervor for communion. Wesley’s Eucharistic theology and practice were not simply his own idea or preference. Rather he derived them from various resources from the early Christian to the period of his own life. He also understood the Eucharist in relation to his own engagement with the changing society of his own time. In this context he developed his Methodist Societies as Eucharistic communities within the understanding of the means of grace: instituted and prudential. This study will not only give justification for the online Eucharist, but will also try to investigate how Wesley’s theology and practice can inform the practice and theology of the online Eucharist. Contents Abbreviation………………………………………………………………………………………………… Part I. Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………. 1 Chapter 1. Purpose ………………………………………………………………………………… 2 Chapter 2. Methodology………………………………………………………………………… 12 Part II. Wesley Eucharistic practice and Theology…………………21 Chapter 1. The Literature………………………………………………………………………… 22 Chapter 2. General and Eucharistic background in the Eighteen Century… 27 Chapter 3. Eucharistic Practices…………………………………………………………………40 Chapter 4. Eucharistic Theology……………………………………………………………… 95 Part III. Decline and Renewal after Wesley…………………………… 200 Chapter 1. Decline after Wesley’s death to today……………………………………201 Chapter 2. Renewal of Eucharistic concerns………………………………………… 214 Part IV. Theology of Internet Eucharist…………………………………… 240 Chapter 1. Internet Eucharist ……….……….…………………………………………… 241 Chapter 2. Revisiting the means of grace……………………………………………… 265 Chapter 3. Practical Issues…………………………………………………………………… 280 Part V. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………… 294 Appendixes ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 303 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………………… 308 Abbreviations AM Arminian Magazine BCP Book of Common Prayer BEM Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry(1982 Lima Document) cf. Refer to Collection A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the people called Methodists CWJ Charles Wesley’s Journal CWL Charles Wesley’s Letters ENNT Explanatory Notes on the New Testament HLS Hymns on the Lord’s Supper (1745) HP Hymns of Psalms Institutes The Institutes of Christian Religion(John Calvin) Journal John Wesley’s Journal JWL The Letters of the Rev. John Wesley. A.M., Standard Edition, Ed. John Telford, 8 vols (London, 1931) JWW John Wesley’s Writings Sermon John Wesley’s Sermons (cf. Appendix 2) Works Works of John Wesley, bicentennial edition Various editions (Nashville : Abingdon, 1984-2006) WCC World Church of Council Part I INTRODUCTION 1 Chapter 1. Purpose The central purpose of this thesis is to analyse the development of an internet church1, with particular reference to a cyberspace Eucharist. There might be different views regarding the possibility of internet Eucharist which relate to historical theology or denominational background. Traditionally Christians have gathered in a visible place on Sundays, enabling face to face relationships as well as spiritual relations. Therefore some may worry that the internet church could accelerate the decline of church growth by weakening the local physical community. This weakening may have both political and mission implications. This thesis will focus on the research of Methodism, particularly, John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church in the 18th century. Wesley focused on Eucharistic ministry. Understanding of his stress on the Eucharist can enable today’s churches to retain the importance of the Eucharist. It will also reveal the theological significance of the Eucharist and inform its practice. In addition, the patterns of Eucharist current during Wesley’s lifetime and the principles behind his Eucharistic theology and practice will be explored. An attempt will be made to adapt Wesley’s Eucharistic principles and practice into today’s world and the possibility of an internet Eucharist. There are still many people who do not use the internet across the world, in particular, because of economy, education or age in the poor countries and in some areas in developed countries. However the figures of internet users in United Kingdom have increased. The internet as a contemporary cultural form has changed the lives of 21st century people across the world. One of the outstanding Christian features in the internet is the appearance of internet Eucharist and a cyber church. One of the remarkable features is that this phenomenon is more common amongst Protestants who usually attend less Eucharistic 1The forms of the internet churches revealed from late 1990s, for instance, ‘First International Church of the Web’, Established February 7, 1997. Website: http://ficotw.org/. 2 services than the Catholic Churches. Some Protestant ministers have their own interpretation regarding cultural change and react more nimbly. On the contrary the pope of the Roman Catholic Church has not permitted the internet Eucharist. There have been some questions about the emerging churches in the internet. Is it alright that an established church such as the Methodist church allows people to plant internet churches and create an internet Eucharist without permission from the church conference? So far there has not been certain public statement on the internet churches dealing with the internet Eucharist in particular, in the British Methodist Church. It should be asked that ‘Why does one plant the online Eucharist?’ Proper proofs of theological justification are needed to be able to develop the Eucharist online. It might be that the experience of God is present in the internet as in the real world. It gives rise to some questions: what is the Eucharist itself? Does the Eucharist really have values of the experience of God even online? How to experience the presence of God online? How does one know the proofs of the presence of God online? Answers to these questions require Eucharistic theologians to underscore Eucharistic theology and practice. This would improve understanding of the motivation behind the Eucharist and its expectations. John Wesley, the Methodist founder can be seen as a representative of Protestant Eucharistic theologians. Wesley’s Eucharistic concern is exposed in both theology and practice. It reflects how much Wesley had the fervor for the Eucharist and its effects. It would be helpful to confirm the possibility of experiencing the presence of God in/on the Eucharist so that the internet Eucharist can be justified. First of all, in his writings Wesley revealed his theological views of the Eucharist and its solemn observation. Through researching these the internet Eucharist can reveal how important the Eucharist is for today’s Christians, its purpose and the experience of God around the Holy Table. 3 Beyond this contemporary theology of internet Eucharist has to consider spiritual intention. The development of an internet Eucharist links with ministerial issues. What is the intention of the internet Eucharist? On the other hand, can the internet help people to experience the presence of God? If it can how can this be proved? 1. The Internet for religious purposes It is clear that a lot of Internet users are interested in the Internet in order to search for religious purposes today. For instance, there are two recent reports: the Pew Internet & American Life Project survey and The Internet Evangelism Coalition (IEC). First is from the Pew Internet & American Life Project survey.2In 2004 the report, “Faith Online"(7/April), described the trend
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