DOCSLIB.ORG

Randolph S. Foster and John Miley Paul Gerhadt Hvidding

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Randolph S. Foster and John Miley Paul Gerhadt Hvidding Digital Commons @ George Fox University Western Evangelical Seminary Theses Western Evangelical Seminary 5-1-1950 A Study of Two Early Theologians at Drew Theological Seminary: Randolph S. Foster and John Miley Paul Gerhadt Hvidding Recommended Citation Hvidding, Paul Gerhadt, "A Study of Two Early Theologians at Drew Theological Seminary: Randolph S. Foster and John Miley" (1950). Western Evangelical Seminary Theses. 360. https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/wes_theses/360 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Western Evangelical Seminary at Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Western Evangelical Seminary Theses by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A STUDY OF r.11; 0 EAR Y 'l'HEOLOCJIANS AT DR ' W THEOLOGICAL 5:&\f iNAR'Y : RANDOLPH 6 . FOST ~"9. AND JOHN 14 lL~ A Thesis P resented t~ the Faculty of The \'!estern School of Eva ng elJ..cal Religion In Partial Ic,ulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Bachelor of Divinity by Paul Gerhardt Hvidding ay 1950 This thesis has be~n approved by the following f a culty committee: First reader: .Approved Second read.e~~ ----------------- ApJ~!'oved I. DP . l The problem. • • • . l the em • • • . l Justifi ion of the study • • . 2 storical . 2 procedure followed • • • • • • • • • • • . • 6 Limitations of study • • • • • • • • • • • 6 Compt:u•i son th basic works. • . .. • • 6 p • I s • • • • • g The h1storica.l background. • • • • • • . g Luther's philosophies~ commitments • . g ey 1 s accep e of Aristotle • • . g Foster's Prole~omena Thei em • • • . 9 Foster's debt to Locke • • . • • • • 9 Foster's pre s1t1ons • • • • • . • • • • • 13 ster•s istemology. • • • • • • • • • • • • 14 d.ist1ngu1 from belief. • • • • • 16 ion of reaeon to revelation • . 22 1on of • • • • • • • • • 27 III. The doctrine of native d ity • • . • • • 33 History of the problem • • • • • • . 33 Defin1 tion of terms I.Hsed . • • 33 36040 111 CHAPTER PAGE The modes of trcmsrn ission. • . 34- Ar mini an trea tment of origi nal sin • • 37 IV. SOTERI OLOGY . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . 43 Theor ies of t he at onement. • . 43 Historical ba ckground •• . 43 The satisfaction theory of the teneme nt . 45 The gov er nmental theory of the atonement • 51 The doctrine of entire sa nctification. 54 v. EV .LUNr i O AND CONCLUSION . 59 Evaluation • . .. 59 .l!.Valu tion of Foster' s contributi on . 59 Evalua tion of Miley ' s contribution •• 63 Conclusion • • • • • • • • • • • . 64 BI BLIO GRAP HY • • • . 6S CHAPTER I TH E PRO BLEM AND P RO CEDURE FOLLO\ttED In all branches of learning there i s a p erennial need to check-up on material to determine if progress i s being made and to note wh ere a dead-end ha s been rea ch ed or a ctual retrogression has t aken pl a ce. In no field is this check-up mor e necessary t han in the field of t heology and philo sophy . I. THE PROBLEM St atement .Q! ~ problem. The problem of this study has been to determine if Ar miniart theology in ~ m e r ic a , a s repre .., ented by t 'vo of her mo st influential theologi ans, has been true to the philosophy and t heology of John esley and , al so, to determ ine if t hey have advanced this thought in any signif icant manner. ~ ore generally the problem of this study h as been to delineate the ma in current of wesl eyan-Ar minia n theology. Ra ndolph s. Foster and John Miley, cons ecutively profes sors of theology a t Drew Theological Seminary in the l atter half of the nineteenth century, were cho sen as r epresenting the most influenti 1 school of Ar minian theology in Am erica . In this study , comp rison ha s continually been made of the chosen Ame rican representatives ~ ith the three most influential British t heologi ans, Wesley, Wa tson, and P ope. 2 Jus~ification 2f ~ study. The tragic confusion of oont theology, which is but a refl ion of the oonfu of contemporary thou~pt in ed this • To return to bed-rock in philo theology s been need of our gen ion. of H 1n philosophy came to an end in l 1 as B son of the sent century. e to occupy for long authority. most promi tain and son, st its most brill t 1ves. H liEU! all in of it e v e fi theol of history. Cont theology s been a.n h~ve been forcin the dia.l ics. theol of John s ee dial it 1 i ' from severe corro I of 1 ts philo in its vi s. Historical background. erica ha.s not ion for t originality in its thinking. en its politi s been 1 borrowed from e. Until recently its philosophy theology also came from e. one or can philo s have been 3 successful in starting the current in the site direct • However, se currents carne a.t too late a to influence the of e. , in am, in ca. em f er. aP were early re I but their contribution l18S p ra. • I in of •s ..;;..:;:~,, came to 1 s, visits were by on e, e s were p 1i ef ies con ream. was of P rote stan t 1 em 1 s were I to to , were to e it out. s ean was to this into clear e it for use in close e that lf'as follow in e of ea. It \'laS er tle t , in of t , that e of se clarifying in camps. 4 s t es • a.ns, s 1 inst It is a. of t e, on es s. can of the e, a. e 1 s in Te contribution to ian • es of it in s tenses. Prior to e ear2nce se s I i ion con tin or s, to note, , ju s n ion on a e t or since, so l>Jas a "t•re:re too too e ca the s of as in the churches. The ere, self- 5 c ere, such as a of ca.rd:tnal ctrines ot e em in ~tnt t • e so B. Civil oture B se of , e stria.l , CC<.n 11 em B ar stream to er t its s it was more , in 1 , cannot even s. won success over at e Prate 6 success en 1 e s t.;ere t'lon to sm. t II. limit era over e so reason to rev of • Comp~.rison with basic 'l!lrorks. of this s to the contributions, on these cs, of er one was the ronger, with the P or er philo basis of theol • ey entirely on e topics of anthropology so ol th ion the sub-topic of entire sanctif1 ion, in hcmdling of eh both men used. This study s used Locke's Essay g! 1h! Human Unc1erst~::moin97 to check eter•s Prolegomena Theism. 7 , in ing s s, to of e son, e. Thus the this pt;trt or the study not a son a on to if s conclusions were valid. an one. mo color for or for evil their stems of theology their philosophi commitments. I. Luther's philosophical commitments. Lutherl had not trained in philosophy of Aristotle. He had little The most influentia.l minds in his were se of Augustine and the Germe~ mystics, notably John Tauler. John in2 also closely to ine. Thus, Augustine e a dominant force in the theologies of both the Lutherans the Calvini s. Neither Lutheran nor vinistic theology e much ace to the philo cal sis of theology. Neither Luther nor in s to the logic metaphysics of stotle. Wesler's acceptance S1! Aristotle. 1 Julius Koestlin, in Luther, 11 The New t5chaf'f- Herzog Encyclopedia Q! Religious Knowledge,-vii:-t9-70. 2 Jamin B. eld, '*Calvinism sm, n The Schaff-Herzog Ency;cloeedla .2! Religious Knowledge, II, 360. 9 committ f sics of st ca.n to in • C'L'"- ..·"~"'' over of . •s say sappointed: no mee.ns equel to • The more I con 1t, more convinced I was that s was, (vain !) to drive stotle logic of the he cordially, but never understood: sa, because he an u.n ful er, hooks upon the ect.3 It been of i.nt to this to ermine if ster ey the Aristotelian of eya.n theology. schools of erica came from a Puritan Calvinistic did not t Aristot sophy. The study of philo came into can Protestant schools a much later data. II. references to Lo 's Essaz. influence of this book is evident throughout the Prolegomena. It s s of the Essay, pertinent ions ch deal most directly the ems treated in the ~.r9legomena. Lo influenc outet 3 John \<tasley, \'10£ks ( York: J. B. , 1!31), VII, p. 44S. 10 theologians. ay had a high for Locka, correcting principally he departed fro41 the logic , to books, acqua.int with and pri stood in ion to Lo stood in to J},ristotle. s, l self-educated in philo , ~JEtS never 1 to see the sic importance of stotle. opinion of himself more ma. erful than in enta for innateness of• s principles. cl the grou.nd of all debris, in order the arise upon a clean foundation, i slay wrote: I e no innate principles from all obj s that , it was highly needful to 1 as that follows rests on as it 11::ras at that time an utter philo 1 the religious 4 Fo er leaned heavily upon Locke.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Wesleyan Eschatological Implications for The
    WESLEYAN ESCHATOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR THE CHURCH’S ENGAGEMENT WITH OTHER RELIGIONS The Thirteenth Oxford Institute of Methodist Theological Studies Mission – Witness and Engagement Working Group August 12, 2013 Eschatology as Christian doctrine seeks to express the Church’s understanding of final events in the present age; the consummation of the created order when God will be “all in all;” and how the eschatological impacts contemporary life and reality. While some Wesleyan theologians have been reticent to address the subject, or reluctant to speculate on particular issues surrounding Christ’s second coming and millennial reign, there has been a consistent articulation of a Wesleyan vision of the “life everlasting” since the 18th century Methodist revival, with provisional implications drawn for the present age.1 Because John Wesley and his theological heirs believed “first evidences” of the “age to come” are being expressed already in the lives of Christians, adjectives like “realized,” “anticipated,” “inaugurated,” and “processive” are used to describe their eschatology.2 The purpose of my paper is twofold: (1) identify key features of this historic Wesleyan eschatological vision relevant for Christianity’s engagement with different religions and (2) explore their implications within the larger framework of the Church’s openness, dialogue and witness, and collaboration with other faiths. In the last twenty years there has been a renaissance among Wesleyan scholars attempting to connect Wesleyan “New Creation” eschatology with contemporary issues: ecclesial, social, economic, ecological, and inter-religious.3 Unfortunately, the work done on Christianity’s relationship with other religions, while helpful, has been limited in scope; usually restricted to the applicability of John Wesley’s eschatological views; to the 1John B.
    [Show full text]
  • Wesleyan Theological Journal
    Wesleyan Theological Journal Publication of the Wesleyan Theological Society WESLEY’S GENERAL RULES: PARADIGM FOR POSTMODERN ETHICS .................................................................. 7 Christopher P. Momany ELEMENTS OF A POSTMODERN HOLINESS HERMENEUTIC ILLUSTRATED BY WAY OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION ......... 23 John E. Stanley JUSTIFIED BUT UNREGENERATE? THE RELATIONSHIP OF ASSURANCE TO JUSTIFICATION AND REGENERATION IN THE THOUGHT OF JOHN WESLEY ............................................... 44 Scott Kisker CULTURE AND CONCUPISCENCE: THE CHANGING DEFINITION OF SANCTITY IN THE WESLEYAN/HOLINESS MOVEMENT, 1867-1920 .................................................................. 59 Paul Merritt Bassett MISSION POLICY AND NATIONAL LEADERSHIP IN THE CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE: JAPAN, 1905-1965 ..................... 128 Floyd T. Cunningham REVIVALISM: IN SEARCH OF A DEFINITION ............................... 165 Russell E. Richey THE MINISTRY OF MARY LEE CAGLE: A STUDY IN WOMEN’S HISTORY AND RELIGION ....................... 176 Stan Ingersol BOOK REVIEWS ............................................................................. 199 Volume 28, Numbers 1 and 2 Spring-Fall, 1993 The Journal of the WESLEYAN THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY A Fellowship of Wesleyan-Arminian Scholars Editor and Chair of the Editorial Committee: Paul M. Bassett, 1987-1993 Barry L. Callen, 1993 to present All communications concerning editorial matters should be addressed to the editor, Barry L. Callen, c/o Anderson Univer - sity, East Fifth Street, Anderson,
    [Show full text]
  • Toward a Wesleyan Theology of Revival
    TOWARD A WESLEYAN THEOLOGY OF REVIVAL The Fourteenth Oxford Institute for Methodist Theological Studies Wesley Studies Group August 12-19, 2018, Pembroke College, Oxford “Give me one divine moment when God acts, and I say that moment is far superior to all the human efforts of man throughout the centuries”1 Dennis F. Kinlaw Revival depends on grace, and the fruit of revival is holiness. Revival depends on grace because dead people cannot bring themselves back to life. Even Jesus, the eternal Son, does not raise himself from the dead. It is the Spirit who gives him life. There is no true revival without resultant holiness. Trees that have been made alive again are always fruitful. And here is where Wesleyan theology best recommends itself as revival theology.”2 Beth Felker Jones Introduction One classical definition of theology is “faith seeking understanding.” Knowledge and experience of God, whether individual or corporate, seeks deeper consideration through reflection and study. Anselm writes that believers examine God’s revelation “not for the sake of attaining to faith by means of reason but that they may be gladdened by understanding and meditating on those things that they believe.” 3 Augustine teaches similarly; experience of God incites Christians to apprehend what they believe; what they can hope for; and what they ought to love.4 Part of theology’s work accordingly is to find language to express the Christian experience of God; to try to put into words who God is and what God has done, is doing, and will do, while acknowledging the inadequacy of any verbal or visual signs in the face of an incomprehensible reality.
    [Show full text]
  • A REVISIONIST HISTORY of H. ORTON WILEY at POINT LOMA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY Aaron Friberg
    BEYOND THE FUNDAMENTALIST/LIBERAL CONTROVERSY: A REVISIONIST HISTORY OF H. ORTON WILEY AT POINT LOMA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY Aaron Friberg Introduction The contemporary Christian college, or university, faces two threatening pressures as it seeks to remain faithful in its mission of the pursuit of truth. One, liberalism, relegates Christian truth to the private realm, preventing it from offering a legitimate claim to public truth (truth beyond one’s own subjectivity). Fundamentalism, the other pressure, rejects this dichotomy but offers a narrow perception of truth and thus subverts the concept of a “university,” which claims all knowledge is one. Point Loma Nazarene University, in the very years of its founding as Pasadena College, housed this very struggle between liberals and fundamentalists.1 The authoritative history of the college/university narrates how H. Orton Wiley offers a middle way between these two pressures, remaining sufficiently open to the means of truth yet not excessively modern/liberal. Yet one might question this historical reading. Wiley does not offer a middle way between liberalism and fundamentalism, but instead rejects both. This rejection finds coherency in his deeper philosophical denial of the claims of modernity, out of which both liberalism and fundamentalism flow. Wiley seeks to retrieve a vision of the university as conduit of those Christian disciplines that, through Christ, enable one to see truth and participate in it. Wiley as the Middle Way? In For Zion’s Sake, Ron Kirkemo offers the authoritative work
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of Wesley in American Methodist Theology Randy L
    Methodist History 37 (1999): 71–88 (This .pdf version reproduces pagination of printed form) Respected Founder / Neglected Guide: The Role of Wesley in American Methodist Theology Randy L. Maddox Methodists in North America struggled from nearly the beginning with the question of how they should understand their relationship to John Wesley. There was always a deep appreciation for him as the founder of the movement in which they stood. However there was also a clear hesitance to grant Wesley unquestioned authority on a span of practical and theological issues such as the legitimacy of the American Revolution, the structure for the newly independent Methodist church, and the preferred form for regular Sunday worship. One of the surprising areas where such hesitance about the role of Wesley’s precedent for American Methodist developments emerged was in theology. While Wesley clearly understood himself to be a theologian for his movement, American Methodists increasingly concluded that—whatever his other attributes—Wesley was not a theologian! The purpose of this paper is to investigate the dynamics that led to this revised estimate of Wesley’s status as a theologian and to note the implications that it has had for American Methodist theology. In particular I will consider progressive changes in assumptions about what characterized a theological position or work as “Wesleyan,” when American Methodists acquiesced to the judgment that Wesley himself was not a theologian. I As background to the North American story it is helpful to make clear the sense in which Wesley considered himself a theologian (or a “divine” as eighteenth-century Anglicans were prone to call them).
    [Show full text]
  • A Calvinistically Warped Mind -- Warfield on John Miley
    A Calvinistically Warped Mind–Warfield on John Miley’s Arminianism Warfield’s strong criticism of the noted fundamentalist leaders Andrew Murray, R. A. Torrey, and Lewis Sperry Chafer were based on his deep dispute with Arminianism. His arguments againist Arminianism can perhaps best be seen in his "Review" of Methodist theologian John Miley's Systematic Theology. Though Miley was not associated with the fundamentalist movement, this review represents Warfield's criticism of Arminianism as a distinct theological system. Warfield, though critical of Miley's contentions, still respects him as a scholar. His appreciation for Miley stands in sharp contrast to the tone of subsequent reviews of books from major fundamentalist leaders. B. B. Warfield's "Review of Systematic Theology, by John Miley," is a two-part review article originally published during the years 1893-1895. It corresponds directly to the sequential publication of Miley's two-volume work (1892-1894). Warfield describes the volume as an "altogether good book, which the Arminian should find satisfying, and with which the Calvinist should count it a privilege to join issue."1 He praised the work as "clear, direct and strongly written; ...characterized by candor, restraint, and modesty; it is orderly in arrangement and lucid in discussion."2 But Warfield's respect for Miley who was a noted Methodist theologian and professor of systematic theology at Drew Theological Seminary, did not deter the Princetonian from offering direct criticisms. After all, one of Miley’s express goals was to refute two of Warfield's own beloved mentors, Charles and Archibald Alexander Hodge.3 Warfield begins his review with an evaluation of the way in which Miley has organized his system.
    [Show full text]
  • Wesleyan Theological Journal
    Wesleyan Theological Journal Volume 17, 2 — Fall — 1982 Charismata in the Christian Communities of the Second Century Ted Campbell 7 A Wesleyan Theology Of Evangelism Leon Hynson 26 The Nature of Wesleyan Theology J. Kenneth Grider 43 John Wesley and William Law: A Reappraisal John Tyson 58 The Wesleys’ Hymns On Full Redemption And Pentecost: A Brief Comparison Ken Bible 79 A Chronological List of Wesley’s Sermons and Doctrinal Essays Timothy Smith 88 Book Review 111 Editor Alex R. G. Deasley Digital texts copyright 2008 Wesley Center Online http://wesley.nnu.edu CHARISMATA IN THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES OF THE SECOND CENTURY by Ted A. Campbell I. Introductory and Methodological Considerations It will be our intent in this paper to consider the use of charismata 1 in the Christian communities of the second century A.D., and to assess the significance of the use (and eventual disuse) of charismata for our understanding of the religious intentionality of Christianity in this period. "Charismata" denoted for early Christian writers a variety of ecstatic phenomena associated with worship, especially prophecy and glossolalia. 2 The term could also be used to denote non-ecstatic "gifts of grace" as love (I Cor. 13) and service performed in love (I Pet. 4:10), 3 but we wish to take the term in the former sense for the purposes of this paper. 4 The term was also used in this (i.e., ecstatic) sense by the writers of the second century with whose works we shall be particularly concerned. The time span we are proposing to cover corresponds roughly to the second century A.D., although some of the writings of the Apostolic Fathers (e.g.
    [Show full text]
  • The Wesleyan Quadrilateral in Wesley Albert C
    Wesleyan Theological Journal Volume 20, Number 1, Spring, 1985 The Wesleyan Quadrilateral in Wesley Albert C. Outler 7 The Wesleyan Quadrilateral in the American Holiness Tradition Leon Hynson 19 The Wesleyan Quadrilateral in the American Methodist-Episcopal Tradition William J. Abraham 34 The Theological Context of American Wesleyanism Daniel N. Berg 45 The Development of Holiness Theology in Ninteenth Century America Melvin E. Dieter 61 Toward A Wesleyan Theology of Experience Jerry L. Mercer 78 Mysticism in American Wesleyanism: Thomas Upham Darius Salter 94 What the Holy Spirit Can and Cannot Do: The Ambiguities of Phoebe Palmer’s Theology of Experience Charles White 108 The Theology of Love in Wesley David L. Cubie 122 Book Reviews 155 Editor Alex R. G. Deasley THE WESLEYAN QUADRILATERAL — IN JOHN WESLEY Albert C. Outler For five full decades, John Wesley served as theological mentor to “the people called Methodists,” with no peer and no successful challengers. Throughout that half century, he was embroiled in one doctrinal controversy after another—with Anglican priests and bishops, with Calvinist partisans (clerical and lay) and with occasional dissidents within his own “connexion.” Doctrinal consensus was a prime concern with him and a prerequisite for stability in the Methodist Societies. Thus, at the outset of his first “conference” with his “assistants” (1744), the first questions posed for discussion were: (1) What to teach? (2) How to teach? (3) What to do (i.e., how to regulate our doctrine, discipline and practice)? There was, of course, no question in anyone‟s mind as to who would have the final word in these conversations but everyone agreed that these were the right questions for a religious society within an established church.
    [Show full text]
  • The Doctrine of Prevenient Grace in the Theology of Jacobus Arminius
    Andrews University Digital Commons @ Andrews University Dissertations Graduate Research 2017 The Doctrine of Prevenient Grace in the Theology of Jacobus Arminius Abner F. Hernandez Andrews University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations Part of the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Hernandez, Abner F., "The Doctrine of Prevenient Grace in the Theology of Jacobus Arminius" (2017). Dissertations. 1670. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/1670 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Research at Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT THE DOCTRINE OF PREVENIENT GRACE IN THE THEOLOGY OF JACOBUS ARMINIUS by Abner F. Hernandez Fernandez Adviser: Jerry Moon ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE RESEARCH Dissertation Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Title: THE DOCTRINE OF PREVENIENT GRACE IN THE THEOLOGY OF JACOBUS ARMINIUS Name of researcher: Abner F. Hernandez Fernandez Name and degree of faculty adviser: Jerry Moon, Ph.D. Date completed: April 2017 Topic This dissertation addresses the problem of the lack of agreement among interpreters of Arminius concerning the nature, sources, development, and roles of prevenient grace in Arminius’s soteriology. Purpose The dissertation aims to investigate, analyze, and define the probable sources, nature, development, and role of the concept of prevenient or “preceding” grace in the theology of Jacobus Arminius (1559–1609). Sources The dissertation relies on Arminius’s own writings, mainly the standard London Edition, translated by James Nichols and Williams Nichols.
    [Show full text]
  • The Nature and Extent of the Atonement— a Wesleyan View William S
    THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF THE ATONEMENT— A WESLEYAN VIEW WILLIAM S. SAILER, S. T. D. At the Nashville meeting (1965) of the Evangelical Theological Society, Dr. Roger Nicole suggested that the nature and extent of the atonement are among the issues lying on our theological frontier. With regard to the former aspect of the atonement Nicole has in mind its substitutionary character. With this no Evangelical should disagree. With regard to the latter aspect, Nicole comments: We are faced with a number of questions relating to the scope and intent of the atoning work of Christ. Here we are approaching the delicate, but important area of the sovereign purpose of God, where the Evangelical is called upon to resist Pelagianizing tendencies and creeping universalism.1 And here differences among Evangelicals become apparent. The Scriptures teach, we are told, that the atonement is limited. R. B. Kuiper, for example, has written that he is "firmly convinced that [limited atone- ment] .. .is Scriptural."2 Scripture also teaches, we are told, that the atone- ment is universal: "Arminian theologians have universally argued for belief in the universal extent of the atonement... .There is a wealth of New Testament scripture to support this conviction."3 Each of these writers is concerned with the atonement as it relates to the eternal salvation of men through the sacrifice upon the cross. One says that the design of the atonement is limited in its saving intent to those who are actually saved; the other insists that Christ's death paid the price for the sins of every son of Adam but only those who trust in Christ receive its benefits.
    [Show full text]
  • The Decline of the Class Meeting
    Methodist History, 38:4 (July 2000) THE DECLINE OF THE CLASS MEETING CHARLES EDWARD WHITE Looking back over the 170 years of existence of the Methodist Church in 1909, historian Waddy Moss wrote: Methodist has been faithful to its mission. That was defined by John Wesley as the spread of Scriptural holiness; and amongst the most characteristic means he employed was the gathering together of seriously minded people into classes for mutual help and edification.' He went on to predict: Methodism will either retain her peculiarities (especially the class meeting) ... or, ceasing to have a character of her own, she will range herself with the colourless churches that are Christian institutions and answer a Christian purpose, but the co-exis­ tence of which side by side can be defended on no sound principle of economy, effi­ ciency, or need. 2 Evidently Moss was in the minority, for in 1912 the British Methodist Church followed the American churches and abolished attendance at class meeting as a requirement for membership. This paper will attempt to trace the historical and theological factors which contributed to the decline of this characteristic Methodist institution. 3 'Waddy Moss, "Wesleyan Methodism in the Last Fifty Years," in Townsend, W. J., Workman, H. B., and Eayrs, G., eds., A New History of Methodism (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1909), 480. (Hereafter NHM). 2Moss, 480. 3l will treat the band as a subset of the class. As I will show below, it began earlier, but it did not last as long. It seems never to have been widespread in America, and it died out in England by 1880.
    [Show full text]
  • Soteriology Soteriology
    Soteriology Soteriology ST309 LESSON 09 of 24 The Extent of Christ’s Death – Part 1 H. Phillip Hook, ThD. Experience: Dallas Theological Seminary, ThM and ThD This is tape number nine of twenty-four on the subject of soteriology by Phillip Hook. After discussing the person of Christ and the work of Christ, we need to go a step beyond this now to deal with first the extent of Christ’s death and then the results of His death. In order to deal with the extent, I need to go back a little bit and talk to you about historical background because we’re starting to approach now the differences that historically have been a part of Arminianism and Calvinism, but in the more contemporary circles also involves many of the variations in between. In the Reformation when John Calvin brought theology back into the church and really worked through, again, the doctrine of salvation, he went back to Augustine and Augustine’s concept of depravity. The reaction to Augustine back in the early centuries of the church was Pelagianism. Augustine felt that man was totally depraved as we have defined it earlier, that man was totally unable to make himself acceptable to God; that sin had affected all parts of what man was. A British monk named Pelagius countered Augustine and said that man was not totally depraved, he was not affected by the sin of Adam in any direct sense and Pelagianism was condemned by the church. It came back in another form as semi- Pelagianism and this taught that man had a bent towards sin but he was not depraved.
    [Show full text]