THEO 0629 | John Wesley's Theology
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
The Wesleyan Enlightenment
The Wesleyan Enlightenment: Closing the gap between heart religion and reason in Eighteenth Century England by Timothy Wayne Holgerson B.M.E., Oral Roberts University, 1984 M.M.E., Wichita State University, 1986 M.A., Asbury Theological Seminary, 1999 M.A., Kansas State University, 2011 AN ABSTRACT OF A DISSERTATION submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of History College of Arts and Sciences KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY Manhattan, Kansas 2017 Abstract John Wesley (1703-1791) was an Anglican priest who became the leader of Wesleyan Methodism, a renewal movement within the Church of England that began in the late 1730s. Although Wesley was not isolated from his enlightened age, historians of the Enlightenment and theologians of John Wesley have only recently begun to consider Wesley in the historical context of the Enlightenment. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the complex relationship between a man, John Wesley, and an intellectual movement, the Enlightenment. As a comparative history, this study will analyze the juxtaposition of two historiographies, Wesley studies and Enlightenment studies. Surprisingly, Wesley scholars did not study John Wesley as an important theologian until the mid-1960s. Moreover, because social historians in the 1970s began to explore the unique ways people experienced the Enlightenment in different local, regional and national contexts, the plausibility of an English Enlightenment emerged for the first time in the early 1980s. As a result, in the late 1980s, scholars began to integrate the study of John Wesley and the Enlightenment. In other words, historians and theologians began to consider Wesley as a serious thinker in the context of an English Enlightenment that was not hostile to Christianity. -
Wesleyan Spirit-Christology
Wesleyan Spirit-Christology: inspiration from the theology of Samuel Chadwick Full version of a paper presented at the Oxford Institute of Methodist Theological Studies, August 2018 by George Bailey, [email protected] Lecturer in Mission and Wesleyan Studies, Cliff College, Derbyshire, UK Presbyteral Minister in Leeds North and East Methodist Circuit, UK Introduction This paper explores the theology of Samuel Chadwick (1860-1932) and demonstrates that within it there is a Spirit Christology in a Wesleyan framework. Spirit Christology has been the subject of theological investigation in recent decades, with proposals being made for ways to add to or adapt the more dominant Logos Christologies of the Western theological tradition so that the work of the Holy Spirit in Jesus in the Gospels, and in the experience of Christians, can be better accounted for.1 Chadwick’s theology is brought into debate with this more recent conversation, and is found to be in many ways in line with the Spirit Christology being proposed. This is not an aspect of Chadwick’s theology that has been given attention previously and new suggestions are made as to his place in the tradition of Wesleyan theology. In the process, Chadwick’s sources are considered, including the ways that he draws on a Wesleyan theology of perfection, mid to late nineteenth century language of Pentecost and baptism of the Spirit, early twentieth century liberal Protestant theological work, and his potential relationship with the seventeenth century puritan, John Owen. Most academic interest in Chadwick to date has focused on more practical issues. However, although Chadwick was primarily concerned with holiness and evangelism, it was only by the work of Holy Spirit that he experienced these being effective in his life and the life of churches, and consequently the Holy Spirit constituted the main content of his teaching to prepare people for evangelism. -
Aspects of Arminian Soteriology in Methodist-Lutheran Ecumenical Dialogues in 20Th and 21St Century
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Helsingin yliopiston digitaalinen arkisto ASPECTS OF ARMINIAN SOTERIOLOGY IN METHODIST-LUTHERAN ECUMENICAL DIALOGUES IN 20TH AND 21ST CENTURY Mikko Satama Master’s Thesis University of Helsinki Faculty of Theology Department of Systematic Theology Ecumenical Studies 18th January 2009 HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO − HELSINGFORS UNIVERSITET Tiedekunta/Osasto − Fakultet/Sektion Laitos − Institution Teologinen tiedekunta Systemaattisen teologian laitos Tekijä − Författare Mikko Satama Työn nimi − Arbetets title Aspects of Arminian Soteriology in Methodist-Lutheran Ecumenical Dialogues in 20th and 21st Century Oppiaine − Läroämne Ekumeniikka Työn laji − Arbetets art Aika − Datum Sivumäärä − Sidoantal Pro Gradu -tutkielma 18.1.2009 94 Tiivistelmä − Referat The aim of this thesis is to analyse the key ecumenical dialogues between Methodists and Lutherans from the perspective of Arminian soteriology and Methodist theology in general. The primary research question is defined as: “To what extent do the dialogues under analysis relate to Arminian soteriology?” By seeking an answer to this question, new knowledge is sought on the current soteriological position of the Methodist-Lutheran dialogues, the contemporary Methodist theology and the commonalities between the Lutheran and Arminian understanding of soteriology. This way the soteriological picture of the Methodist-Lutheran discussions is clarified. The dialogues under analysis were selected on the basis of versatility. Firstly, the sole world organisation level dialogue was chosen: The Church – Community of Grace. Additionally, the document World Methodist Council and the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification is analysed as a supporting document. Secondly, a document concerning the discussions between two main-line churches in the United States of America was selected: Confessing Our Faith Together. -
JOHN WESLEY's CHRISTOLOGY in RECENT LITERATURE by Richard M
JOHN WESLEY'S CHRISTOLOGY IN RECENT LITERATURE by Richard M. Riss There have been a variety of interpretations of John Wesley's Chris- tology, some claiming that Wesley was well within the boundaries of orthodoxy as defined by the Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451), others say ing that he moved in the direction of monophysitism, and yet others indi cating that he may actually have come close to advocating a form of docetism.1 This spectrum of perspectives seems broad enough to be con sistent with William J. Abraham's observation that "there are as many Wesleys as there are Wesley scholars."2 Nevertheless, it will be assumed here that it should be possible to determine Wesley's own view on this important theological matter. The following review of some of the relevant literature is in chrono logical order and will concern itself primarily with interpretations of Wes ley's Christology by Robin Scroggs (1960), William Ragsdale Cannon (1974), Charles R. Wilson (1983), Albert C. Outler (1984), John Deschner (1960, 1985, 1988), Kenneth J. Collins (1993, 2007), Randy L. Maddox (1994), Thomas C. Oden (1994), Timothy L. Boyd (2004), and Matthew Hambrick and Michael Lodahl (2007). There will also be an attempt to assess this literature in light of some of Wesley's own writings. according to docetism, Jesus was not a real man, but only appeared to be. He thus only appeared to have a body. See Randy Maddox, Responsible Grace (Nashville, Tenn.: Kingswood Books), 311, note 128. 2William J. Abraham, "The End of Wesleyan Theology," Wesley an Theolog- icalJournal 40 (spring 2005): 13. -
The Holiness Movement the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Part 1
Community Bible Church Instructor: Bill Combs THE HOLINESS MOVEMENT THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY PART 1 I. INTRODUCTION A. Though the title of this series is “The Holiness Movement,” we actually will be taking a more comprehensive historical perspective. What is technically called the Holiness movement, as we will see, developed out of the Methodist Church in the middle of the 19th century (the 1800s) in American. It was an attempt to preserve the teachings on holiness of John Wesley (1703–1791), the founder of Methodism. Wesley came up with the new and unique idea of a second transforming work of grace that is distinct from and subsequent to the new birth. This second blessing of entire sanctification is just as powerful and transforming as the first transforming work of grace—the new birth or regeneration. The Methodist Church eventually forsook Wesley’s view of sanctification at the end of the 19th century, but the Holiness Movement continued to champion Wesley’s view. Part of this Holiness tradition led to what is called the Keswick (the “w” is silent) movement. It is the particular form of Holiness teaching found in the Keswick movement that is of most interest to us in our study the next few weeks. The Keswick movement began at the end of the 19th century and in the 20th century became the most common way of understanding the Bible’s teaching on holiness in fundamentalism and most churches in the broader evangelical tradition—Baptist churches, Bible churches, some Presbyterian churches (also many parachurch organizations, such as Campus Crusade for Christ). -
Salvation for Both Worlds: Contours of a Wesleyan/Biblical Social Theology
Salvation for Both Worlds Contours of a Wesleyan/Biblical Social Theology Donald E. Burke Booth University College Introduction From early in his Christian journey, John Wesley engaged in a range of activities directed toward the alleviation of the suffering of those who were, for various reasons, marginalized in 18th century English society. Visiting the sick and imprisoned, feeding the hungry, and serving the poor were core activities of Wesley and the Methodists, both before and after Aldersgate. Further, across the many years of his ministry Wesley repeatedly exhorted his Methodist followers to make engagement with the poor a fundamental part of their Christian living. In fact, Wesley would assert that without this regular service to the poor, his followers’ Christian faith was in jeopardy. The temptation to settle into comfortable lives would be too great to resist unless it was tempered by frequent service to the marginalized.1 The succeeding generations of those who have claimed Wesley as their spiritual ancestor have produced a number of significant social reformers who have called the Church to serve and advocate for the poor. Examples of these perspectives and practices from the Wesleyan traditions represented here this evening would confirm that this emphasis on the transformation of individual lives, the alleviation of human suffering, and even the transformation of the world is an everflowing stream that courses from the headwaters of our Wesleyan tradition. Nevertheless, Donald Dayton, commenting upon what he has termed “the Wesleyan preferential option for the poor,” has observed that while Wesley’s practice “...seems to make an option for the poor constitutive of the life of the church,” he is “less clear how he would argue the theological grounding for this praxis. -
John Wesley on Aspects of Christian Experience After Justification
John Wesley On Aspects Of Christian Experience After Justification Owen H. Alderfer Introduction That which is regarded as unique in the thought of John " Wesley is often termed "The Doctrine of Christian Perfection. To consider this element in Wesley's thought as one idea among many ideas is to confuse the thought of this man. Wesley was obsessed with the idea of Christian perfection and its attain ability in this life. The various steps in Christian experience, as Wesley saw them, were related to perfection. An under standing of various aspects of Christian experience subsequent to justification and related to Christian perfection will be helpful in understanding the whole thought of this leader. It is an assumption of this paper that Wesley may be under stood largely in terms of his consideration and treatment of Christian experience. In Wesley's thinking there was an ideal of for believers not pattern experience , though possibly everyone discovers the ideal. To imderstand this ideal pattern of experience which he saw is to understand Wesley. The basic problem of this study is the determination of the ideal pattern of Christian experience after justification as set forth by John Wesley. This involves an effort to discover points of Christian experience which should be attained by every believer. Implied here are means necessary for attainment of such ends; further are implied alternatives which follow failure to achieve ideal ends. These are elements related to the problem at hand. Beyond the problem itself, but related to it, is a consideration of the difficulties which Wesley encountered in the presentation of his views. -
John Wesley As a Theologian an Introduction
JOHN WESLEY AS A THEOLOGIAN AN INTRODUCTION Thomas A. Noble Nazarene Theological Seminary This paper was presented at the conference of CERT (Center for Evangelical and Reformed Theology) at the Free University of Amsterdam on 5th April, 2007. Indisputably, John Wesley is one of the major figures of Christian history. Today, sixty million Methodists around the world, together with Salvationists, Nazarenes and other denominations in the World Methodist Council, regard themselves as standing in the ‘Wesleyan’ tradition. He is clearly one of the outstanding evangelists and apostles of the Christian faith, notable for his organizing genius in preserving the fruit of the eighteenth-century evangelical revival in his Methodist societies, notable for his publications, including his fascinating Journal, and notable too for his early opposition to the slave trade, his interest in modern science, and his concern for the poor. But is he a significant theologian? The eighteenth century is not well-known for front-rank theologians. Jonathan Edwards possibly merits the accolade of the most creative theologian of the century. Schleiermacher is of course a major figure, but his contribution really came in the early nineteenth century. Generally we can say that the eighteenth century is not to be compared with the fourth century, or with the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, or with the nineteenth or twentieth century as a time of major creativity in Christian Theology. But even though he did not live at a time of theological ferment, and was not a great creative thinker, it may be argued that Wesley was at the very least formative and influential for his own followers and for the burgeoning evangelical Christianity which led to the modern missionary movement, which led in turn to the demographic revolution in world Christianity, that amazing growth of the Church in the two-thirds world which sees Christians today in the northern hemisphere in a minority. -
The Dreaded 'Backsliding', Where Human Frailty Too Readily Reverts to Wicked Ways
SOLID METHODIST FOUNDATIONS 31 the dreaded 'backsliding', where human frailty too readily reverts to wicked ways. In this light, Wesley urged strictness at schools and few diversions from hard labour. Children, he said, were not innocent but rather beings of a corrupt nature and evil dis position. 'Break their will betimes. Begin this work before they can run alone, before they can speak plain . Whatever pain it costs, break the will if you would not damn the child. Let a child from a year old be taught to fear the rod and to cry softly'." Further, Thompson detected deeper psychological peculiarities in Methodism. There was an impaired or frustrated sexuality, he maintained, in the paroxysms that accompanied conversions at early Methodist meetings. It was a religion hostile to intellectual capacity and to artistic values—a cult of Love that feared Love's effective expression. 'Method ists wrote hymns but no secular poetry of note', he asserts. 'The idea of a passionate Methodist lover in these years is ludicrous.'"' By the time of Wesley College's foundation, the open-air religious emotionalism of Methodism had largely gone. Now in their own handsome and even grand churches, Methodist services could be as sedate as the Anglican. It was also the case that after John Wesley's death, inevitable divisions of opinion led to fractures in the organisation. Minority offshoots were also transplanted in Australia. More extreme or fundamental ist Methodists would be found in small breakaway denominations such as the New Connexion (1796), the Primitive Methodists (1811), the Bible Christians (1815) and the United Methodist Free Church (1857) until their eventual reunification in 1902. -
And the Methodist Ethos Beyond John Wesley
The Arbury Journal 63/1:5-31 © 2008 Asbury Theological Seminary TED A. CAMPBELL The {(Wqy if Salvation" and the Methodist Ethos Bryond John Weslry: A Stucfy in Formal Consensus and Popular Receptzon Abstract It has been well documented that the "way of salvation" was central to John Wesley's thought. But how did Methodists in the nineteenth century express a theology and spirituality of the way of salvation? This article examines formal doctrinal materials from Methodist churches (including catechisms, doctrinal statements, and hymnals) and the testimonies of l'vfethodist men and women to discern how teachings about the way of salvation were transmitted after the time of John and Charles Wesley. Based on these doctrinal works and personal testimonies, the article shows a consistent pattern in Methodist teaching and experience involving a) conviction of sin, b) conversion, c) struggles of the soul following conversion, and then d) entire sanctification. I<.EYWORDs: conversion, salvation, John Wesley, Methodist Ted A. Campbell is associate professor of church history at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. 1. Introduction and Background We find ourselves now at a critical juncture in the fields of Wesleyan and Methodist studies. On the one hand, something that Methodist historians and interpreters have long desired is at last coming to pass, namely, widespread recognition of the prominent cultural influence of Methodism in the USA and its influence on the broader Evangelical movement. Beginning with Nathan Hatch's study of The Democratization of American Religion (1989), a series of historical studies have explored the cultural impact of the Methodist movement in the nineteenth century and beyond.l John H. -
WESLEYAN WISDOM for MISSION-SHAPED DISCIPLESHIP by Phil Meadows Journal of Missional Practice
WESLEYAN WISDOM FOR MISSION-SHAPED DISCIPLESHIP By Phil Meadows Journal of Missional Practice WESLEYAN WISDOM FOR MISSION-SHAPED DISCIPLESHIP In recent years, some scholars have shifted their focus from missional ecclesiology to mission spirituality, by making authentic discipleship the starting point of missional thinking. From this perspective, it is not churches but people that participate in the mission of God. The world is not evangelised by structures, but by mission-shaped disciples who love God and neighbour. Discipleship is the essential bridge between missiology and ecclesiology. The modest aim of this article is to survey some resources of Wesleyan theology and spirituality for points of contact with this evolving conversation about discipleship, and offer some brief reflections on missional practice for the contemporary church. It will be argued that mission spirituality means abiding deeply with God and living missionally in the world. Mission-shaped disciples are those who intentionally pursue this mission spirituality as a way of life; by seeking growth in God’s love through spiritual discipline and small group accountability, and sharing that love with others in the ordinary flow of everyday life. Missional churches are defined as communities of mission-shaped disciples; and missional leadership is that which invests in the formation of discipleship, for the sake of church vitality and missional outreach. https://journalofmissionalpractice.com/wesleyan-wisdom-for-mission-shaped-discip... Page 1 of 12 WESLEYAN WISDOM FOR MISSION-SHAPED DISCIPLESHIP By Phil Meadows Journal of Missional Practice There have been a number of unfolding and overlapping shifts in Western missiological thinking over recent years. First, the dominant understanding of mission as sending people overseas to pre-Christian cultures has been overshadowed by the need for missionary activity in our emerging post-Christian context. -
Comparing Orthodox and Wesleyan Positions on Evangelism
religions Article Together toward Christ: Comparing Orthodox and Wesleyan Positions on Evangelism Kristina Whiteman 1,2 1 Asbury Theological Seminary, Orthodox Christian Mission Center, Wilmore, KY 40390, USA; [email protected] 2 Mission Specialist in Care and Training States, St. Augustine, FL 32086, USA Abstract: Inspired by the events of the 2018 consultation of the Lausanne-Orthodox Initiative, this brief article seeks to pare down the broader question of “greater Christian unity” within the North American sphere to a more digestible, specific, practical question: How do Wesleyan and Orthodox positions on evangelism compare? This question is examined by describing the Wesleyan and Orthodox views of evangelism, delineating some key similarities and differences, and proposing a way forward for Wesleyans and Orthodox, together toward Christ. Keywords: ecumenism; Wesleyan; Orthodox; evangelism; John Wesley; Lausanne-Orthodox Initiative 1. Introduction In the summer of 2018, approximately sixty Eastern and Oriental Orthodox and Evangelical protestants gathered at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology for a consultation of the Lausanne-Orthodox Initiative.1 As a convert with both deep gratitude Citation: Whiteman, Kristina. 2021. for my Wesleyan Free Methodist upbringing and devotion to the spiritual home I have Together toward Christ: Comparing found in Eastern Orthodoxy, I was deeply blessed by the opportunity to participate with Orthodox and Wesleyan Positions on these men and women, clergy and laity, from around the world. The days were filled Evangelism. Religions 12: 495. with fellowship, with good discussions, and with some honest talk about what makes https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12070495 us the same and what makes us distinct.