A Man Of One Book?
A Man Of One Book?

Author: Donald A. Bullen

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2007-12-01

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 1556354908

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John Wesley claimed to be a man of one book, and early Wesley scholarship accepted uncritically that the Bible was his supreme authority. In the late twentieth century, American Wesley scholars discussed what has been termed the Wesley Quadrilateral (the authority of the Bible, tradition, reason, and experience), and this to some extent helps explain the method by which Wesley read and interpreted the Bible. However, modern biblical reader-response criticism has drawn attention to the central role of the reader in his/her interpretation of scriptural texts. Donald Bullen argues that Wesley came to the Bible as a reader with the presuppositions of an eighteenth-century High Church, Arminian Anglican, in which tradition he had grown up. He then found his beliefs confirmed in the scriptural text. Claiming to base all his beliefs on the Bible, he found himself in controversy with others who made similar claims but came to different conclusions. The implications of this are explored in depth.

John Wesley in America
John Wesley in America

Author: Geordan Hammond

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2014-05-23

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 0191005126

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Why did John Wesley leave the halls of academia at Oxford to become a Church of England missionary in the newly established colony of Georgia? Was his ministry in America a success or failure? These questions-which have engaged numerous biographers of Wesley-have often been approached from the vantage point of later developments in Methodism. Geordan Hammond presents the first book-length study of Wesley's experience in America, providing an innovative contribution to debates about the significance of a formative period of Wesley's life. John Wesley in America addresses Wesley's Georgia mission in fresh perspective by interpreting it in its immediate context. In order to re-evaluate this period of Wesley's life, Hammond carefully considers Wesley's writings and those of his contemporaries. The Georgia mission, for Wesley, was a laboratory for implementing his views of primitive Christianity. The ideal of restoring the doctrine, discipline, and practice of the early church in the pristine Georgia wilderness was the prime motivating factor in Wesley's decision to embark for Georgia and in his clerical practice in the colony. Understanding the centrality of primitive Christianity to Wesley's thinking and pastoral methods is essential to comprehending his experience in America. Wesley's conception of primitive Christianity was rooted in his embrace of patristic scholarship at Oxford. The most direct influence, however, was the High Church ecclesiology of the Usager Nonjurors who inspired him with their commitment to the restoration of the primitive church.

John Wesley's Doctrine of Justification
John Wesley's Doctrine of Justification

Author: Mark. K. Olson

Publisher: Abingdon Press

Published: 2024-01-16

Total Pages: 129

ISBN-13: 1791031277

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John Wesley’s Doctrine of Justification provides updated scholarship on this pivotal doctrine of Methodism, providing a deeper understanding of a major tenet of the Christian faith. Mark Olson offers a comprehensive treatment of the development and exposition of Wesley’s doctrine of justification and how it changed throughout Wesley’s life, including his early views rooted in Anglican heritage, the significant developments in Wesley’s career, and contributions from notable figures like John Fletcher to his doctrine of general justification. The doctrine of justification was pivotal to John Wesley’s understanding of a person’s relationship with God. In Wesley’s view, it defined one of the two general parts of salvation. It touched every aspect of the spiritual journey from birth (general justification) to conversion (present justification) to final judgment and glory (final justification). To properly understand Wesley’s via salutis and theology, one needs to grasp the particulars of his doctrine of justification. The best way to do this is to tell the story of how he came to understand the doctrine over the course of his life. It is a complex story, with many twists and turns, that deserves to be fully told.