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John Wesley, essay about him
Life and ministry of John Wesley
John Wesley's beliefs and religious practices
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John Wesley was born June 17, 1703 in Epworth, England. In 1729, he joined his brother Charles, Robert Kirkham and William Morgan in a religious study group called the “Methodists.” Taking over the leadership of the group, John helped it grow in numbers. The “Methodists,” also called the Holy Club, were known for fasting two days a week. From 1730 on, they added social services to their activities
As for John Wesley, he was an 18th century British Evangelist who is credited for founding the Methodist Christian movement.
In Jonathan Edwards's The Nature of True Virtue his beliefs of following God's supremacy leads to moral beauty, the virtue in nature, and the selflessness of true virtue will unite society all stem from John Locke's beliefs of the social contract, Isaac Newton's belief of the logical perfection of nature, and both of their beliefs of human morality.
The Jehovah Witness beliefs are in strict accordance to the Bible. Their Bible is called the New World Translation Bible. Their God is the God of the Old Testament and they call him Jehovah. Jehovah’s reject the symbol of a cross because they believe it comes from a pre-Christian, pagan origin. They believe Jesus was nailed to a single upright wooden stake. They don not believe in the Trinity. They believe that the Holy Spirit is a force, which intervenes for God on earth. Jehovah’s view Satan as the enemy of God. The way to resist him is to learn about Jehovah.
I was intrigued by John Wesley’s family background. Of how, “John Wesley began life as a happy by-product of a family dispute” (p. 3, Abraham) of praying for King William III. I find it hard to consider that the leader of the Methodist movement was the result of conflict resolution. John was the fifteenth child of a family of nineteen children. His parents, “Susanna and Samuel Wesley was both Dissenter, those who rejected the vision of Christianity developed by the Anglican Church after the Reformation” (p. 4, Abraham). John grandfather, Susanna’s father, was a “distinguished Dissenting Preacher” (p. 4, Abraham). His family tree was rich with ancestors who did not go along with the establishment if it did not match with spiritual truths.
One of the most influential people of his time, John Wycliffe, was born into a large family of Saxon origin that spread out over the areas, now known as, Wycliffe-on-Tees. He was born in Ipreswell, Yorkshire, England, around 1324; he died on December 31, 1384, in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, England. As a child, his education was close to home; eventually he attended Oxford and became an English scholastic philosopher, theologian, lay preacher, translator, reformer, and professor at Oxford University. Known for being opinionated, Wycliffe had many doctrines and theologies which were shaped around the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Bradwardine’s book, “On a Cause of God against the Pelagians”. He was born in an era where religion went hand-in-hand with most aspects of life, so we can only assume that he was born into a Christian family. Wycliffe was willing to die for what he believed in, and although he was not excommunicated, after his death he was declared a heretic by the Council of Constance, and his body was exhumed from consecrated ground, burned into ashes, and cast into River Swift, by orders of Pope Martin V, in 1428.
During the 18th Century, John Wesley gives rise to the Methodist movement. As a priest, Wesley is a perplexing figure whose conduct often diverges from the common practices of the Church of England during this time. After a marvellous and transformative divine experience, Wesley delivers a sermon at Oxford University titled, “Salvation by Faith”. His spiritual revelation changed Wesley and his perspective of God and key theological concepts. Throughout the sermon, Wesley develops the concept of God’s grace as it serves as a gateway to achieving salvation, which is the ultimate purpose of Christianity. Wesley understands God’s grace as a gift for humanity, the initial and central component of one’s faith in God, allowing one to receive mercy from God
The Methodist Church was created in 1787 by John Wesley in England. The Methodist denomination is a branch of the Protestant religions. When creating the Methodist Church John Wesley was not intending on creating a new denomination because he was a part of the English Church. But he was trying to create a revitalization within the English church with small group meetings for bible study and encouragement in the beliefs. Methodist preachers were always on the move to spread their beliefs with the people. “Wesley is estimated to have travelled more than 250,000 miles by horseback, and to have averaged fifteen sermons per week during his career.”(Vial #2) The practice of travelling and preaching caused the spread of The Methodist Church, that’s why there is 70 million people in 161 countries now that claim the Methodist denomination. In 1771 Wesley started to send preachers to America but at the time they were still British colonies. Because the people of America might have not wanted to join an English church Wesley allowed the Americans to create their own church. That was the start of the United Methodist Church.
John Calvin believed that we as Christian’s were either destined for an eternity of salvation or damnation. Calvin’s contention was that when the word was preached not all received it in the same manor if at all. He felt that this was evidence of God’s judgements. He acknowledged that if salvation was offered to some but refused to others, this would raise a lot of hard questions that can only be answered by a proper understanding for predestination and election. Calvin contends that we cannot be persuaded that our salvation comes of God’s will until we come to see his election, which illuminates God’s grace. He indicates that “he does not indiscriminately adopt to all to the hope of salvation, but gives to some what he denies to others’ (McGrath 2011, pg. 375). In the reader it describes predestination indicating “We call predestination God’s eternal decree, by which God determined what God willed to become of each human being. For all are not created in equal condition… but eternal life is foreordained for some, and eternal damnation for others” (McGrath 2011, pg. 375). Ultimately each of us are
“Human beings are made for worship. Everyone worships someone or something” (Calhoun 2005). The above statement is so true. Some people worship money, themselves, other people or pagan Gods. As for me I worship God the Almighty Father of Heaven and Earth. “True worship of God happens when we put God first in our lives” (Calhoun 2005). Worship isn’t just singing at the beginning of a church service on Sunday. Worship is a daily surrender where we put God first in everything such as our marriage, work life, friendships, family, money, and lifestyle. Worship is where we totally surrender and trust God with everything in our lives.
In the Gospel of John, to “believe” entails trusting Jesus, as he is the Son of the Father and that there are just consequences and rewards of belief in him. Just discovers how “belief in” Jesus involves a level of trust that incorporates him as part of a “tented” family. This belief can be rewarded with eternal life, as well as a personal connection to Jesus Christ. In John’s Gospel, Jesus is the “Son of God” (John 1:34) and he is the key to eternal life in heaven.
As one digs deep into writings of John Wesley, they can quickly see his strides to social justice, evangelism, and personal holiness. If there was one portion of his theology that many wrestled with when it came to John Wesley, it was more than likely his thoughts and ideas on Christian Perfection. Many were afraid to write about being perfect once finding Christ, however John Wesley believed there was no difference between holiness and Christian Perfection. In his writing on Christian Perfection, Wesley pleads his case for those who have found Christ to be found as perfect and no longer sinful.
Many ideas presented by John Wesley are similar to those presented by Aristotle. These similarities become apparent in various areas, especially in the idea that each person has potential that can be actualized. Because these similarities are apparent, the thoughts of Aristotle can easily be employed to assist in understanding many of Wesley's thoughts. Specifically, the discussion of virtue presented in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics can assist one in understanding Wesley's ideas of affections and tempers, the process of Christian perfection, means of grace, and the importance of community.
The passage from the Gospel of John spanning from 7:53 to 8:11 tells the story of a woman caught in adultery brought in front of Jesus. With an ulterior motive, the scribes and Pharisees that bring the adulteress in front of Jesus demand his verdict on whether she should be stoned to death according to the Law of Moses. The passage in itself has been the center of controversy among scholars and theologians on whether it is authoritative enough to be part of the original manuscripts. Some believe that its literary characteristics make its authority too weak to be regarded as part of the original texts (Harrison, 431). However, the message within the passage itself is hard to ignore or even be considered as something that was made up.
The new creation is a cosmic overall dimension of the renewal in God’s image per the Methodist view, however Wesley being more focused on the renewal of a person led him to write research and write about his distinguishing characteristics of the steps to sanctification. The theme to Wesley’s soteriology was that of the renewing of the image. The renewing of the face of the earth begins with the renewing of humans who inhabit it, which links redemption to salvation, understood by Wesley to be the renewing of the heart and the change to how one lives.
Drum, Bary, Rev. "The Wesleyan Way: John Wesley's Understanding of Christian Discipleship." Ann Arbor: ProQuest UMI, n.d. print.