How do we stay Wesleyan if we don't heed the Notes and Sermons of John Wesley in some way
You need to not preach your personal theology but preach the theology of the church
United Methodists are not supposed to contradict the church's doctrinal standards, but can "go beyond and expand
Wesley believed that the doctrine of the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit was a "fundamental belief" of Christian faith
Believing in the "complete divinity" of Christ was also "essential" to Christianity
Wesley thought there was "nothing of greater consequence" than the doctrine of atonement. Without belief in the atonement, religion becomes merely deism, Wesley feared
Wesley did not insist on "any particular understanding" of the atonement, but emphasized that "salvation was based on the whole life of Christ."
Wesley was committed to the traditional Protestant doctrine of Scripture alone as the final authority for the church
Wesley leaned on Eastern Orthodox traditions by stressing that we are "liable for own sins, not the sins of our parents."
Wesley affirmed and thought essential was justification by faith alone, Wesley's emphasis was slightly different because he insisted that faith cannot mean only assent but must engage the heart and affections.
Wesley's seventh essential doctrine was regeneration through the "new birth," Campbell said. Methodism's founder warned against leaning on the "slender read of baptism," when salvation required being born again. Belief in the possibility of entire sanctification beyond regeneration was a distinguishing mark of Methodism, though Campbell said Wesley did not make that an essential Christian doctrine.
United Methodism, "We are a church with clear doctrine. It shapes our practice in ways we don't know."
Bishop Jones said Campbell's description of Wesley's theological "distinctions" was "wrong" because Wesley believed there should be nothing distinct about Methodism. Wesley asserted he was preaching "just the religion of the Bible."
"Every time he [Wesley] lays out Methodist beliefs he's saying it's basic Christianity," Jones said. Wesley was determined to preach "primitive Christianity" and to rescue the faith from "more corrupt forms." Jones asserted Wesley wo...
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...a voice in doctrine," he insisted.
The John Wesley Institute event was attended by about 50 persons, most of them United Methodist clergy.
According to Ted A. Campbell, "Prevenient grace is the appropriate heading under which Methodists have described all the ways in which God works with human beings before they believe in Christ." This is grace that comes before "faith in Christ."
Ted A. Campbell says, "The Methodist Articles of Religion, following the teachings of the Reformation, rejected the medieval Catholic idea of purgatory as a place where the souls of those who have died in Christ could be aided or helped by the prayers of the living. John Wesley himself believed in an intermediate state between death and the final judgment, where those who rejected Christ would be aware of their coming doom (not yet pronounced), and believers would share in the "bosom of Abraham" or "paradise," even continuing to grow in holiness there. This belief, however, is not formally affirmed in Methodist doctrinal standards, which reject the idea of purgatory but beyond that maintain silence on what lies between death and the last judgment."
“Theology is not superior to the gospel. It exists to aid the preaching of salvation. Its business is to make the essential facts and principles of Christianity so simple and clear…that all who preach or teach the gospel…can draw on its stores and deliver a complete and unclouded Christian message. When the progress of humanity creates new tasks…or new problems…theology must connect these old fundamentals of our faith and make them Christian tasks and problems.” (WR 6)
Wesleyans and Fundamentalist may have different views on different subject matter reguarding the doctrine and the theology because of their presupsitions. Although this book makes comparasionsleyans to between Wesleyans and Fundamentalists , the Authors of this book makes a clear message that although we may have differnt views on scripture tere is no way to be sure which one is correct however, "we recognize that Wesleyans and their sisters and brothers who are fundamentalists share a love for Jesus Christ and his inaugurated kingdom." (8) Meaning that we the readers should not discriminate between the two views because untimently they both love Jesus and it is for the glory of God.
Square Peg: Why Wesleyans Aren't Fundamentalists, a book edited by Al Truesdale and published by Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, examines two significantly different ways of understanding the nature and role of the Bible that mark different parts of Christ’s church. The first is represented by fundamentalism; the second by Wesleyan theology. The goal of the book is to help persons in Wesleyan denominations clearly understand the differences between Wesleyan theology and fundamentalist theology, and that even though both are of the Christian faith, how the theology between the two are incompatible with one another. “Without becoming divisive or claiming perfection in Christian doctrine, the various denominations hold theological positions that reflect their Christian experience, history and understanding of the Scriptures.” (loc 124 Kindle, Truesdale) Wesleyans believe that the proof of the gospel reside primarily in how a person lives their life and “not in logic and argumentation.” (loc 160 Kindle, Truesdale) They support the policy of that to get a better understanding of their faith, is the result of all fields of human exploration and research, from scientific to historical.
Holstein, Joanne. "Free Methodists Church of North America." Becker Bible Studies Library. January 2006. Web. December 8th 2013.
Faith is the way an individual responds to the grace of God. Faith is only possible through God and cannot be obtained without God. “Faith is the appropriate way, in which humans respond to the provenience, justifying, and sanctifying grace of God. Human being can and must be collaborators with God in the great work of redemption”(p. 78, Campbell and Burns). Wesley believe that sanctification is by faith and that faith is only possible through the grace of God towards us.
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.
American Protestantism struggled in the 1920’s with the issues of biblical criticism, sources of authority in Christianity, and the theory of evolution. Presbyterians and Baptists experienced splits in their denominations as the events of this decade began to chip away at fundamentalism. For example, John T. Scopes was put on trial for the teaching of evolution, which violated a Tennessee state statute. The growing controversy between Fundamentalists and Modernists as to biblical criticism and evolutionary theories is not what is important in analyzing American Fundamentalism. What is important to analyze is, “in view of the acknowledged impact of these forces, why a minority of Christians responded in one fashion while the majority reacted in another”(Sandeen xi). It was this split in Christianity that made many people believe that fundamentalism should have died out seventy years ago. But fundamentalism survived and there has been a recent resurgence in its’ popularity.
The term Wesleyan Quadrilateral is a theological method used to study scripture. It was believed that theologian John Wesley studied scriptures in the Bible using three lenses, hence where the Wesleyan Quadrilateral gets its name. These three lenses are tradition, reason, and experience. While quad means four and tradition, reason, and experience are only three terms, they each communicate a way that scripture can be studied, therefore the term scripture completes the quadrilateral. It is important to study scripture using the Wesleyan Quadrilateral because Wesley was known as being a relevant theologian and his views on scripture have lasted over two centuries. The Wesleyan quadrilateral is still relevant today as it provides a method for discovering the things of God, ourselves, and lets us know who God really is. For the purposes of this reflection paper I would like to summarize the four components of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral and then reflect personally upon each term as how it relates to the Christian theologian.
As for John Wesley, he was an 18th century British Evangelist who is credited for founding the Methodist Christian movement.
John Wesley, from 1703 - 1791, along with his followers preached the revivalist religion. John’s goal was to convert individuals to a personal relationship with Christ through Bible reading. This also included regular praying and especially revival experiences. Wesley always operated inside the Church of England, Wesley himself preached 52,000 times. He called
Mead, Frank S., and Samuel S. Hill. Handbook of Denominations in the United States. Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1995. Print.
Wesley’s idea of worship as quoted in his commentary on the Roman Catholic catechism says “In divine worship, (as in all other actions,) the first thing to be considered is the end, and the next thing is the means conducing to that end. The end is the honour of God, and the edification of the Church; and then God is honoured, when the Church is edified. The means conducing to that end, are to have the service so administered as may inform the mind, engage the affections, and increase devotion.” (Wesley
Richardson, William E., and Dave Kidd. “Articles.” Pentecostal Evangel. General Council of the Assemblies of God. Web. 13 Nov. 2011.
Both of the Wesley brothers had transforming religious experiences in May 1738. In the years following, the Wesleys succeeded in leading a lively renewal movement in the Church of England. As the Methodist movement grew, it became apparent that their ministry would spread to the American colonies as some Methodists made the exhausting and hazardous Atlantic voyage to the New World.
Lutzer, Erwin. The Doctrines That Divide: a Fresh Look at the Historic Doctrines That Separate Christians. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1998.