John Wesley; His Life and Theology
Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1982. Later printing. Trade paperback. 368 pages. Footnotes. Map. Illustrations. Index. Some cover wear and soiling. Inscribed by the author on the half title page. Inscription reads: To Carl, God Bless you! Me we follow Wesley as he follows Jesus Bob Tuttle, Jr. Gift inscription from Carl to his father dated Christmas 1982 also on the half-title page. Dr. Robert G. Tuttle Jr. received an A.B. from Duke University, 1963; a B.D. from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, 1967; a M.A. from Wheaton Graduate School of Theology, 1967; and a Ph.D. from the University of Bristol in England, 1970. Dr. Tuttle served churches in North Carolina and Colorado before beginning his teaching career at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif. Since that time, he has taught at the Oral Roberts Graduate School of Theology, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and Asbury Theological Seminary’s Kentucky campus before moving to the Florida campus in 2000. He retired from Asbury Theological Seminary as E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism. He has preached and/or taught in nearly every state in the United States and in more than 30 countries. He has published more than 12 books over the years and written chapters in six more. John Wesley (28 June [O.S. 17 June] 1703 – 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, theologian, and evangelist who was a leader of a revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies he founded became the dominant form of the independent Methodist movement that continues to this day. Educated at Charterhouse and Christ Church, Oxford, Wesley was elected a fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford, in 1726 and ordained as an Anglican priest two years later. At Oxford, he led the "Holy Club", a society formed for the purpose of the study and the pursuit of a devout Christian life; it had been founded by his brother Charles and counted George Whitefield among its members. After an unsuccessful ministry of two years, serving at Christ Church, in the Georgia colony of Savannah, he returned to London and joined a religious society led by Moravian Christians. On 24 May 1738, he experienced what has come to be called his evangelical conversion, when he felt his "heart strangely warmed". He subsequently left the Moravians and began his own ministry. A key step in the development of Wesley's ministry was, like Whitefield, to travel and preach outdoors. In contrast to Whitefield's Calvinism, Wesley embraced Arminian doctrines. Moving across Great Britain and Ireland, he helped form and organise small Christian groups (societies) that developed intensive and personal accountability, discipleship, and religious instruction. He appointed itinerant, unordained evangelists—both women and men—to care for these groups of people. Under Wesley's direction, Methodists became leaders in many social issues of the day, including the abolition of slavery and prison reform. Although he was not a systematic theologian, Wesley argued for the notion of Christian perfection and against Calvinism—and, in particular, against its doctrine of predestination. His evangelicalism, firmly grounded in sacramental theology, maintained that means of grace sometimes had a role in sanctification of the believer; however, he taught that it was by faith a believer was transformed into the likeness of Christ. He held that, in this life, Christians could achieve a state where the love of God "reigned supreme in their hearts", giving them not only outward but inward holiness. Wesley's teachings, collectively known as Wesleyan theology, continue to inform the doctrine of Methodist churches. Throughout his life, Wesley remained within the established Church of England, insisting that the Methodist movement lay well within its tradition. In his early ministry years, Wesley was barred from preaching in many parish churches and the Methodists were persecuted; he later became widely respected, and by the end of his life, was described as "the best-loved man in England" Condition: Good / No dust jacket issued.
Keywords: John Wesley, Theology, Methodism, Charterhouse, Christ Church, Oxford Don, Curate, Peter Bohler, de Renty, Faith, William Law, Justification, Mystics, Revival, George Whitefield
ISBN: 0310366615
[Book #85086]
Price: $45.00