Description
As anyone familiar with both the stereotypes and the scholarship related to Wesley knows, tricky interpretive questions abound: was Wesley a conservative, high church Tory or a revolutionary protodemocrat or proto-Marxist? Was he a modern rationalist obsessed with the epistemology of religious belief or a late medieval style thinker who believed in demonic possession and supernatural healing? Was Wesley primarily a pragmatic evangelist or a serious theologian committed to the long-haul work of catechesis, initiation, and formation?
Wesley: A Guide for the Perplexed sheds new light on Wesley’s life and teaching, and aims to help students understand this enigmatic figure.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter One
Spreading the Gospel: Methodism and the Evangelical Revival
Chapter Two
Keeping to the Church: The Stabilization of English Society
Chapter Three
Honoring the King: The Politics of Divine Right
Chapter Four
Loving God: A Theology of Joyful Obedience
Conclusion
Author(s)
Jason E. Vickers,
Jason E. Vickers is Associate Professor of Theology and Wesleyan Studies at United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio, USA.
Reviews
"A strong series of guides, aimed at the student market looking for more than just a basic introduction and overview on the subjects addressed. Each one is well written and contains enough information to get a student well-versed in the subjects at hand and form a strong basis for further study."
Reviewed in Publishing News, 2008
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‘Vickers is to be commended for producing a synoptic vision of John Wesley’s thought that is not just a great introduction for beginners but offers important new insights for those who have been studying Wesley for some time. He grounds Wesley in the particularity of eighteenth-century establishment Anglicanism, and uses this grounding to sketch a broad coherence among Wesley’s ecclesiastical, political, and theological commitments. His central thesis is a landmark for future studies of these issues.’
Randy L. Maddox, Professor of Theology and Wesleyan Studies, Duke Divinity School, USA
Randy L. Maddox,
"Vicker's argument is both illuminating and persuasive."
-Dave Williams, Oak Hill College
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