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Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion

Asbury Theological Seminary

2012

Wesley

Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

Poetry As The Handmaid Of Piety: Hymns As A Catalyst For Human Development In Early Methodism, Brian Yeich Jan 2012

Poetry As The Handmaid Of Piety: Hymns As A Catalyst For Human Development In Early Methodism, Brian Yeich

The Asbury Journal

In the preface to the 1780 edition o f Hymns for the People Called Methodist, John Wesley stated, 'When Poetry thus keeps its place, as the handmaid of Piety, it shall attain, not a poor perishable 'Wreath, but a crown that fadeth not away."l While John Wesley may have never used the term ''human development," a student of Wesley would quickly observe that Wesley and the early Methodists were focused on the transformation of individual human lives as well as the society in which they lived. This paper explores the connection between the hynmody of early Methodism and …


A Macarian-Wesleyan Theology Of Mission, Matt Friedman Jan 2012

A Macarian-Wesleyan Theology Of Mission, Matt Friedman

The Asbury Journal

In this paper, Iwill begin by providing an outline of the development of the theology of union with God, or theoric. I will have a particular focus on fourth-century Syrian monk Macarius-Symeon, whose Fifty Spiritual Homilies had an influence on early Pietism and early Methodism From there, I will seek to demonstrate how John and Charles Wesley, as well as their colleagues such as John Fletcher in the first generation of Methodist leadership, sought to critically fold this understanding into their own teaching regarding justification, sanctification and the ultimate goal of those who walk in union with God in …


The Journey To God: Union, Purgation And Transformation Within The Ascent Of Mount Carmel And A Plain Account Of Christian Perfection, Stephen L. Martyn Jan 2012

The Journey To God: Union, Purgation And Transformation Within The Ascent Of Mount Carmel And A Plain Account Of Christian Perfection, Stephen L. Martyn

The Asbury Journal

This article is both a call to Christian maturity and an appreciative recounting of how a Roman Catholic mystic, John of the Cross, helped me reclaim and love my own Wesleyan tradition of entire sanctification. In this article I hold up the theological doctrine of Union with God as the goal of the Christian life and review and contrast how Wesley and John of the Cross approached the issue. UThile these two spiritual masters outline differing views of the path to perfection in love, they both, nevertheless, continue to inspire and offer the light of Christ to Christians seeking full …


Sensing The Spirit: Wesley's Empiricism And His Use Of The Language Of Spiritual Sensation, James E. Pedlar Jan 2012

Sensing The Spirit: Wesley's Empiricism And His Use Of The Language Of Spiritual Sensation, James E. Pedlar

The Asbury Journal

This paper examines the relationship betweenJohn Wesley's empiricism and his use of the language of "spiritual sensation." Through a close reading of Wesley's own espousal of empiricism, as well as his use of the language of the spiritual senses, it will be argued that Wesley, while committed to empiricism as a natural epistemology, views the experience of the Spirit as something which is known intuitively. H is references to the spiritual senses are therefore best understood as an analogy for this intuitively known experience of the Spirit. While Wesley's discussions of spiritual sensation are not simply an extension of his …