Arts and Humanities Commons^™

In Memoriam: Dr. James B. Buskirk (1933–2020), James Shelton, Arden C. Autry Phd, Sally Jo Shelton

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

James Buskirk is honored as the founding Dean of ORU’s Graduate School of Theology. A Master of Arts degree was already in place; Buskirk was tasked with establishing a Master of Divinity, a Doctor of Ministry, and a PhD in theology—each fully accredited. During his tenure, faculty and student numbers increased along with denominational diversity. The MDiv and DMin achieved accreditation. The PhD was not started, however, as Oral Roberts dealt with competing financial priorities. Roberts’ declared decision not to offer a PhD led to Buskirk’s departure. He remained on good terms personally with Roberts. Buskirk’s effect on others is …

Sentimentality In The Service Of Methodism: John Wesley's Abridgment Of Henry Brooke's The Fool Of Quality ( 17 65-1770), Mary Peace

Religion in the Age of Enlightenment

This article examines the relationship between Methodist and sentimental discourses in the second half of the eighteenth century through the lens of John Wesley's abridgment of Henry Brooke's sentimental novel The Fool of Quality (1765-70). John Wesley's abridgment was published in 1781 under the title the History of Henry Earl of Moreland. My article is driven by the question of how a worldly Enlightenment text such as Brooke's Fool might have seemed ripe for the propagation of a Methodist theology that had abandoned the possibility of any true virtue existing in the world. In considering the relationship between Brooke's …

Historical Support For Early Methodist Views Of Water And Spirit Baptism, Joseph D. Mcpherson

The Asbury Journal

This paper is a product of the Wesleyan Studies Summer Seminar for 2011. This program at Asbury Theological Seminary, under the leadership of Dr. Kenneth Collins, provides Wesleyan scholars with a month long intensive opportunity for research, writing, and interacting with other Wesleyan scholars for the furthering of academic knowledge in fields of Wesleyan Studies.

This paper explores the historical theological positions regarding water and Spirit Baptism in early Methodism and how these views diverged in the American Holiness Movement. Early Methodist teaching was more in line with Church history in associating water baptism with the outpouring of the Holy …

The Practical Theology Of The General Rules, Andrew C. Thompson

The Asbury Journal

The “General Rules of the United Societies” were a central component of the early Methodist movement under John Wesley’s leadership. Examinations of the General Rules in contemporary literature tend to focus on their role in personal and organizational discipline for early Methodists and for the movement as a whole. Yet a close examination of the rules shows that they served a greater purpose: as the practical theological articulation of how Methodists could expect to experience sanctification in the context of their lives. This crucial aspect of the General Rules’ use can be seen by exploring Wesley’s understanding of the means …

Mormonism In The Methodist Marketplace: James Covel And The Historical Background Of Doctrine And Covenants 39–40, Christopher C. Jones

BYU Studies Quarterly

Joseph Smith received two revelations in January 1831 (Doctrine and Covenants 39 and 40) directed to one "James Covill." Joseph and his scribes noted that Covill "had been a Baptist minister for about forty years." Historians discovered nothing about a Baptist minister named James Covill, but documents unearthed by the Joseph Smith Papers Project revealed that he was actually a Methodist minister. This sliver of information opened the door to information about a very well-known Methodist minister in upstate New York by the name of James Covel.

Christopher Jones mines this Methodist vein productively and pieces together a short biography …

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 …

The "Way Of Salvation" And The Methodist Ethos Beyond John Wesley: A Study In Formal Consensus And Popular Reception, Ted A. Campbell

The Asbury Journal

It has been well documented that the "way of salvation" was central to John Wesley's thought. But how did Methodists in the nineteenth century express a theology and spirituality of the way of salvation? This article examines formal doctrinal materials from Methodist churches (including catechisms, doctrinal statements, and hymnals) and the testimonies of Methodist men and women to discern how teachings about the way of salvation were transmitted after the time of John and Charles Wesley. Based on these doctrinal works and personal testimonies, the article shows a consistent pattern in Methodist teaching and experience involving a) conviction of sin, …

Spreading Scriptural Holiness: Theology And Practices Of Early Methodism For The Contemporary Church, Laceye Warner

The Asbury Journal

The early Methodist movement-above all else-was evangelistic. However, the contemporary language of mission and evangelism with which we are familiar was not in use during the 18th century. In the "Large" Minutes, John Wesley summarized his understanding of Methodism's purpose: "What may we reasonably believe to be God's design in raising up the Preachers called Methodists? A. To reform the nation and, in particular, the Church; to spread scriptural holiness over the land." The early Methodist movement offers resources to local congregations among Protestant denominations in the contemporary North American context preoccupied with a shallow connotation of evangelism as merely …

Danish Methodists In America, Arlow W. Andersen

The Bridge

The separate histories of foreign-language missions present a special challenge to students of American church history. Descendants of the immigrants, more and more of mixed ancestry, lack the ability to read and translate material published in the language of their forebears. To make matters more difficult, the children and grandchildren of the pioneers often shun the tedious work of research and writing. Their handicaps apply to the offspring of all foreignspeaking peoples in America. Of the nineteenth-century immigrants, the Danes come to mind.

The Reunion Of Christendom, Th. Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

A second catch phrase of the unionistic propaganda is "Unity In diversity," "Diversity within unity," "Einigkeit in Mannigfaltigkeit." It expresses the idea that the existence of the various denominations within the external church denominationalism is a blessing; the doctrinal differences do not divide the churches, but form one harmonious body of doctrine; and by practicing fellowship, pulpit fellowship, intercommunion, co-operation - interdenominationalism - the churches utilize the blessings connected with denominationalism.

The Reunion Of Christendom, Th. Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

Unionism is the order of the day. In an address delivered at Valparaiso on Sept. 23, 1942, Dr. J. W. Behnken declared: ''The things which are happening on earth in these days are not merely rocking the very foundation of our vaunted twentieth-century civilization, but are also causing dreadful difficulties for the Church. But far worse than this havoc is the alarming indifference to the Word of God as it manifests itself in the mighty movements to unite all churches professing the Christian name into one large body. Within very recent months some very ominous statements have been made belittling …

The Unionistic Campaign, Theo. Engelder

Concordia Theological Monthly

The Presbyterian Guardian, January 25, reports: "Dr. John A. Mackay, president of Princeton Theological Seminary and champion of Barthianism, is one of ten well-known Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Jewish leaders participating in an interfaith 'Institute on Religion' now being held in the Jewish synagog at Wilkes-Barre, Pa. The theme of the Institute is: 'Religious Values ID American Democracy.' Speakers in addition to Dr. Mackay are: Gregory Feige, noted Roman Catholic writer; Dr. Louis Finkelstein, provost of the Jewish Theological Seminary; Dr. F. Ernest Johnson, professor of Religious Education, Columbia University; and Rabbi Louis M. Levitsky, rabbi of Temple Israel, Wilkes-Barre." …

Professional Growth In Comparative Symbolics, Th. Graebner

Concordia Theological Monthly

The continued acquaintance of the Lutheran minister with comparative symbolics - not to speak of his growth in this field of theology-is beset with peculiar difficulties. The field is very large, comprising all the forms in which organized religion is represented in the world. Even if we limit the practical study of the subject to the religious movements found in the United States, the task of becoming acquainted with their doctrine is a prodigious one.