Read complete books and articles on: John Wesley

Wesley, John - 1703–91, English evangelical preacher, founder of Methodism, b. Epworth, Lincolnshire.

Early Life

Wesley was ordained a deacon in the Church of England in 1725, elected a fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford, in 1726, and ordained a priest in 1728. At Oxford he took the lead (1729) in a group of students that included his younger brother, Charles Wesley, and George

Wesley, John - 1703–91, English evangelical preacher, founder of Methodism, b. Epworth, Lincolnshire.

Early Life

In 1735, the Wesleys accompanied James Oglethorpe to Georgia, John to serve there as a missionary and Charles to act as secretary to Oglethorpe. During John Wesley's two-year stay in the colony he was deeply influenced by Moravian missionaries; upon his return to England he made many Moravian friends. On May 24, 1738, at a meeting of a small religious society in Aldersgate St., London, Wesley experienced a religious conversion while listening to a reading of Martin Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. This experience of salvation through faith in Christ alone was the burden of his message for the rest of his life.

Evangelist and Founder of Methodism

After his conversion, Wesley became involved in evangelistic work, in the course of which he is said to have preached 40,000 sermons and to have traveled 250,000 mi (400,000 km). On the advice of Whitefield, Wesley undertook open-air, or field, preaching, first in Bristol, then elsewhere. In 1739 a group in London requested him to aid them in forming a society and to act as their leader. An old foundry at Moorfields was purchased; it remained until 1778 the center of Methodist work in London. Because of his Arminianism (see under Arminius, Jacobus) and belief in Christian perfection, Wesley repudiated (c.1740) the Calvinist doctrine of election. This led to a break with Whitefield, although the personal friendship of the two Methodist leaders remained firm.

In 1784, Wesley executed the deed of declaration by which the Methodist societies became legally constituted; it was in essence the charter of the Wesleyan Methodists. In the same year he became convinced that he must ordain a superintendent to administer sacraments and to serve the Methodist societies in America, although he had long hesitated to assume the authority of ordination. Wesley ordained Dr. Thomas Coke to this office; Francis Asbury was to serve as associate superintendent.

It was not Wesley's intention to found a separate church, but toward the end of his life the Methodist Episcopal Church had already come into existence in America, and it became apparent that in England the Methodists could not work within the Anglican Church. He therefore made plans for his societies to go on independently after his death, although both Wesleys remained clergymen of the Church of England to the end of their lives. During John Wesley's later years admiration for his abilities largely replaced the rejection he had endured in earlier days.

Bibliography

See John Wesley's letters (ed. by J. Telford, 8 vol., 1831); the standard edition of his journal (ed. by N. Curnock, 4 vol., 1909–16); biographies by D. Bonamy (1933, repr. 1974), V. H. Green (1964, repr. 1987), and D. Marshall (1965); studies by F. Baker (1970), W. J. Warner (1930, repr. 1967), and G. C. Cell (1983).

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14 of the Best Books and Articles on: John Wesley

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

The Life of John Wesley » Read Now
by C. T. Winchester. 308 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

...THE LIFE OF JOHN WESLEY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW YORK...MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD. TORONTO JOHN WESLEY From the painting by Romney in the...it is here reproduced. THE...
2.

A Plain Account of Christian Perfection » Read Now
by John Wesley. 116 pgs.

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...CHRISTIAN PERFECTION By JOHN WESLEY EPWORTH PRESS All rights...speaking he said, Mr. Wesley, if this be all you mean...to commit sin. This St. John affirms expressly;...
3.

John Wesley and Modern Religion » Read Now
by Umphrey Lee. 354 pgs.

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...JOHN WESLEY AND MODERN RELIGION JOHN WESLEY AND MODERN RELIGION By UMPHREY LEE, Ph.D., D.D. COKESBURY PRESS NASHVILLE JOHN WESLEY AND MODERN RELIGION Copyright, MCMXXXVI By...
4.

The Three Religious Leaders of Oxford and Their Movements: John Wycliffe, John Wesley, John Henry Newman » Read Now
by S. Parkes Cadman. 596 pgs.

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...THEIR MOVEMENTS JOHN WYCLIFFE JOHN WESLEY JOHN HENRY NEWMAN THE MACMILLAN...THEIR MOVEMENTS JOHN WYCLIFFE JOHN WESLEY JOHN HENRY NEWMAN BY S...eighteenth and nineteenth...
5.

John Wesley's Views on Science and Christianity: An Examination of the Charge of Antiscience, in Church History » Read Now
by J. W. Haas Jr. 15 pgs.

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...John Wesleys Views on Science and Christianity: An...examine the case of English evangelist John Wesley ( 1703-1791 ), long a scapegoat of the...three men of extraordinary...
6.

Locke, Wesley, and the Method of English Romanticism » Read Now
by Richard E. Brantley. 302 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

...bibliographies and index. I. Wesley, John, 1703-1791. 2. Locke, John...Abbreviations Cragg John Wesley. The Appeals to Men of Reason...Cragg. Vol. 11 of The Works of John...
7.

John Wesley and Conyers Middleton on Divine Intervention in History, in Church History » Read Now
by Ted A. Campbell. 11 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library

...John Wesley and Conyers Middleton on Divine Intervention...A. CAMPBELL In early January of 1749 John Wesley canceled a previously scheduled trip to...Wesley studies...
8.

Standard Sermons: Consisting of Forty-Four Discourses, Published in Four Volumes in 1746, 1748, 1750 and 1760 (Fourth Edition, 1787) to Which Are Added Nine Additional Sermons, Published in Vols. I to IV of Wesley's Collected Works, 1771 » Read Now
by Edward H. Sugden, John Wesley. 544 pgs.

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...On March 13, 1757, Wesley preached from verse...to his great joy, John Fletcher, who had that...Address , p. 112 , John Wesley holds a place as primary...This verse, John...
9.

Birth of John Wesley: June 17th, 1703, in History Today » Read Now
by Richard Cavendish. 2 pgs.

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...Birth of John Wesley: June 17th, 1703. by Richard...sides of his family. His grandfather, John Wesley or Westley, was a Puritan supporter of...between 1690 and 1709, Samuel...
10.

Ideas of Revelation: An Historical Study, A. D. 1700 to A. D. 1860 (includes information on John Wesley in "The Doctrine of a Leader") » Read Now
by H. D. McDonald. 302 pgs.

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...Christian revelation. Dr John Leng, who was later to...called out a reply from John Wesley himself. Wesley not unjustly...differs from St Paul and St John he must deal...
11.

A History of the Church in England (includes "The Age of Wesley (1738-1791)") » Read Now
by John R. H. Moorman. 460 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library

...for their criticisms and suggestions. JOHN R. H. MOORMAN Chichester, 1952. CONTENTS...INDUSTRIAL AGE XVII. THE AGE OF WESLEY 1738-1791 293 XVIII. FROM WESLEY...in the...
12.

The Uneasy Center: Reformed Christianity in Antebellum America (includes information on John Wesley in "Methodist Origins") » Read Now
by Paul K. Conkin. 330 pgs.

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...Definitions, 63 John Wesley and His Doctrines, 65...and finally the disciples of John Wesley, who nominally remained in the...Calvinists. All who adhered to John Wesley...
13.

The Moravian Church in England, 1728-1760 (includes information on John Wesley in "The Fetter Lane Society: 1738-1740") » Read Now
by Colin Podmore. 332 pgs.

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The effects of the great Evangelical Revival in eighteenth-century England were felt throughout the world, not least in America. It has long been accepted that the Revival owed much of its initial impetus to the Moravian Church, but previous accounts of the Moravians' role have been inadequate and...
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The effects of the great Evangelical Revival in eighteenth-century England were felt throughout the world, not least in America. It has long been accepted that the Revival owed much of its initial impetus to the Moravian Church, but previous accounts of the Moravians' role have been inadequate and overly dependent on Wesleyan sources. Colin Podmore uses original material, from German as well as British archives to dispel common misunderstandings about the Moravians, and to reveal that their influence was much greater than has previously been acknowledged. Dr Podmore discusses what motivated people to join the Church, analyses the Moravians' changing relationships with John Wesley and George Whitefield, and shows how Anglican bishops responded to the Moravians' successive ecumenical stategies. His analysis of the successful campaign to secure state recognition (granted in 1749) sheds light on the inner workings of the Hanoverian parliament. In conclusion, he examines how acclaim quickly turned to ridicule in a crisis of unpopularity which was to affect the Moravian Church for a generation.
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14.

Wesley and the Wesleyans » Read Now
by John Kent. 229 pgs.

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A critical contribution to the history of Britain and the U.S., this book demonstrates how the search for personal supernatural power lay at the heart of the so-called eighteenth-century English evangelical revival. John Kent rejects the view that the Wesleys rescued the British from moral and...
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A critical contribution to the history of Britain and the U.S., this book demonstrates how the search for personal supernatural power lay at the heart of the so-called eighteenth-century English evangelical revival. John Kent rejects the view that the Wesleys rescued the British from moral and spiritual decay by reviving primitive Christianity. The study is of interest to everyone concerned with the history of Methodism and the Church of England, the Evangelical tradition, and eighteenth-century religious thought and experience.
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