Politics in the Order of Salvation: New Directions in Wesleyan Political Ethics
- ISBN-10
- 0687316901
- ISBN-13
- 9780687316908
- Category
- Religion / Christianity / Methodist
- Pages
- 483
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2001
- Publisher
- Kingswood Books
- Author
- Theodore R. Weber
Description
A major study of John Wesley's political ethics and an attempt to reformulate a Wesleyan orientation to political thinking by drawing the political implications of Wesley's "order of salvation".
Was John Wesley the "fanatical Tory" conservative of many political portraits, with his loyalty to the British monarchy, his support of taxation without representation, and his severe criticism of American independence? Or was he an emergent political liberal, condemning slavery, defending the rights and liberties of the British people, and urging government intervention in the economy to relieve hunger and poverty? This historical and theological study of Wesley's political thought concludes that he is understood best neither as Tory nor as liberal (both of which he was, in important respects), but as a staunch champion of limited constitutional government and of the subordination of power to law--in the context of the "Glorious Revolution" and the organic unity of the British community. Wesley's understanding of rights is a mixture of the historical and the natural, but is closer to the adaptive conservatism of Edmund Burke than to natural rights individualism in the following of John Locke.
Weber argues further that Wesley's deliberate exclusion of the people from politics can be challenged from within his own theology by recovering and developing his concept of the political image and integrating it with his understanding of the order of salvation. This process of recovery and integration discloses the political vocation for all humankind and opens the way to an authentically Wesleyan political language. It has significant implications also for rethinking Wesley's theology as such, and not only the Wesleyan language of politics.
This book addresses the apparent conflict between Wesley's own political stance and his proclamation of an inclusive gospel ("free grace to all."). It focuses on the "order of salvation" and a reorientation of Wesley's approach to the Trinity. It includes an historical exploration of Wesley's political context and commitments. It opens the possibility of an authentically Wesleyan political ethic and shows how diverse views within the Methodist tradition might be reconciled through a recasting of Wesleyan theology. It will help students to see how Wesley's contribution to the realm of ethics might not be negated by his own authoritarian and patriarchal political commitments.
Get the book
Similar books
-
The Works of John Wesley
By John WesleyThis is the fourth in an eagerly awaited series of four volumes of John Wesley's sermons. This volume contains 18 sermons that were published in the Arminian Magazine from 1789 to 1792.
-
Mirror and Memory: Reflections on Early Methodism
By Richard P. Heitzenrater"Discovery and reflection together," says Dr. Richard P. Heitzenrater, "are the lifeblood of the historian." Discovery is the first task of the historical researcher; reflection is the first task of...
-
John Wesley's Theology: A Collection from His Works
By John Wesley, Robert Wallace BurtnerIn a single, convenient volume, readers can now look up John Wesley's own statements of his theological beliefs. Reprinted from the 1954 work, A Compend of Wesley's Theology, the book...
-
John and Charles Wesley: A Bibliography
By Betty JarboeJohn Wesley is known primarily as the founder of Methodism, but his interests were not limited to religion and theology. His impact on the eighteenth century was profound. Wesley studies...
-
Wesley and Men who Followed
By Iain Hamish MurrayJohn Wesley - Oxford don and itinerant preacher, intellectual and evangelist, author and man of action, upholder of the Church of England yet founder of another world-wide denomination, disagreeing with...
-
A Guide to the Study of the Holiness Movement
By Charles Edwin JonesA comprehensive introduction to interdenominational, independent, and denominational associations, churches, schools and workers associated with the National Holiness Association, the Inter-Church Holiness Convention, the Keswick Convention, and the Holiness-Pentecostal movement,...
-
The A to Z of Methodism
By Susan E. Warrick, Jr., Charles YrigoyenThe A to Z of Methodism offers more than 400 entries that describe the church founders, leaders, and other prominent figures who have made notable contributions to the church and...
-
Good News to the Poor: John Wesley's Evangelical Economics
By Theodore W. JenningsThis provocative volume illuminates a dimension of John Wesley's theology that has received insufficient attention: his deep and abiding commitment to the poor. By focusing on the radical nature of...
-
"Heart Religion" in the Methodist Tradition and Related Movements
By Richard B. SteeleThis resource displays the variety of ways in which the Wesleys' concept of 'the religion of the heart' (that is, the affective dimension of Christian faith) has been understood and...
-
Social Holiness: John Wesley's Thinking on Christian Community and Its Relationship to the Social Order
By R. George EliSocial Holiness is a concept distinctive to John Wesley's thinking, describing how Christian community nurtures and practices its faith in relation to the social order. The character of Christian identity...