Wesleyan Spirit
What is unique
about Wesleyan theology? With that in mind, using the materials in Unit 3:
Reading and Video, write an 8-page description of the “Wesleyan Spirit” in our
theology as United Methodists. In other words, in your paper, respond to this
question: “What is uniquely Wesleyan about the theology we have as
Wesleyan/Methodist Christians?” Name and describe at least eight
characteristics.
What is unique
about Wesleyan theology?
Introduction
The Wesleyan
theological paradigm or characteristics are unique when it comes to the formulation
of Wesleyan theology. Dia-chronically it is in the Christian tradition, bearing
the historic faith in continuity with the teaching of the apostles. As a living
tradition, the United Methodist doctrine understands that it must adapt the witness
to new circumstances that arise over the course of time.[1] Theology in a broad sense
is the systematic study of the nature of God and more broadly of religious
belief and practices. For those who want to know God the study of theology is
indispensable. Some call it the queen of science. It is an academic
discipline typically learned within a seminary setting. It is bringing out the
unique content of analyzing the supernatural and epistemology. It asks and seeks
to answer the question of revelation and the revelation of God. Religious
followers believe theology to be a discipline that helped them live and
understand life, love and help them lead lives of obedience to the deities they
follow or worship.[2]
The word
“theology” comes from two Greek words, Theos and Logos. The study
of theology is an effort to make definitive statements about God and the
implications in an accurate, coherent, and relevant way, based on God’s
self-revelation. This helps people to fulfill their primary purpose, which is
to glorify and delight in God through deep personal knowledge.[3] In order to have a
meaningful relationship with the divine or deity one need to have a correct
knowledge of him. This also means having a rational proposition about God and a
personal relationship with God. The goal of theology is to have the knowledge
of God.[4]
In the following
lines, we are trying to explain what it means by the Wesleyan spirit and eight
characteristics of the Wesleyan theology or Wesleyan community.
1. Praxis Orientation
First of all, the Wesleyan community or Wesleyan theology is praxis-oriented. Christian doctrine
and its vision need to be characteristically practical. Most of the time when
we differentiate between practical and theoretical it is misleading. The
doctrine is the integral part of the Christian community’s life. Beliefs and
practices are considered essential to the identity or welfare of the community.
Both questions are important such as how we should worship God and how we
bear witness to Christ in the world. [5] The aim of the doctrine if
to bring out the hidden truth. The fundamental beliefs and what it means by
being practical is to be transformative and fulfilling God’s purpose in
creation. It is orthodoxy and orthopraxis. It should not only deal with the
confession and Christian action in the world.
Liberation theology and its advancement down through the years also
bring this gap closer. Christian praxis needs to go beyond practices, actions, or
behaviors. It is a combination of reflection and action.
Primarily early
Methodists mostly are praxis-oriented rather than theory oriented. Here the
question is what are your congregation's beliefs? why they have their own theology.
There is a big difference between speculative theology Vs. practical theology.
Wesleyan ways always think about the pragmatic side of theology. They give more
importance to practical divinity and not speculative divinity. Issues of
pragmatism always take leads beyond doctrines or rules or regulations. Praxis
refers to or gives importance to the community under its own process. Since
its inception, the Wesleyan or holiness spirit demonstrated a profound
revivalist commitment to bringing a strong and effective mission in the world. The
power of Holy Spirit in transforming lives and social structures everywhere in
the world is the contribution of the Wesleyan movement. The theology of mission is practiced from the
perspective of biblical, theological, historical, cultural, and strategic
perspectives. Evangelism and social responsibilities are held together in a
creative form in different cultures.
This is even evident when we study the belief of grace or prevenient
grace in the Wesleyan understanding.
2. Theology of Salvation:
Saving Grace
Saving grace is
the central theme of United Methodist doctrine. This is a framework of
Christian doctrine that gives importance to the saving activity and the saving
grace of God. The theological heritage of Wesleyans is based upon practical
divinity, the implementation of genuine Christianity in the lives of believers.[6] This shapes Wesleyans to
create the theology of salvation which is based on the Divine grace and human
response. God’s grace is given to us to make it possible or invites our own response.
Grace is given to us and faith makes responsibility. John Wesley, even though
believe in the sola fade (Salvation through Faith Alone) it is not faith alone,
but we have our own response to it. The second distinctiveness is that Christian
growth is primarily seen as a process. This might be from the influence of the
process theology in its earliest form which is also known as Neoclassical
theology a school of thought influenced by Alfred North Whitehead (1861 -
1947). It is not only about the destination but about the journey. We think
about the goal. We know it is the perfect love of God. That goal is not
achieved as a one-time culmination, but it is a process. There are instantaneous
responses but not a one-time event it is a process of transformation. There is a wilderness period for our faith but there are times when we are in the valley
of growth. Salvation is not a point but a process. It involves the relationships between God, Ourselves, Others and the Creation. It is about the free will made possible by grace.
It is not overpowering but empowering. It is celebrating the otherness of God,
God with us, or the presence of God. When we explore the possibility of the ministry
of social holiness, it is about the relationship with God, others, and nature.
This grace is
profound and vital, and it is rooted in the Christian tradition and
teachings. John Wesley defined grace as
God’s bounty, favor, his free, undeserved favor. The Book of Disciple defines
grace as "the undeserved, unmerited, and loving action of God in human
existence through the ever-present Holy Spirit." Grace is universally present and pervades all
of God’s creation. Grace is unable by God’s presence to create, heal, forgive,
reconcile, and transform human hearts. It brings compassion, justice, generosity
and peace.
There are few
dynamic and unique expressions of God’s grace such as Prevenient grace (Grace
that goes before), Justifying Grace (Grace that is a doorway into new identity
or new creation), Sanctifying grace (Grace perfecting us- Christian perfection)
and finally Growing in grace. Prevenient
grace is present in all creation and it is found in the natural order, of human
consciousness. The imagery is it the porch of a house. Justifying or saving
grace is the grace that gives us assurance of forgiveness that comes from
repentance. In John Wesley’s own experience, he felt his heart strangely warmed.
Sanctifying grace in Wesley's understanding is the grace that moves beyond
forgiveness and acceptance of our identity as beloved children of God. God's
goal for humanity is the complete restoration of the divine image and the
conformity of all creation to the image of Jesus Christ. Sanctification (from
Sanctus, holy) denotes the process by which the believer is made holy and whole
in response to justification. Growing in grace continues to lead us with the
gifts of grace provided to us. In other words, we grow in Christlikeness as we
open our lives to God's presence and power at work in us and the world.[7]
3. Evangelism
When persons are
baptized or confirmed, they are asked to repeat the words of the Apostles’
Creed along with the congregation. According to William J. Abraham: Evangelism
is the initiation into the reign of God argues that an intellectual commitment
to certain truth is required as part of becoming a Christian.[8] In the general sense, evangelism is the winning of persons to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. It is good
news or gospel, it is the proclamation of the gospel to the individuals or groups by
preaching, teaching, and personal and family visitation. It is the seeking by
the Christians to bring others into a vital personal relationship with Christ
to experience the grace of God.
4. Catholic Spirit
and Essential Doctrines
United Methodist
doctrines is committed to what Wesley called a catholic spirit, refereeing to
the way in which its doctrines are to be taught and its theological task is to
be carried out. Catholic spirit Wesley says is catholic love. The doctrine
captures the essential balance between commitment to truth and commitment to
love. Errors are an inevitable part of being human and tolerance matters.
Remember Christians are not perfect in several ways, no one is free from
ignorance. It is both sides of the spectrum where commitment to truth and
tolerance to diversity that is the key aspect of the catholic spirit in the
Wesleyan understanding.[9]
5. Personal
salvation and social action
Wesley tends to see
both matters of faith and social action as important. Life in Christ is both social
and personal. This synthetic or conjunctive approach is one of the most
relevant aspects of Wesleyan theology for the contemporary church. Paul Wesley
Chilcote sees it as a synthetic or conjunctive approach because it attempts to
find a third alternative to opposing points of view that often tear people
apart.[10] The Wesleyan method can
also be called conjunctive because it seeks to join things together.
6 Scripture (Bible),
Tradition, Reason, and Experience
For the Wesleyan
Christian, in this dynamic process of knowing and living the faith, Scripture
plays a particularly formative role and shapes normative Christianity. Bible
provides the authoritative word for both faith and practices. It is the ultimate
guide in matters of balance in Christian life. [11] The truth we encounter in
the word is attested to in the received faith tradition, ordered by our God-given ability to think and reflect and practiced in our ongoing experience of
Christ’s Spirit.
7. Proclamation
and preaching (Kerygma)
kerygma is a Greek word used in the New Testament for
"preaching". It is related to the Greek verb literally meaning
"to cry or proclaim as a herald" and being used in the sense of
"to proclaim, announce, preach" We have a wonderful message to
proclaim and it was the practice even prevalent in early Christian community.[12]The
message was very simple. In the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we have
come to know the love and grace of God as never before. Apostle Peter
proclaimed the inbreaking reign, the self-revelation of God in the life, death
and resurrection of Jesu , the exaltation of Christ and the creation of new
community of grace in him through the power of the Holy Spirit.
8. Faith and works
(Free Grace)
One of the
distinctive characteristics of Wesleyan Christians is their emphasis upon the
connection between faith and works. To put it simply, if your faith in Christ
is genuine, then other people will be able to see it lived out in loving ways.
This is true when Albert Outlet pointed out that Wesley is an evangelical
catholic, pessimistic about humanity in its brokenness while optimistic
about the potency of God’s grace.[13]
Conclusion
Theology is not a
boring exercise or irrelevant. John and Charles Wesley were Christian disciples
and theologians of the 18th century. Everyone is called to be a
theologian. As we live our lives daily, we are continually acting and
reflecting upon who we are and to whom we belong. This is a transformative
process and thus doing theology is a wondrous and exciting adventure.
[1]
Scott J. Jones, United Methodist Doctrine: The Extreme Center, Abingdon Press:
Nashville: 2002. P. 69.
[2]
“Theology”, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theology, This page was last edited on 18 August
2019, at 10:35 (UTC), accessed on August 27, 2019, 6.45am.
[3]
“What Is Theology?” Crossway, created on December 11, 2015, accessed on August
27, 2019, 6.45am. https://www.crossway.org/articles/what-is-theology/.
[4]
“What Is Theology?” Crossway, created on December 11, 2015, accessed on August
27, 2019, 6.45am. https://www.crossway.org/articles/what-is-theology/
[5]
Scott J. Jones, United Methodist Doctrine: The Extreme Center, Abingdon Press:
Nashville: 2002. P. 73.
[6]
Scott J. Jones, United Methodist Doctrine: The Extreme Center, Abingdon Press:
Nashville: 2002. P. 77.
[7] Kenneth L. carder, A Wesleyan
Understanding of Grace”,
http://www.interpretermagazine.org/topics/a-wesleyan-understanding-of-grace, November-December 2016, Accessed on
August, 27, 2019.
[8]
Scott J. Jones, United Methodist Doctrine: The Extreme Center, Abingdon Press:
Nashville: 2002. P. 77.
[9] Scott J. Jones, United
Methodist Doctrine: The Extreme Center, Abingdon Press: Nashville: 2002. P. 90.
[10] Paul Wesley Chilcote: Recapturing
the Wesleys’ vision: An introduction to the faith of John and Charles Wesley,
Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press,
1989. P. 16.
[11] Paul Wesley Chilcote: Recapturing
the Wesleys’ vision: An introduction to the faith of John and Charles Wesley,
Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press,
1989. P. 17.
[12] Paul Wesley Chilcote: Recapturing
the Wesleys’ vision: An introduction to the faith of John and Charles Wesley,
Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press,
1989. P. 23.
[13] Paul Wesley Chilcote: Recapturing
the Wesleys’ vision: An introduction to the faith of John and Charles Wesley,
Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press,
1989. P. 25.
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