Tag: John Wesley

Slaves and Masters

Ephesians 5-6 applies the way God’s love poured out to us is reflected in our love for each other in four relational examples Encouraging one another in the church Marriage Parents and children Slaves and Masters Here is some background reading relating to the 4th example with a look at church history and the movement… Continue reading Slaves and Masters

The sins of the fathers – case studies in how (and how not) to do church history

I’ve seen two examples recently of people attempting to make connections between the thoughts and actions of predecessors and culture today.  Both are concerned with the influence of the reformation and its aftermath on western, especially American, Christian culture. Here’s the first example: And here’s the second: I want to suggest that one example, unsurprisingly… Continue reading The sins of the fathers – case studies in how (and how not) to do church history

Princeton, slaveowners and statues again

Once again, there’s a debate rumbling about what to do with a statue of someone from the past. Once again, the issue is that the person concerned had been a slave owner.  This time, we’re talking about John Witherspoon, the former president of Princeton. Students at Princeton have been campaigning for Witherspoon’s statue to be… Continue reading Princeton, slaveowners and statues again

Jonathan Edwards, George Whitfield and slavery

One of the most shocking things that evangelicals today discover is that some of the great heroes of the 18th Century Evangelical Awakening owned slaves, in particular George Whitfield and Jonathan Edwards.  This is shocking because we associate the Evangelical Awakening with the campaign to abolish slavery with John Newton, John Wesley and of course… Continue reading Jonathan Edwards, George Whitfield and slavery

A lens to look through

In this week’s #FaithrootsLive we continued to examine the issue of male and female leadership roles in church by beginning to look at hermeneutics. How do we know that we are interpreting and applying the passages that talk about men and women correctly? In order to answer the question, we are considering a case study… Continue reading A lens to look through

Wesley and the slave trade (5) conclusions

In summary, we may conclude that our investigation supports our preliminary thesis.  First, that Wesley’s hermeneutic does not fit the template of the so-called Wesleyan Quadrilateral and thus secondly, that his argument does not support a Redemptive Movement Hermeneutic.  Before we develop our conclusions further, we need to spell out some limitations which constrain what… Continue reading Wesley and the slave trade (5) conclusions

Wesley and the slave trade (4) What does Wesley actually do with Scripture?

In the previous section, we noted three assertions that might be made about Wesley’s use of Scripture in support of a redemptive-movement position.  First, that Wesley would be willing to ignore texts if they didn’t fit his overall scheme.  Secondly, that he could change his view of Scripture based on experience.  Thirdly, that he was… Continue reading Wesley and the slave trade (4) What does Wesley actually do with Scripture?

Wesley and the slave trade (3) Why does Wesley argue from outside of Scripture?

3.1 The Quadrilateral Position Marquadt’s claim that Wesley bases his arguments outside Scripture seems to come from his statement: “I would now inquire, whether these things can be defended, on the principles of even heathen honesty; whether they can be reconciled (setting the Bible out of the question) with any degree of either justice or… Continue reading Wesley and the slave trade (3) Why does Wesley argue from outside of Scripture?