How John Wesley has impacted Christian faith worldwide
One of the greatest theologians of the 18thCentury was a British Anglican priest named John Wesley. Traditionally, Wesley is most associated with the Methodist Church in all its broad manifestations. His love of God and devotion to a very methodical approach to the Christian faith gave rise to what would ultimately become the Methodist tradition. A devoted scholar of scripture and faithful Christian, Wesley revolutionized the Christian faith in many powerful and important ways. His witness is worth celebrating within the broad witness of Christian tradition and history.
In the modern age of social media, many have circulated a presumed "manifesto" of John Wesley. While representing an authentic combination of his teachings and representing a genuine expression of his faithful and authentic Christian witness, Wesley never wrote such an explicit manifesto for Christianity. The origins of the work actually come from a compilation of Wesley's writings that were compiled in 2017 by a modern Wesleyan historian and theologian.
Although there are some variances of the manifesto currently available on line, one common version reads as follows: "Reduce the gap between rich and poor, seek to ensure full employment, introduce measures to help the poorest, including a living wage, offer the best possible education, empower individuals to feel they can make a difference, promote tolerance, promote equal treatment for women, create a society based on values and not on profits and consumerism, end all forms of enslavement, avoiding engaging in wars, avoid narrow self-interest and promote a world view, and care for the animals with whom we share our planet."
Although Wesley never actually composed this explicit manifesto, it is relevant that every component contained in what is essentially a modern summary of some of his most relevant teachings is powerful. Wesley's ministry was not simply intended for his beloved Anglican tradition and was not focused on what would become a predominantly American denominational tradition of Methodism. Wesley was writing to all Christians from a perspective of authentic, spirit-filled faith, and well-educated Biblical scholarship.
Economic justice, just and fair employment with living wages, honest education, individual empowerment, tolerance, women's rights, human integrity over profit and the idolatry of consumerism, abolishing all forms of slavery, a preference for peace over the demonic destruction of war and violence, resisting the sin narcissism and selfish ambition, as well as care for God's creation are hallmarks of Wesleyan theology, teaching, and practice. Such are virtues that all Christians would do well to embrace and celebrate within the theological practices and teaching of an authentic Christian faith!
As a personal student of Wesleyan theology and influence for nearly four decades, this writer feels a strong and deeply influential connection to the authenticity of John Wesley's powerful and prophetic influence on Christianity as a whole. For Wesley, there was reasonable room for faithful discussions and debates over diverse and changing understandings in how cultural experience influences traditional understandings and interpretations of scripture, but there was never room to write of, or condemn whole gatherings of faithful Christians, simply because their understanding of God was different from the one proclaimed by those in power, those with the money to control the outcome, or those with the political prominence to influence the culture for selfish aims. Wesley's Biblically prophetic call for fidelity to Christian values is something that all Christians would do well to fully embrace with faithful loyalty in Christ.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: How John Wesley has impacted Christian faith worldwide
