A deep meditation on Wesley’s accomplishments likely to inspire lively debate within the Methodist tradition.
A groundbreaking new study of John Wesley’s theology.
Having over 30 years’ experience as a minister in the Methodist tradition as well as a slew of advanced degrees in divinity, psychology, and education, debut author Ellison is well-positioned to provide a fresh perspective on the ideological development of John Wesley, the 18th-century theologian and one of the founders of Methodism. Rather than focus narrowly on the doctrinal components of Wesley’s views, Ellison tackles his understanding of experimental religion and the way in which he slowly formulated his positions over time. Wesley, who was heavily influenced by Enlightenment philosophy, especially its empiricist strain, wanted to devise an approach to religion and faith closely hewn to lived human experience—a “theological set of ideas which can help individual persons to meaningfully interpret their experiences.” “Wesley’s methods were pragmatic, more like the scientists of the 19th century than his 18 century contemporaries,” Ellison writes. “Wesley was the one to identify the early Methodists as the spiritual descendants of that group of ancient physicians who were first described by the name.” This entailed developing a kind of psychology of faith that in many ways anticipated the historically significant writing of William James. However, this psychological rendering as Wesley saw it doesn’t simplistically reduce the experience of faith to a psychological phenomenon shorn of fundamentally spiritual elements. According to Ellison, the core of Wesley’s Universalism is a doctrine of atonement that argued for the “belief in the universal redemption of humankind and all of creation.” In the author’s reading, Wesley turns out to be a nimble philosopher whose thought underwent a revision in his more mature years, shifting his worldview closer to Arminianism than to Calvinism. While this book is likely too scholarly to appeal to a broad audience, the arguments are always presented in lucid, accessible prose. It’s hard to imagine an examination of Wesley’s thought that does greater justice to his subtlety as a thinker or better captures his extraordinary prescience.
A deep meditation on Wesley’s accomplishments likely to inspire lively debate within the Methodist tradition.Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2014
ISBN: 978-1499270563
Page Count: 172
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Jan. 30, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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