John Wesley on religious affections : his views on experience and emotion and their role in Christian life and theology

223 Pages·2016·3.05 MB·English

by  Gregory S. Clapper

JOHN WESLEY
ON RELIGIOUS
AFFECTIONS:
his views on experience and
emotion and their role in the
Christian life and theology
GREGORY S. CLAPPER
JOHN WESLEY
ON RELIGIOUS
AFFECTIONS:
his views on experience and
emotion and their role in the
Christian life and theology
by
GREGORY S. CLAPPER
with an Introduction by
Don E. Saliers
Pietist and Wesleyan Studies, No. 1
The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
N.J.,
Metuchen, & London
1989
Thea uthogrr atuelflayc konwledgetsh ef ololwingfo r
grantipnegr misstioor nep ritnhte imra terials:
AbingdoPnr esfso re xcerpfrtosm The Works of John Wesley,
Vol.4, editebdy A lberOtu tlerC.o pyirgh©t 1987 by
AbingdoPnr esUss.e db yp ermission.
EpwortPhr esfso er xcerpfrtosm Explanatory Notes Upon the
New Testament, byJ ohnW esleyR.e printebdyE pworth
Pres1s97,6 .
BritisLhi brarCya taloguing-in-Publicdaattiaao vna ilable
Libraroyf C ongressC atalogi-nign-PublicatiDoant a
ClapperG,r egoryS cott.
JohnW esleyo n religiouasf fectio:n hsi sv iewso n experience
and emotioann d their rolei nC hristianl ifaen d theologI yb y
GregoryS . Clapper; witha n introductiboyn D on E. Saliers.
p. cm. --(Pietiasntd Wesleyasnt udie;s n o.1 )
Revisioonf t hesi(sP h.D.)--EmoUrnyi versity1,9 8.5
Includebsi blioghriacparle ferences.
ISBN 0-8108-2267(-al9k .p aper)
1.W esleyJ,o hn,1 703-1791-n-tCroibutioinnsd octrinoef r e­
ligious affectionEsx.p er2i.e nc(eR eligion)--Histoofrd yo ctrines
--18tche ntury.3 . Emotions--Reliagsipoeucst s--Cshtriianity-­
Historoyf d octrines--1c8etnht ury.I . Title.I I.S eries.
BR110.C53 1989 89-39661
248.2 --dc20
Copyrig©h 1t98 9 byG regorSy.C lapper
Manufactuirnte hde U niteSdt atoefsA merica
Printoenda cid-frpeaep er
For Jody

EDITORSF'O REWORD
Thec urrernets urgeonfci en teriensJ to hnW esleaysa
sourcfeo rc ontemportahreyo logriecfalle ctciooinn,c ident
with tbhieb liograpwhoirckoa flF rakn Baker atnhde
developmoefnt th eO xford-Abinegddiotni oofnW esley's
worksh,a sp roducae ndu mbeorf d issertaatnidos ntsu dies.
Mucho ft hawto rkh asf ocusoendc lasstihceaoll ogaincda l
historciocnacle ranlsol,f w hicahr ei mportaanntdh ave
theisrc holavrallyi diOtnyl.y r ecenthlayss cohlarly
attentbieoennt urnetdo wartdh e" pietoyr"" s pirituoafl ity"
thef oundoefrt heM ethoditsrta ditions.
Wesleiysa problematic osfsu tbujdeyHc.it s w orkw as
forgedi nt hep roceosfsa decades-pleornigp atmeitniics try,
usualrleym ovefrdo m thec enteorfBs r itiisnht ellelcitfuea.l
Becausoeft heg enroef h itsh eologriecfalle c(tsieornm ons,
journallest,t etrrsa,ce tdsi,t ioofnr se ligitoeuxsts sc,h oloina
scrirpet)ui,t hbaesc omae truisomf tahcea demtyh at
Wesle(ya ndb yl ogiccaoln neocnt,iM ethodiswma)s
deficiienhn itst heologfoiucnadla tioTnhsa.tc onclusiiso n
nowb einsgu ccesscfuhlallyl enged.
Iti st heg oalo ft hes eriePsie,t isatn dW eselyan
Studiteosc ,o ntribtuott heep rojeocfrt e visbiyoe nx ploring
ther elatiboentsw eeWne sleayn dW esleysapni rituaanldi ty
thet heologaincdam li nistesrtiraulc tuofrt ehseW esleyan
traditiGorne.g orCyl appesrt'usd oyf W esleyv'ise wosn
experieanncdee motioann do nt heirro lien C hristliiafen
andt heoloignya ugurtahteeWs e slesye ctiooftn h es eries.
Followiunngd ergradsutautdei aetCs a rthaCgoel lege
1974),
(B.A. GregorCyl appepru rsuegdr aduastteu dy in
philosopahty t heU niversoift Wyi sconsin--Milwaukee
iii
(M.A. 197a7n)d i nt heoloagtyG arrett-Eavngelical
TheologiSceamli na(rMy. Div1.9 79)H.e undertohoiks
doctoral sattuE dmioersyU niversiintt yh eolo(gPyh .D.
1985)C.l appre isA sscoiatPero fessoro fR eligiaonnd
PhilosoapthW ye stmaCro llege.
We arep leasteodp ublihsihss tudayst hef irvsotl ume
ofP ietainsdtW esleySatnu dies.
DaviBdu ndy J.S tepheOn' Malley
AssociPartoef esosfo r Profesosfo r
ChristOiraing ins Church History
CollectDieovne lopment andH istorical
Librarian Theology
AsburTyh eological AsburyT heological
Seminary Seminary
WilmorKeY, WilmorKeY,
iv
JOHN WESLEY ON RELIGIOUS AFFECTIONS:
His Views on Experience and Emotion and Their Role in
the Christian Life and Theology
Table of Contents
Preface ix
..........................................................................................
Introduction by Don E. Saliers .................................................x i
Chapter One: An Introduction to the "Religious
Affections" and "Experience" and the Critical
Questions That They Raise . . 1
..............................................
-"Experience" and the Affections in Wesley's Thought
-The Context of This Study
-The Present Need for a Truly Practical Theology
-Contemporary Challenges to "Heart Religion"
-The Scope of This Study
-The Method of This Study
-The Plan of This Study
Chapter Two: The Man of One Book and
One Desire: Scripture, the Affections
and Wesley's Notes on the Old Testament.. 16
.................
-The Affections and the Bible
-The Importance of Scripture for Wesley
-The Task of Interpretation
-The Nature and Uses of Scripture
v
Chapter Two, Continued:
-The Notes in Oveiview
-The Religious Affections and the Old Testament
-The Heart
-The Specific Affections
Chapter Three: "St. Paul was no Stoic":
Wesley's Afef ctive Vocabulary in his
Notes on the New Testament ... ......................... . . . 42
. ............
-The Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament
-The "Affections" and Related Terms
-The "Heart"
-The "Affections" and the "Tempers"
-"Passion"
-"Experience"
-The "Spiritual Sense"
-"Pleasure" and "Comfort"
-"Feelings," "Impressions" and "Impulses"
Chapter Four: "The Fixed Posture of the Soul":
The Holy Spirit, the Christian Character
and the Afef ctions in Wesley's
Notes on the New Testament... ................................. . . . 66
.....
-The Affections, Natural and Otherwise
-The Supernatural, the Holy Spirit and the Affections
-The "Inner" and the "Outer"
-The Transitivity of Emotion
-Society and the Affections
-Reason and its Contrary
-Self-Deception and the Affections
-The Affections to be Sought and Shunned
-Doctrines and Issues Shaped by Affective Language
-The Kingdom of God .
-Soteriology and Pneumatology
vi
Chapter Four, Continued:
-The Passibility of God
-Ecclesiology
-Prayer
-Sex Role Differences
-Conclusion: The Affections in the N.T. Notes
Chapter Five: The Word Proclaimed:
True Religion and its Counterfeit
as Seen in Wesley's Sermons 98
...........................................
-The Sermons as a Whole
-Wesley's Own View of the Sermons
-The Early Unpublished Sermons
-The Published Sermons
-What Christianity is, and What it is Not
-The Assurance of Faith
-Sin, the Believer and Perfection
-Works and the Heart
-The Affections in the Sermons: Conclusions
Chapter Six: True Religion and the Affections:
Wesley's Other Publications and
His Abridgement of Jonathan Edwards's
Treatise on Religious Affections . . . . . . . 127
....................... . ........
-Wesley's Other Writings and Abridgements
-Wesley's Own Heart in the Journals and Letters
-Theological Views in the Journals and Letters
-Wesley's Other Publications
-The Treatise on Religious Affections
-Wesley and Edwards
-Wesley's Abridgement of Edwards's Treatise
-What Wesley Deleted
-What Wesley Retained
-Conclusions
vii