John Wesley è stato un teologo inglese che ha fondato il movimento protestante del metodismo.
È commemorato dalla Chiesa anglicana il 3 marzo.
Il metodismo ha avuto tre tappe fondamentali: la prima all'Università di Oxford con la fondazione del cosiddetto Holy Club , la seconda mentre Wesley era curato nella città statunitense di Savannah, in Georgia, e la terza a Londra dopo il ritorno di Wesley in Inghilterra. Il movimento ha preso forma dopo la terza tappa, intorno al 1740 con Wesley, insieme ad altri, istituendo predicatori locali e le società religiose per la formazione dei fedeli. Questo è stato il primo grande movimento evangelicale della Gran Bretagna. L'organizzazione metodista di Wesley includeva società in Inghilterra, Scozia, Galles e Irlanda prima di diffondersi negli altri paesi anglofoni e non solo. Wesley ha diviso le sue società religiose in classi e gruppi per garantire istruzione religiosa e assistenza capillare a tutti, in special modo alle classi povere.
I metodisti, sotto la direzione di Wesley, sono diventati promotori di molte iniziative volte a garantire giustizia sociale, incluso la riforma della legge penale e movimenti abolizionistici. Wesley incentrò le sue riflessioni teologiche e spirituali su quella che chiamò perfezione cristiana, o santità del cuore e della vita. Wesley insisteva sul fatto che in questa vita ogni cristiano può giungere a uno stato dell'anima dove l'amore di Dio, o amore perfetto, regna supremo nel cuore di ogni persona. Insisteva continuamente sull'usare i mezzi di grazia quali preghiera, meditazione delle Scritture, Santa Cena, ecc. come mezzi tramite i quali Dio trasforma i credenti. Wesley a un certo punto della sua vita si staccò dalla chiesa anglicana e riteneva che anche il suo movimento avrebbe dovuto farlo. Wikipedia
“L'umiltà vera è una specie di auto-annullamento; e questo è il centro di tutte le virtù.”
Origine: Citato in Paul Clavier, Edmondo Coccia, Lessico dei valori morali, Armando Editore, Roma, 2008, p. 321 http://books.google.it/books?id=XV4QPeqDgcUC&pg=PA321. ISBN 978-88-6081-294-0
Origine: Citato in Amadeus Voldben, La potenza del credere e la gioia d'amare, Edizioni Mediterranee, Roma, 1992, p. 194 http://books.google.it/books?id=0ckzXVBcNs0C&pg=PA194. ISBN 88-272-0040-1
Origine: Citato in Steven Rosen, Il vegetarianesimo e le religioni del mondo, traduzione di Giulia Amici, Gruppo Futura – Jackson Libri, Bresso, 1995, p. 128. ISBN 88-256-0826-8
Origine: Da Il vero cristianesimo in parole semplici (A Plain Account of Genuine Christianity); citato in Armstrong 1995, p. 336.
“Sono andato in America per convertire gli indiani; ma, ah, chi convertirà me?”
Origine: Dal diario; citato in Armstrong 1995, p. 337.
Origine: Da Writings, a cura di A.C. Outler; citato in Armstrong 1995, p. 337.
Origine: I believe in my heart that faith in Jesus Christ can and will lead us beyond an exclusive concern for the well-being of other human beings to a broader concern for the well-being of the birds in our backyards, the fish in our rivers, and every living creature on the face of the earth. (citato in J. R. Hyland, God's Covenant with Animals, Lantern Books, 2004, p. XII http://books.google.it/books?id=nRMxniy-eKoC&pg=PR12. ISBN 1-930051-15-8)
“Non ho tempo per avere fretta.”
Origine: Citato in Gianluca Gambirasio, Mille aforismi e citazioni ad uso aziendale e non solo, Olympos, 2009, § 646 http://books.google.it/books?id=Bzrg4bmGxIQC&pg=PA66. ISBN 978-88-904685-0-6
Sermon 93 On Dress. Compare: "Cleanness of body was ever deemed to proceed from a due reverence to God", Francis Bacon, Advancement of Learning, Book ii (1605)
General sources
“The best of it all is, God is with us.”
A statement among his final words, said to have been repeated two or three times, as quoted in The Living Wesley (1891) by James Harrison Rigg
Variants: The best of it is, God is with us.
Best of all, God is with us.
General sources
From the Preface to A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People called Methodists, (c 1779)
General sources
Journal (12 February 1772) after reading Some historical accounts of Guinea by Anthony Benezet
General sources
“I value all things only by the price they shall gain in eternity.”
As quoted in The Law of Rewards : Giving What You Can't Keep to Gain What You Can't Lose (2003 by Randy C. Alcorn, p. 18
General sources
“And Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself.”
Acts 26:24.<br>And so say all the world, the men who know not God, of all that are of Paul’s religion: of every one who is so a follower of him as he was of Christ. It is true, there is a sort of religion, nay, and it is called Christianity too, which may be practised without any such Imputation, which is generally allowed to be consistent with common sense, —that is, a religion of form, a round of outward duties, performed in a decent, regular manner. You may add orthodoxy thereto, a system of right opinions, yea, and some quantity of heathen morality; and yet not many will pronounce, that “much religion hath made you mad.” But if you aim at the religion of the heart, if you talk of “righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost,” then it will not be long before your sentence is passed, “Thou art beside thyself.” <br class="br"> Sermon 37 "The Nature of Enthusiasm" http://www.ccel.org/ccel/wesley/sermons.v.xxxvii.html <br class="br">Sermons on Several Occasions (1771)
Speech in the West Riding of Yorkshire, reported in the Leeds Intelligencer (4 May 1790), quoted in Robert F. Wearmouth, Methodism and the Common People of the Eighteenth Century (Epworth Press, 1945), p. 257
1790s
A Calm Address to our American Colonies (1775), pp. 17–18.
1770s
But it is difficult to say either what kind or what degree of union may be between them. It is not improbable their fellowship with us is far more sensible than ours with them. Suppose any of them are present, they are hid from our eyes, but we are not hid from their sight. They no doubt clearly discern all our words and actions, if not all our thoughts too; for it is hard to think these walls of flesh and blood can intercept the view of an angelic being. But we have in general only a faint and indistinct perception of their presence, unless in some peculiar instances, where it may answer some gracious ends of Divine Providence. Then it may please God to permit that they should be perceptible, either by some of our outward senses or by an internal sense for which human language has not any name. But I suppose this is not a common blessing. I have known but few instances of it. To keep up constant and close communion with God is the most likely means to obtain this also.<br><br>Letter to Mary Bishop, an important Methodist "Class Meeting" leader, https://books.google.com/books?id=E-iMVOU6PhYC&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq=%22one+of+his+leading+women+class+leaders,%22&source=bl&ots=TjalEPj1rz&sig=MGwiThaIzWLfs6AWUzta-aZNBUk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiX3oyws6_TAhVHRyYKHbRvCv8Q6AEIJDAA#v=onepage&q=%22one%20of%20his%20leading%20women%20class%20leaders%2C%22&f=false (12 June 1773), in The works of the Rev. John Wesley, Seven Volumes, (1853), Carlton & Phillips, New York, vol. VII, p. 164. https://books.google.com/books?id=P4QsAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA164&dq=It+has+in+all+ages+been+allowed+that+the+communion+of+saints+extends+to+those+in+paradise&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjejuPcrq_TAhWG0iYKHefIDYwQ6AEIJDAA#v=onepage&q=It%20has%20in%20all%20ages%20been%20allowed%20that%20the%20communion%20of%20saints%20extends%20to%20those%20in%20paradise&f=false See also, Pro Ecclesia: A Journal of Catholic and Evangelical Theology http://www.e-ccet.org/pro-ecclesia/ (Winter 2010), Joseph L. Mangina http://religion.utoronto.ca/people/cross-appointed-faculty/mangina-joseph-l/, Editor, Vol. 19, no. 1, p. 90. https://books.google.com/books?id=YmgAAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA90&dq=It+has+in+all+ages+been+allowed+that+the+communion+of+saints+extends+to+those+in+paradise&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiI5fP8pa_TAhUDfiYKHYyyBp44ChDoAQgmMAE#v=onepage&q=It%20has%20in%20all%20ages%20been%20allowed%20that%20the%20communion%20of%20saints%20extends%20to%20those%20in%20paradise&f=false Pro Ecclesia also states that "there is ample reason to believe that Wesley's theology and the theology presented in Lumen Gentium converge on the following points: 1. Creaturely participation. Wesley's Doctrine of Christian Perfection includes the notion that mankind participates (i.e. cooperates) in and with God's grace, contributing to its own sanctification. Furthermore, there is a corporate dimension to our participation, making social interaction vital to the process of sanctification. 2. Creaturely mediation. Wesley's sacramental theology includes the concept of subordinate, creaturely mediation of Christ's grace. He extended the Anglican teaching about the means of grace so that it included not only the two sacraments, but also such pious actions as prayer and Scripture study. In this way, perhaps even more than in Catholic doctrine, the sacramental efficaciousness of human behavior is emphasized. 3. The Holy Spirit as the bond uniting Christ's body. Wesley's theology includes doctrine concerning the bond shared by members of the body of Christ, which is the Holy Spirit—a bond transcending time and space, holding the entire body, past, present, and future in a vital, living communion. In this way, the eschatological church is present to earthly, historical reality. In addition, Wesley's later work indicates a conviction in the interaction between the saints in heaven and Christians on earth. He clearly stated his belief that those who reside in heaven continue to serve God by serving God's children on earth and that it is quite likely that they can hear our words and perhaps, even our thoughts. (pp. 90-91) <br class="br">1770s
Letter to John Benson (5 October 1770); published in Wesley's Select Letters (1837), p. 207
1770s
Letter to Reverend Samuel Furley (25 Janurary 1762), Published in The Life and Times of the Rev. John Wesley, M. A., Founder of the Methodists (1872) by Luke Tyerman, p. 451.
1760s
Works of the Rev. John Wesley, Letter XI, 1789. (J&J Harper, 1827), p. 375.
1780s
Origine: 1770s, Thoughts Upon Slavery (1774)
Origine: 1770s, Thoughts Upon Slavery (1774)
John Wesley libro Sermons on Several Occasions
1770s, Sermons on Several Occasions (1771)
Origine: Sermon 37 "The Nature of Enthusiasm"
John Wesley libro Sermons on Several Occasions
1770s, Sermons on Several Occasions (1771)
Origine: Sermon 37 "The Nature of Enthusiasm"
