Breanne Thomas
9/26/2015
Religion in America Today
John Wesley. Being Truly Human
John Wesley was born on June 28th 1703 and died on March 2ed 1791. He was an Anglican minister and theologian. Wesley along with his brother Charles Wesley and friend George Whitefield, are credited with the foundation of the evangelical movement known as Methodism. His work and writings also had a big role in the development of the Holiness movement and Pentecostalism. Wesley believed that each person has the potential to reach Christian perfection. He explains this with the process of Christian perfection, the ideas of affections and tempers, means of grace, and the importance of community.
Throughout his works, Wesley explains the idea that people have the potential to portray a particular form. Wesley explains that the end goal is to act in ways that express holiness, and that the ultimate goal is to represent ‘Christian perfection’. Christian…show more content… Affections determine what people love and seek, and what drives them to do things. Affections are the motives that guide our actions. For example, if a person’s affections are focused on the love of power, then all of that person’s time and energy will be spent trying to achieve power. Wesley believes that what people desire will determine their actions. In Wesley's Old Testement Notes on the Ten Commandments, he says that the heart of a person should be focused on "whatever leads to the knowledge and love of God"
Wesley gives a list of things that show holiness, including gratitude, faith, hope, fear, joy, temperance, peace, and love. All these qualities can be shown through works of mercy. For example, like helping a neighbor. (Randy L. Maddox, Responsible Grace, 215-216). Opposite of love, Wesley lists affections that are to be avoided, such as intemperance, envy, despair, pride, and anger (Gregory S. Clapper, John Wesley on Religious Affections,