Rick B. (bup) -
Belonging to a Methodist Church, I thought I should find out about the guy who founded Methodism. This book is a little bit biography and a lot of analysis of Wesley's thinking.
If you're interested in that, it's a good book - brief, informative, and interesting. Abraham is not the kind of writer that I'd read just for the sake of his writing, but he's competent.
So, what gets addressed? Wesley wrestled a lot with many seemingly conflicting tenets of various Christian sects - if God controls everything, how can there be free will? If God is all-knowing, how in predestination not an inescapable conclusion? If grace alone saves someone, why do good? If good works alone are sufficient, what does one do with all the New Testament passages that say nobody can be saved except through Jesus Christ?
Frankly, those things don't worry me much, but it was interesting to read how Wesley could see his way clear through all of them. And now I know I'm not accidentally supporting some cult that was founded by a guy who wanted to eat babies or anything.
If you're interested in that, it's a good book - brief, informative, and interesting. Abraham is not the kind of writer that I'd read just for the sake of his writing, but he's competent.
So, what gets addressed? Wesley wrestled a lot with many seemingly conflicting tenets of various Christian sects - if God controls everything, how can there be free will? If God is all-knowing, how in predestination not an inescapable conclusion? If grace alone saves someone, why do good? If good works alone are sufficient, what does one do with all the New Testament passages that say nobody can be saved except through Jesus Christ?
Frankly, those things don't worry me much, but it was interesting to read how Wesley could see his way clear through all of them. And now I know I'm not accidentally supporting some cult that was founded by a guy who wanted to eat babies or anything.
