John Wesley, Practical Divinity and the Defence of Literature

Discussion on the form, content, and role of theological education in the life of the Methodist Church is, in various ways, something of a constant source of attention. What is taught matters a very great deal to Methodists, and this welcome volume in the Routledge Methodist Studies Series offers an exploration of how John Wesley addressed a matter so fundamental to Methodist identity. The Christian Library was perhaps Wesley's most rigorous attempt at ensuring the preachers had access to an education. This he did through the somewhat herculean task of compiling in fifty volumes excerpts from the writings of various early Church Fathers, Anglicans, Catholic mystics, Cambridge Platonists, and extensively the work of the English Puritan tradition.Cunha offers the seemingly timely reminder that in analysing Methodism, the theology to ‘which it referred and deferred’ must not be ignored (3) and there follows a vital analysis of Wesley's commitment to rigorous attention to such a vast span of Christian theology and philosophy. Wesley's delight in editing and adding to the works of others is not overlooked, so the reader both learns something of Wesley's own confidence as an editor as well as gains insights as to how Wesley was seeking to reform by creating societies within the Church of England. This interplay between intention of reform and educating the shepherds is an important one. The power of a curriculum should not be overlooked. An underlying narrative of this book is that in compiling the Christian Library, Wesley was both educating preachers as well as making clear his intentions, in respect of their duties. Alongside this point is the acknowledgement and analysis of Wesley's optimism (and alertness) to the power of literature as a medium for theology. In this Cunha offers a critique of eighteenth-century apologetics as well as the influence of religion and religious leaders on contemporaneous literature. The delightful chapter title ‘Wesley in the Literary Sphere’ is more than mere Methodist hagiography; rather, it assists the reader in understanding how wide-ranging a reader Wesley was, approaching texts both with theological confidence and editorial flair.Concluding that ‘it was through biographical writing that Wesley constructed a theory and practice of religious experience’, (150) Cunha provides a clear description of what practical divinity is in this context. This in particular is to be welcomed, enabling the reader to move well beyond a restating of the history of early Methodist education. Insights regarding Wesley's own rigour of thought, his attention to setting theological formation (not that he would have used such a phrase) within the tradition of the apostolic faith, the need for the preachers to be curious in reading, and his use of hymns are all evident here. The latter is the briefest of these explorations, perhaps not always acknowledging the primary purpose of the hymns. That said, giving attention to the politics of eighteenth-century hymnody is a helpful reminder that they were not written in isolation from the wider traditions of the church, particularly the Church of England. And, of course, the albeit limited readership of the Christian Library would have viewed the hymns through a very different lens than that of an exuberant precentor.Knowledge brings with it responsibilities and it might be worth reflecting on whether Wesley paid sufficient attention as to what the readers would do with a newfound knowledge. After all, the Christian Library is more than imparting knowledge; it is about what would now be considered to be enabling preachers to engage with the times, the text, and the imaginative discourse of theological tradition. This book is an important contribution to an impressive series, enabling an exploration of the formation of the early Methodist preachers as well as offering insights into a fundamental element of practical divinity; that is to say, the essential task of the catechetical work. That the sources of that task extend far beyond the hymns is an important reminder of the dialogue with culture that is at the heart of the Methodist theological tradition.

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