tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post8397038780790736368..comments2024-03-28T09:52:15.415-04:00Comments on Common Denominator: Wesley versus the WesleyansKen Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-79650147469234087852014-05-27T17:39:36.613-04:002014-05-27T17:39:36.613-04:00Some other examples. You could argue that Wesley d...Some other examples. You could argue that Wesley did not take his idea of prevenient grace far enough to include those who have not heard about Christ. Also, he remained very Augustinian-Calvinist in relation to penal substitution, arguably in tension with the general trajectory of his overall theology. He remained a premodern interpreter, which is fine, but he did not leave us with biblical interpretations that are likely to convince in our day of contextual awareness...Ken Schenckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-36643105396141594772014-05-27T15:43:01.499-04:002014-05-27T15:43:01.499-04:00Just to give an example, I don't particularly ...Just to give an example, I don't particularly think of baptism cleansing us from the guilt of original sin. And while I don't have a problem with taking communion every week, I don't think that a church that does so is necessarily more spiritual or superior to a church that does not.Ken Schenckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-70470610881445881202014-05-27T15:31:31.672-04:002014-05-27T15:31:31.672-04:00Interesting. I know you've written about this ...Interesting. I know you've written about this topic before but I'd like to see you do a post or series on where you think Wesleyans still agree with Wesley and where we now disagree. While you say "we can do better", are there any ways we have done worse?<br /><br />I think I understand what you mean about having 200 more years of thought to draw on -- Wesley was the starting point for a certain theological trajectory and we are further along that trajectory. Even Wesley's own thought changed during his lifetime; certainly it would have continued to do so had he lived another 250 years! At the same time, surely at some point things change to a degree where our thought is no longer discernibly Wesleyan. In that case, why bother keeping the name at all? I'm sure some local churches are Wesleyan in name only.<br /><br /><i>The practical focus of The Wesleyan Church, coming as it did at the leading edge of the Church Growth Movement, has minimized distinctions between our parent bodies</i><br /><br />Hmm, the connection of "practical focus" with "Church Growth Movement" might be bothersome to some. It suggests a "whatever works" mentality, but works for what? Do we jettison our theology for techniques? Are we in danger of being just another generic evangelical church, in which case, again, why keep the name?Chucknoreply@blogger.com