Thesis (D. Min.)--Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, 1985. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [165-168]).

John Wesley was a well educated son of a cleric, who chose to be a theologian and a minister in the Church of England. His theological distinctive was his insistence on the possibility of entire sanctification in this lifetime. In response to their position on sanctification, Wesley and the Methodists sought to save souls and cure the ills in society because they believed it was divinely mandated. Their love and work for the less fortunate was a response to their love for God and in obedience to His commandments. This is the great success of their work. They were able to serve God and their generation in a balanced yet inseparable way. The result of Wesley's life, direct and indirect, was that the social and spiritual plight of thousands of individuals and families was improved and dozens of church groups, missionary societies and benevolent organisations have emerged / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / Th.M. (Church History)

Uma pesquisa com base na interpretação hermenêutica de textos da tradição wesleyana, com ênfase no conceito "Conhecimento e Piedade Vital", a partir regulamentação oficial e da prática da Pastoral Escolar e Universitária, na instituição de ensino da Igreja Metodista. A pesquisa é desenvolvida em três momentos complementares. No primeiro capítulo há um resgate da história e teologia de John Wesley e sua ênfase na educação. Segue uma análise do Regulamento das Pastorais Escolares e Universitárias, a partir de suas funções, por meio de uma leitura interpretativa vinculando a herança wesleyana, as diretrizes e a prática diária da Pastoral na instituição de ensino. Também são considerados outros documentos basilares para a educação e a vida da Igreja além das "Diretrizes para a Educação na Igreja Metodista": o Plano para a Vida Missão da Igreja Metodista e o Credo Social. O terceiro capítulo a traz uma abordagem hermenêutica, buscando mesclar a tradição wesleyana de teologia e história, e as funções da Pastoral Escolar e Universitária a partir de sua prática diária, seus desafios, suas dúvidas e o vislumbre das possibilidades. Para finalizar o terceiro capítulo são abordadas algumas indicações para uma teologia da educação para pesquisas posteriores. Na articulação entre história, teologia e prática as conclusões buscam desafiar ao debate e construção de conhecimento sistematizado que responda e subsidie a prática da Missão na Igreja Metodista em suas instituições de ensino a partir da herança de John Wesley, e do envolvimento do Metodismo com a educação numa perspectiva de Missão. / An hermeneutic interpretative research in wesleyan heritage texts, with emphasis on the concept of "knowledge and vital piety", considering the practices of School and Universitary Pastoral Ministry, in the Methodist education instituition. This research is developed in three complementary moments. There is a John Wesleys historical and theological rescue in the first chapter, in his education emphasis. Followed by an analysis in the School and Universitary Pastoral Ministry regimental statements, it functions, with an interpretative reading crossing the wesleyan heritage, and daily practices of Pastoral on methodist education instituition. Also considering other main documents for education an methodism than "Diretrizes para a Educacao na Igreja Metodista", as "Plano para a Vida e Missao da Igreja Metodista" and "Credo Social". In the last chapter an interpretation combine wesleyan theological and historical tradition, and School and Universitary Pastoral Ministry function and practices, challenges, doubts and possibilities. Third chapter evaluate some indications toward a theology of education settling for further researches. In this history, theological and practice combined, conclusions build ideas to challenge knowledge construction to answer and be helpfull for Methodist Church Mission practices through it education instituition with wesleyan heritage, and Methodist educational efforts in the Mission perspective.

This thesis examines the ministry of John Fletcher (1729-85), vicar of Madeley, Shropshire (vic. 1760-85) as a case study on the Church of England and Methodism in the eighteenth century. Studies of Fletcher have tended to focus either on his contribution to Methodist theology or on his designation as Wesley's successor as the leader of the Methodists. The parish of Madeley has been, for the most part, peripheral to Fletcher studies. The present thesis, however, has aimed to examine Fletcher in his parochial context; to study both what the parish tells us about Fletcher, but also what Fletcher tells us about the parish, and more specifically, about the church in the eighteenth century in a local context. The main argument of this thesis is that Fletcher's ministry at Madeley was representative of a variation of a pro-Anglican Methodism--localized, centred upon the parish church, and rooted in the Doctrines and Liturgy of the Church of England. Three recent publications have provided a triad for understanding Fletcher: (1) in his industrial context; (2) in his theological context; and (3), in his relationship with leaders in the Evangelical Revival. This thesis has sought to examine a fourth component: Fletcher's work as an ordained clergyman of the Church of England, that is, in his ecclesial and ministerial context. The main body of the thesis focuses on two primary aspects of Fletcher's parish ministry: his stated duties and his diligence in carrying out other responsibilities and meeting other needs which arose, including addressing the various tensions which developed during his incumbency. Fletcher's background and his call to parochial ministry as well as the religious history of Madeley are outlined first (Chapter 1). There are three chapters which examine his performance of stated duties: worship services and preaching (Chapter 2); pastoral care andeducation (Chapter 5); and confrontation of erroneous doctrine (Chapter 6). Fletcher's ministry also included a scheme of church extension, represented primarily by his development of religious societies on which other aspects of his parochial duty built (Chapter 3). His evangelicalism and commitment to his parish simultaneously raised tensions between Fletcher and his parishioners (provoked by his 'enthusiasm' or zeal), and between Fletcher and John Wesley, whose variations of Methodism had similar aims, but different models of practice. A chapter is devoted specifically to these issues (Chapter 4).Fletcher's chapel meetings formed an auxiliary arm of the church, operating as outposts throughout his parish. His parishioners considered his ministerial model a 'Methodist' one even though it was not technically part of Wesley's Connexion (other than the fact that his itinerants were guests in the parish). In all, it is the conclusion of this thesis that Fletcher's pastoral ministry represents some of the best work of Anglicanism in the eighteenth century, demonstrating that despite the manifest challenges of industrializing society, residual dissent, and competition from the church's rivals, the Establishment was not incapable of competing in the religious marketplace.

Master of Arts / Department of History / Robert D. Linder / After years of selecting, editing, omitting, reducing and correcting what would become printed as over fourteen thousand pages of devotional literature for a young Methodist movement in the wake of the English Evangelical Revival, John Wesley pronounced his A Christian library: consisting of extracts from, and abridgments of, the choicest Pieces of practical divinity which have been published in the English tongue in fifty volumes (1749-1755) an underappreciated treasure and an overtaxing expenditure. Taking their lead from Wesley’s comments, scholars and historians of Wesley studies and Methodism have neglected to take a closer look at the ways the library may have been successful. This study argues that despite being initially a marketing disappointment and an expensive liability, John Wesley’s Christian library was influential in helping to shape the spiritual lives of “serious readers” within Methodism, particularly from 1752-1778. In the preface to the Christian library, Wesley revealed his standard for measuring the influence of the Library. However, despite offering a premature and partial assessment of the library in his journal entry at the end of 1752, providing some public responses to criticisms of the library in 1760 and again in the early 1770s, and writing some personal letters that recommended the library to others in the 1780s, Wesley did not publish an evaluation of what he believed the Christian library had accomplished during his life. Thus, based on the collaborative evidence gathered from the personal accounts of early Methodist preachers and the final address of Francis Asbury to American Methodists, this study makes the case that Wesley’s Christian library had a substantial positive influence on Methodism.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / The problem of the dissertation is to discover what John Wesley meant by perfect love. Statements of both approbation and criticism regarding his doctrine are usually made from the vantage of various present-day interpretations. The goal of this study is to describe the type of perfection and love which was uppermost in Wesley's thought. The method used is motif analysis as it is developed by Anders Nygren in his book, Agape and Eros. Nygren's method and motifs (Agape, the New Testament motif; Eros, the Greek motif; Nomos, the Judaistic motif; and Caritas, Augustine's union of the Greek and New Testament motifs) are examined to determine their usefulness for research. While Nygren's description of Agape or New Testament love is not sufficiently complete, his description of the contrasting ways and systems of thought is sufficiently demonstrated to warrant the use of motif research . The method proved to be valuable in the examination of Wesley's thought [TRUNCATED] / 2031-01-01

The Church of the Nazarene has an identity problem. Increasingly, Nazarenes are unfamiliar with their denomination’s holiness theology, and a gap exists between what people say they believe—espoused theology—and what they practice—operant theology. I argue that aesthetic Christian education can play a significant role in decreasing the discrepancies between a person’s beliefs and practices. This kind of teaching and learning incorporates holistic aesthetic elements, which I call engaged aesthetics. Research in the neuroscience of visual perception seems to point to the possibilities that art can offer for transformative reflection. Christian education that features the viewing of art can explore these opportunities to reflect on faith-as-beliefs and faith-actions and to amend discrepancies at a personal and/or communal level. Since the Church of the Nazarene is grounded in John Wesley’s theology, I make the case for an aesthetic educational bridge between espoused and operant theology rooted in the engaged aesthetic of Wesley’s practical theology, and in affinity with Wesley’s experiential and affective epistemology.

abstract: ABSTRACT The Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza is located across the street from the state capitol building in Phoenix, Arizona. Here, pieces of Arizona’s history are commemorated through monuments and memorials. Monuments and memorials reflect how people have conceived their collective identity, especially when those choices are made in public spaces. The markers in the Wesley Bolin Plaza reflect the changing identity of Arizonans, both locally and in connection to national identity. Over time, they have become crucial to shaping the landscape and the historical memory of the city, state, or country. Of note, the memorials on the Arizona State Capitol grounds are unique in how they are placed all together in a park directly across the street. In 1976, the Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza emerged through a conversation with broader currents in the region’s and nation’s history. Over time, the plaza has become a sacred space because so many of its memorials include relics and artifacts, or list the names of those who have lost their lives in their service to Arizona. In these ways the plaza became a landscape of memory where visitors come to remember and honor those people and parts of Arizona history. The memorial plaza also influences Arizonans’ knowledge of history. It engenders a local as well as a national loyalty and identity in its citizens and visitors. By researching the history of several of the prominent monuments and memorials in the plaza, I discovered a rich history and an intriguing story behind each one that is built. Most monuments and memorials are commemorating complex events or people in history, yet have only short inscriptions on them. As a result, much of the historical narrative, complexities, and symbolism can be lost. My purpose is to tell the story of the plaza, these memorials, and their history; highlighting their significance to Arizonans and explaining how the monuments and memorials fit into the larger story of historical commemoration. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis History 2019

In Recreating Nature: Ecocritical Readings of Yosemite and Grand Canyon, I examine the intersections of culture and nature in two prominent national parks, and I consider the implications of nature-tourism in the environmental discourse of the U.S. Covering a period from 1848 to the present, my project aims to correct an oversight in scholarship about the park system, in which legacies of colonialism and imperialism--when addressed at all--tend to be historicized and framed as the age-old sins of a presumably reformed national politic. Instead, I examine both historical and present-day developments, emphasizing the profound cultural influence of the places we designate as natural. I define ecocriticism as an inherently interdisciplinary endeavor attuned to the interconnectedness of things. My methodology is to engage texts, images and other expressions of the national parks in a process of extended close reading and comparative analysis. While observing the particular contexts of each case, I attempt to locate these texts amidst the broadest but most essential critical terrain: they each negotiate a dialogical relationship between culture and nature. By setting the stage for examining the human and its relation to the non-human other, the parks have become key sites for displaying the recreation of nature. After my introduction I discuss John Muir's My First Summer in the Sierra, focusing on an episode where Muir risks his life for a view from Yosemite Falls. I also consider Muir's failure to empathize with Native Americans he encountered. In my next chapter I analyze John Wesley Powell's Exploration by focusing on his attempt to assert authority over a region by prioritizing the scientific tone in his writing. Next I synthesize historical and contemporary sources, discussing Mary Colter's Grand Canyon architecture alongside the Grand Canyon Skywalk, a glass-bottom walkway on the Hualapai Indian reservation. In the following chapter I compare the acrophobia-inducing photographs of George Fiske and Emery Kolb. Finally, I discuss transit real and imagined in Grand Canyon and Yosemite, considering the utopian potential of national parks. I close by revisiting questions about our changing environmental discourse and about the future of ecocriticism.

This thesis considers the rapidly growing problems of poverty and urbanisation, especially in the contemporary South African context. It suggests that Christian churches, especially those in the Wesleyan tradition, have a special contribution to make concerning poverty and urbanisation. John Wesley was at the centre of the Evangelical Revival in England in the eighteenth century as well as the emerging Methodist movement. Besides his roles of preaching and organising, he made significant advances in caring for the poor as well as changing attitudes towards the poor. There is an examination of Wesley's social ethics and how this resulted in empowering the poor. Case studies of three very different churches within the Wesleyan tradition are examined. One is in the inner city of Pietermaritzburg, one in an informal settlement near Johannesburg and one in a middle class suburb in Cape Town. The particular focus is on methods used by each to provide low cost housing in their communities. Theoretical models of urban mission for the church in the city are examined. The contemporary context and assumptions of poverty are analysed together with Wesley's social ethics, and his critique ofthe dangers of wealth and riches. The basic thesis ofthis study is that the Christian social ethics of Wesley are relevant and applicable in congregations with the will to empower the poor. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.