Doctor of Philosophy / Department of History / Robert D. Linder / John Wesley (1703-1791) was an Anglican priest who became the leader of Wesleyan Methodism, a renewal movement within the Church of England that began in the late 1730s. Although Wesley was not isolated from his enlightened age, historians of the Enlightenment and theologians of John Wesley have only recently begun to consider Wesley in the historical context of the Enlightenment. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the complex relationship between a man, John Wesley, and an intellectual movement, the Enlightenment. As a comparative history, this study will analyze the juxtaposition of two historiographies, Wesley studies and Enlightenment studies. Surprisingly, Wesley scholars did not study John Wesley as an important theologian until the mid-1960s. Moreover, because social historians in the 1970s began to explore the unique ways people experienced the Enlightenment in different local, regional and national contexts, the plausibility of an English Enlightenment emerged for the first time in the early 1980s. As a result, in the late 1980s, scholars began to integrate the study of John Wesley and the Enlightenment. In other words, historians and theologians began to consider Wesley as a serious thinker in the context of an English Enlightenment that was not hostile to Christianity. From a review of the historical literature, this dissertation details six links that scholars have introduced in their study of Wesley’s relation to the Enlightenment. However, the review also reveals two problems, one obstacle and one omission, that hinder new innovation and further study. Therefore, as a solution, this study introduces five lenses adapted from the recent scholarship of four historians and one historical theologian that provide new vantage points for considering the enlightenment of Wesley and Wesleyan Methodists, which together form the Wesleyan Enlightenment. Finally, based on the evidence gathered by using these new lenses, this study argues that because Wesley not only engaged the Enlightenment, but also addressed the spiritual needs and practical concerns of Wesleyan Methodists for more than fifty years in what he referred to as an enlightened age, John Wesley was a central figure in the eighteenth-century English Enlightenment.

[pt] O estudo da teologia de John Wesley é um tema crescente no meio acadêmico, verificado especialmente a partir da década de 1960. O foco desta dissertação está na teologia de John Wesley, no contexto cultural do século XVIII; percebendo o quanto e como ele percebe e é influenciado pelo paradigma da modernidade em consolidação no Ocidente. O caminho escolhido para alcançar o objetivo estabelecido para esta dissertação foi verificar o processo de consolidação deste paradigma, e isto num processo gradativo, que se verificou desde os séculos X e XI com o aprimoramento e evolução da agricultura, até o contexto específico da Inglaterra dos tempos de J. Wesley. Uma vez constatado o ambiente de onde emerge a teologia wesleyana, optou-se por apresentar o desenvolvimento de sua teologia, verificando a sua relação com o fluxo provindo do contexto em que está inserido. A conclusão aponta para uma teologia encarnada e vivencial, que tem no caminho da salvação sua motivação originaria e desdobrou-se num complexo tecido teológico, fruto de um esforço de encontrar respostas para as novas perguntas que a modernidade colocou para a teologia e para o cristianismo daquele tempo. / [en] The study of John Wesley theology is a growing theme in academia, especially from the 1960s. The focus of this dissertation is on John Wesley s theology on its context, realizing how he perceives and is influenced by the paradigm of modernity in consolidation in the context of England eighteenth century. The path chosen to achieve the goal set for this dissertation was to analyze the process of consolidation of this paradigm, and it s gradual process that started from the tenth and eleventh centuries with the improvement and development of agriculture, to the specific context of England on J. Wesley reality. Witch the environment where Wesley s theology comes, in mind, the next step is the reflection on his theology, checking its relation with the flow coming from the context in which it appears. The conclusion points to an embodied and experiential theology, which had in the way of salvation its first motivation and unfolded into a complex theological production, as a result of an effort to find answers to the new questions that modernity has put to theology and Christianity that time.

An overview of the prose writings of John Wesley, and the hymn writing of his brother Charles, shows that John Milton was an important influence on both men. A search of the literature indicates that critics have rarely noticed this, and although some work has been done on John's abridgement of Paradise Lost, there are no qualitative studies of its effect on the hymnody of Charles. Although the singing of hymns is a potential way of influencing language and doctrine of all singers, it is particularly important for people who have little other education. Charles Wesley, as the most prolific English hymnwriter, was influential in educating generations of church-goers. He used Paradise Lost in several ways: l)by simple appropriation of diction, 2) by combining it with the Bible in four specific ways, i.e., a) simple addition of images and language from Paradise Lost to biblical sources, b) magnification of a biblical idea by projecting it through a scene in Paradise Lost, as in the case of the hymn, "Soldiers of Christ Arise" which is influenced by Book 5, c) the use of the Bible and Paradise Lost as joint "pre-text" to create a new concept, and d) the use of Paradise Lost to "Christianise" a Psalm. Psalm 24 is used as an example. Obvious reasons why Charles Wesley might wish to imitate Milton, such as Milton's popularity in the eighteenth century, and Wesley family connections with Milton, are explored and considered not significant, but a common classical education is important. The two men have similar theological views in two doctrines essential to the Wesleyan revival: a) justification by faith and b) universal redemption. Other similarities are their expression of views on covenant theology, the nature of the goodness of God, and the name of God as "all in all." Their audiences were different but their purposes were similar: to teach "serious godliness" by inculcating doctrine and inspiring faith in a way that would touch the minds and hearts of their readers. Three appendices are presented: one on the problem of the hymn as a literary genre, the second on the audience for Wesley hymns, and the third on the history of literary criticism of the Wesleys. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

This study is a historical and philosophical analysis of significant educational concepts John Wesley espoused during his lifetime from 1703-1791. Specifically this document examines Wesley's use of pedagogical and andragogical principles through the educational undertakings of the early Methodist movement.

The American junior colleges of today are historical accidents, some having begun originally with elementary and secondary divisions or as adjuncts of local high schools. Wesley College in Greenville, Texas, began on a two acre campus as North Texas University Training School in Terrell, Texas, in 1905. Chartered by the North Texas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, the school initially provided elementary and high school and two years of college. At this time the name was changed to Wesley College, but the school closed in the spring of 1911. It reopened on a twenty acre campus in the fall of 1912 in Greenville, Texas, and maintained a close relationship with that city until mounting financial problems forced closure in 1938. Many records of the school were transferred to Southern Methodist University at Dallas, and in 1939, Wesley College alumni were invited to become associate members of the S.M.U. Ex-Students Association. Many associated with Wesley College continue to meet annually in Greenville to keep alive their memories of the once prestigious college. This study employs primary and secondary documentary data, as well as interviews with fifty-six individuals, to provide a chronological descriptive history of the origin, growth, development, and demise of the school, together with its philosophical bases.

No description available.

This study argues that a comparison of human nature, divine grace, and theological virtue in the theologies of John Wesley and Thomas Aquinas provides resources for constructing iconic dignity as a vital theological perspective. Iconic dignity names a radiant-yet-reflected human worth rooted in the image of God, whose grace empowers response, transformation, and virtuous participation in God’s loving essence. The dissertation responds to the absence of a focused analysis of nature, grace, and virtue in Wesley-Aquinas studies—a nascent field with only three major publications (on historical-moral theology, Christian perfection, and pneumatology). The project’s contributions to theological reflection and practice have become especially clear in our current context of social-existential fragmentation and bigotry. Iconic dignity begins with an intuitional methodology and proceeds with textual analysis, critically comparative construction, and practical contributions. These methods characterize iconic dignity as participatory, incarnational, relational, dynamic, encompassing, transformational, and loving. These characteristics embrace our inter/personal nature, our development in grace, and our work with God toward virtuous flourishing. The dissertation’s explanatory power and generative potential capacitates constructive doctrinal reflection and practical embodiments of iconic dignity. After detailing “iconicity” and “dignity,” the theological comparison of Wesley and Aquinas traces general contours of their shared theological anthropology. As embodiments of God’s image, humans possess intellect, will, and volitional liberty, which together establish our moral capacity. This holistic anthropology is then analyzed with respect to human acts, their relation to habitus (Aquinas) and tempers (Wesley), and sin (actual and original). Following a constructive exploration of iconic dignity and ecological stewardship, the study shifts to grace. Close stereoscopic reading reveals the congruity of grace’s nature, divisions, and dynamics for Wesley and Aquinas. Throughout, the constructive comparison illustrates the strength of iconic dignity’s theological perspective. Wesley and Aquinas are shown to be similar enough to converse but different enough to contribute: to one another, out of their shared theological departures and destinations; and to our practical-theological conversations, including a repudiation of total depravity, an embrace of universal grace, joint ecological stewardship, radical hospitality, and ongoing Methodist-Catholic ecumenical dialogues. Still, many opportunities remain for developing iconic dignity in practice. First, more research is needed on the means of grace and the nature and exercise of theological virtue for Wesley and Aquinas. Second, future research should focus on additional topics like ecclesiology, moral virtue, sociality, and an expansion beyond Wesley and Aquinas. Finally, the need remains for further study into practices of iconic dignity, including the development of stereoscopic reading for local congregations and communities.

Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-01T23:30:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 tese_10074_DISSERTACAO DE MESTRADO - LIVIA SANTOLIN BORGES - set 2016.pdf: 12226144 bytes, checksum: b8758be5cc86eaf68804100bc185ef9e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-08-11 / Essa pesquisa apresenta um diálogo entre o erotismo e a arte por meio de duas séries de trabalhos artísticos de Wesley Duke Lee. À luz de diferentes autores, investiga a definição de erotismo e a simbologia de Eros em diferentes povos e culturas. Estabelece pontes de conexão entre o universo erótico e o universo das imagens por meio de obras de artistas europeus desde o início da arte moderna. Discursa sobre o percurso cultural, político e histórico, da década de 1960, que conduziu ao repensar do problema artístico, ressaltando a contribuição de Wesley Duke Lee e sua obra para a arte desse período. Debruça-se sobre o encontro do erotismo com a arte nacional pelo viés de outros artistas, relacionando-os às suas obras. Desenvolve hipóteses em torno do erotismo na obra de Wesley Duke Lee como elemento adicional de subversão e observa a poética do artista como busca de autoconhecimento. Empreende uma leitura do erotismo nos desenhos da Série das Ligas e comenta acerca de O Grande Espetáculo das Artes, primeiro happening do Brasil, o qual o artista organizou para colocar as obras dessa série em exposição e questionar os padrões e a crítica da arte de sua época. Faz uma análise das obras da grande série Zona em que Duke Lee demonstra seu fascínio pelo universo feminino. Palavras-chave: Wesley Duke Lee. Erotismo. Arte brasileira. Série das Ligas. Happening.

Thesis (D.W.S.)--Institute for Worship Studies, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 475-486).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Iliff School of Theology, 2006. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 124-127).