As a living tradition, Wesleyan-Methodism has continued to grow and develop through the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Since their establishment in 1965, the Wesleyan Theological Society and Wesleyan Theological Journal have played a decisive role in stewarding the tradition’s rich theological inheritance, with some of the most influential essays of the past sixty years appearing in WTJ’s pages. The Wesleyan Theological Heritage brings these landmark essays together in a single volume for the first time. The result is a collection capable of serving not only as a reader for contemporary Wesleyan theology, historical studies, and biblical studies, but as a window into the issues and figures that have shaped both the last sixty years of the tradition and its future trajectory. The volume is divided into two parts. Part 1 looks back to the key themes and developments in Wesley studies, Early American Methodist studies, and Holiness Movement studies. Various models for interpreting John Wesley’s writings emerge, as do questions of historiographical methodology, the impact of women leaders, and the influence of particular doctrines. Part 2 surveys the current state of Wesleyan scholarship as well as the issues at stake in its future trajectory. The volume further examines the contribution and place of Wesleyan theology within the ecumenical church and indicates new horizons of Wesleyan scholarship. Together, these essays give voice to the past, present, and future of the Wesleyan theological tradition, as well as the society and Journal’s.
Learn more about the Wesleyan Theological Society at www.wtsociety.org.
Stewarding a Theological Heritage: The Ongoing Legacy of the Wesleyan Theological JournalJason E. VickersPart 1 Looking Back: Wesley, Early American Methodism, and the Holiness MovementSteven T. Hoskins1 John Wesley—Mentor or Guru?Mildred Bangs Wynkoop2 The Wesleyan Quadrilateral in John WesleyAlbert C. Outler3 Responsible Grace: The Systematic Perspective of Wesleyan TheologyRandy L. Maddox4 John Wesley’s Doctrine of the Holy SpiritRob L. Staples5 A Hermeneutical Model for the Wesleyan Ordo SalutisKenneth J. Collins6 The Fundamentalist Leavening of the Holiness Movement, 1914-1940: The Church of the Nazarene: A Case StudyPaul Merritt Bassett7 "Tell Me the Old, Old Story": An Analysis of Autobiographies by Holiness WomenSusie C. Stanley8 The Historiography of the Wesleyan-Holiness TraditionDavid Bundy9 Are Perfect Love and Sanctification Synonymous?: Iva Durham Vennard’s Reinterpretation of J. A. Wood’s Perfect LovePriscilla Pope-LevisonPart 2 Looking Forward: The Present and Future of the Wesleyan MovementLaura Dahl10 The End of Wesleyan TheologyWilliam J. Abraham11 The Babylonian Captivity of Wesleyan TheologyHoward A. Snyder12 Holiness and the Paradox of Power: Toward a Wesleyan Theology of Dis-AbilityDiane Leclerc13 The Doctrine of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit: Its Emergence and SignificanceDonald W. Dayton14 The New Creation: The Wesleyan DistinctiveTheodore Runyon15 The New Birth and the Knowledge of GodDouglas M. Koskela16 Biblical Interpretation and Wesleyan TheologyH. Ray Dunning17 The Future of Wesleyan Biblical StudiesRobert W. Wall18 "Sanctified Eccentricity": The Continuing Relevance of the Nineteenth-Century Holiness ParadigmDouglas M. StrongRecommended ReadingOriginal Publication Information
Jason E. Vickers is Professor of Theology and the William J. Abraham Chair in Wesleyan Studies at George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University, Waco, Texas.
Steven T. Hoskins is Professor of Church History at Trevecca Nazarene University, Nashville, Tennessee.
Laura Dahl is a PhD student in Systematic and Philosophical Theology at Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
