Employing fresh, innovative readings, Edgardo Colon-Emeric examines and underscores the centrality of the concept of perfection for the theologies of Thomas Aquinas and John Wesley--and finds them, surprisingly, largely complementary.
Utilizing the image of a "kneeling ecumenism," he offers a practical account of how ecumenical conversations can move forward. At a time when many Methodists struggle to understand Catholicism and many Catholics know little of Wesley and Methodism, this stimulating work provides the church as a whole a communal grammar of holiness, in demonstrating how the theologies of perfection of Aquinas and Wesley have significant messages for both groups.
Introduction: Methodists and Catholics in Dialogue
Chapter 1: Wesley on Christian Perfection
Chapter 2: Wesley on the Way to Christian Perfection
Chapter 3: Aquinas on Perfection
Chapter 4: Aquinas on the Way to Perfection
Chapter 5: Dialogue on the Beatitudes
Chapter 6: Dialogue on Perfection
Chapter 7: Prospects for Perfection
Appendix: Aquinas on Women and the Image of God
Bibliography
Edgardo A. Colón-Emeric is Assistant Research Professor of Theology and Hispanic Studies, Duke University Divinity School. He lives in Bahama, North Carolina.