Photo Courtesy of Andrew Thompson
God the Faith
A portion of the Nicene Creed
Of all the topics least likely to go viral online, I’d think that analyzing the degree to which the Christian creeds were significant to John Wesley’s theology would rank pretty high. But surprisingly, that seems to have happened over the past few days. Well, maybe ‘go viral’ is a bit of an overstatement. Still, it’s been pretty popular. I take that as a sign of hope for the church!
For anyone who would find it helpful, I have listed a rundown of some blog posts on John Wesley and the creeds below. Some are new, while others go back aways. As I become aware of others, I’ll update the list. (Feel free to send me links to such posts or leave them in the comments section below.)
Blog Posts on John Wesley, the Christian Creeds, the Meaning of a “Creedal Faith,” and the Place of the Creeds in Contemporary Methodism:
- “Was Wesley’s Faith a Creedal Faith?” by David F. Watson at Musings and Whatnot
- “John and Charles Wesley Lived by the Creeds” by Joel L. Watts at Unsettled Christianity
- “John Wesley, Americans, and Sectual Experimentation” by Joel L. Watts at Unsettled Christianity
- “John Wesley, the Trinity, and the Creeds” by Andrew C. Thompson at AndrewThompson.com
- “John Wesley’s Creed” by Drew McIntyre at Uniting Grace
- “Creedal Faith” by David F. Watson and William J. Abraham at Ministry Matters
- “The Ancient Creedal Faith” by Daniel McClain Hixon at United Methodist Resources
- “Jesus Christ in United Methodist Doctrine: Exploring the Biblical and Creedal Basis” by Kenneth Loyer at United Methodist Scholars for Christian Orthodoxy
The first 5 entries on this list deal with the issue of the Trinity and/or creeds in Wesley’s own thought. The last 3 entries deal more generally with the Trinitarian and creedal theology within the Methodist understanding of the Christian faith.
The Rev. Andrew Thompson teaches at Memphis Theological Seminary. He blogs at Andrew C. Thompson.