John Wesley ( /ˈwɛzlɪ/; 28 June 1703 – 2 March 1791) was an Anglican cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield. In contrast to George Whitefield's Calvinism, Wesley embraced the Arminian doctrines that were dominant in the 18th-century Church of England. Methodism in both forms was a highly successful evangelical movement in the United Kingdom, which encouraged people to experience Jesus Christ personally.
Wesley's teachings, known as Wesleyanism, provided the seeds for the modern Methodist movement, the Holiness movement, Pentecostalism, the Charismatic Movement, and Neo-charismatic churches, which encompass numerous denominations across the world. In addition, he refined Arminianism with a strong evangelical emphasis on the Reformed doctrine of justification by faith.
Read more about John Wesley: In Brief, Youth, Oxford and Savannah, Georgia, Conversion; Open-air Preaching, Persecutions; Lay Preaching, Chapels and Organisations, Ordination of Ministers, Doctrines and Theology, Personality and Activities, Literary Work, Legacy, Works
Famous quotes containing the words john and/or wesley:
“Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.”
—Bible: New Testament, Matthew 3:4.
“Once in seven years I burn all my sermons; for it is a shame if I cannot write better sermons now than I did seven years ago.”
—John Wesley (1703–1791)