The Crucible of Life,
The Role of Experience in John Wesley's
Theological Method
Timothy J.
Crutcher
Paperback Edition: ISBN 978-0981958279
Retail: $43.00
Asbury Theological Seminary Series:
The Study of World Christian Revitalization
Movements in Wesleyan & Pietist Studies
(No. 1)
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A Comprehensive Survey of Wesley’s Use of
Experience
Even the most casual reader of John Wesley can see
the high value he placed on the role experience plays in the formation
of theological ideas, and virtually every work on Wesley’s theology
discusses this fact. However, there has been no contemporary survey of
his use of the concept. This book is intended to fill that gap.
Additionally, as one explores the concept of experience in Wesley, one
finds that its interaction with his other commitments to Scripture,
reason, and tradition are far more complex than can be conveyed with
the static image of a “Wesleyan Quadrilateral.” This book explores
those interweaving dynamics and offers a new way of talking about
Wesley’s theological method. This revisioning of Wesley’s method shows
how vital and relevant his theology and approach remain even three
hundred years after his birth.
An important feature of this work is that it was
originally done at the margins of European scholarship and away from
the more polemical impulses that have marred some scholarship on
Wesley in the United States of America. It represents a fresh and
independent perspective that injects fresh insight and vigor into the
discussion. It also represents the work of a new generation of
scholars who continue to find insight and inspiration in the theology
of John Wesley. Clearly Wesley is in good hands in the transition to
this new world.
—William J. Abraham,
Southern Methodist University
About the Author:
Timothy J. Crutcher
is Professor of Church History and
Theology at Southern Nazarene University. He
holds degrees from SNU and Nazarene Theological Seminary, as well as a
Ph.D./S.T.D. from the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium. Before
coming to SNU, he taught for several years at Africa Nazarene
University in Nairobi, Kenya. He is also an ordained elder in the
Church of the Nazarene.
