Moralism, Justification, and the Controversy over Methodism
When asked why he objected to the preaching of George Whitefield, Parson Adams, Henry Fielding's paradigmatic parish priest in Joseph Andrews, replied that Whitefield ‘set up the detestable doctrine of faith against good works’. He went on to say that in his opinion ‘a virtuous and good Turk, o...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
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| Published: |
Cambridge Univ. Press
1993
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| In: |
The journal of ecclesiastical history
Year: 1993, Volume: 44, Issue: 4, Pages: 652-678 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | When asked why he objected to the preaching of George Whitefield, Parson Adams, Henry Fielding's paradigmatic parish priest in Joseph Andrews, replied that Whitefield ‘set up the detestable doctrine of faith against good works’. He went on to say that in his opinion ‘a virtuous and good Turk, or heathen, are more acceptable in the sight of their Creator than a vicious and wicked Christian, though his faith was as perfectly orthodox as St Paul's himself’. This literary anecdote illustrates the caricatures that developed in the wake of the Methodist revival: Methodists were portrayed as ‘solafideists’ and antinomians while traditional Anglicans were characterised as moralists. Both sides in the dispute felt obliged to attack the other, with the result that straw men were often set up in order to be knocked down. There were substantive differences between the Methodists and other Anglicans, but these were frequently exaggerated on both sides for the purpose of emphasising the severity of the opponent's error. And often these substantive differences were ignored altogether in favour of contrived and inflammatory charges. |
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| ISSN: | 1469-7637 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The journal of ecclesiastical history
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/S0022046900077848 |