Doing a lot of digging around the history of Evangelicalism in preparation for a revised edition of my book on Evangelical Spirituality. Came across a paragraph in one of John Wesley’s sermons that made me blink, think, and again reflect on the rich flawedness, spiritual complexity and surprising commonsense of the founder of Methodism.
One of my treasured possessions is a Victorian cockle plate with John Wesley’s portrait on it – he looks as if butter wouldn’t dare melt in his mouth! The passage was about domestic violence – in 18th Century, urban and working class culture, this apologist for Christian perfection, this strategic organiser of new forms of community, uncompromisingly tackled the issue of violence against women. No he doesn’t use the obvious answer – it’s just wrong, unacceptable, and he doesn’t use the blunt ‘no man has the right’. But in an age when often such violence wasn’t even a moral issue, he underpins his rejection of domestic violence against women by rooting it in principles derived from a practical and prudent spirituality from which God’s love imperative can’t be diluted by social conventions.
But you cannot dismiss you wife, unless for the cause of fornication, that is adultery. What can then be done, if she is habituated to any other open sin? I cannot find in the Bible that a husband has authority to strike his wife on any account, even suppose she struck him first, unless his life were in imminent danger. I never have known one instance yet of a wife that was mended thereby. I have heard, indeed, of some such instances; but as I did not see them, I do not believe them. It seems to me, all that can be done in this case is to be done partly by example, partly by argument of persuasion, each applied in such a manner as is dictated by Christian prudence. If evil can ever be overcome, it must be overcome by good. It cannot by overcome by evil: We cannot beat the devil with his own weapons. Therefore, if this evil cannot be overcome by good, we are called to suffer it. We are then called to say, "This is the cross which God hath chosen for me. He surely permits it for wise ends; ‘let him do what seemeth him good.’ Whenever he sees it to be best, he will remove this cup from me." Meanwhile continue in earnest prayer, knowing that with God no word is impossible; and that he will either in due time take the temptation away, or make it a blessing to your soul.
From Wesley’s Sermon ‘On Family Religion’
I wonder how many other Eevangelical leaders were as outspoken, defensive and socially specific in the application of Christian ethics. Anyway, for me it was a welcome glimpse of Wesley’s conviction that the whole of life is to be brought under the scrutiny of the ethic of love.
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