'Heart Religion' in the Methodist Tradition and Related Movements

by Steele, Richard B.; Saliers, Don E.

• ISBN13: 9780810840577
• ISBN10: 081084057X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-07-17
• Publisher: Scarecrow Press

Summary

This resource displays the variety of ways in which the Wesleys' concept of the religion of the heart (that is, the affective dimension of Christian faith) has been understood and embodied in the Methodist tradition. The author offers some practical suggestions on how a livelier piety, a more deeply felt faith, can be fostered in local congregations, without leading into anti-intellectualism, fanatical emotionalism, or maudlin sentimentality. This part approaches theology, worship, preaching, pastoral care, and educational ministry.

Table of Contents

Foreword	vii
Don E. Saliers
Editors' Preface	xi
David Bundy
J. Steven O'Malley
Acknowledgments	xiii
Abbreviations	xv
Introduction	xix
I. Heart Religion in Historical Perspective
A Change of Affections: The Development, Dynamics, and Dethronement of John Wesley's Heart Religion	3	(30)
Randy L. Maddox
``Inwardly Persuaded'': Religion of the Heart in Early British Methodism	33	(34)
Thomas R. Albin
The Warmed Heart in the German Idiom	67	(30)
J. Steven O'Malley
``My Chains Fell Off'': Heart Religion in the African American Methodist Tradition	97	(30)
L. Henry Whelchel, Jr.
Heart Religion on the Divide	127	(48)
A. Gregory Schneider
``The Spirit's Cry in the Soul'': Heart Religion Among American Methodist Women	175	(34)
Diane Leclerc
II. Heart Religion Today: Constructive Proposals
Shaping Heart Religion through Preaching and Pastoral Care	209	(16)
Gregory S. Clapper
Educating the Heart	225	(20)
Les L. Steele
The Passion and the Passions	245	(28)
Richard B. Steele
The Role of Faith and the Means of Grace in the Heart Religion of John Wesley	273	(18)
Henry H. Knight III
Orthopathy: Wesleyan Criteria for Religious Experience	291	(16)
Theodore Runyon
Index	307	(6)
About the Contributors	313