Pain, Passion and Faith: Revisiting the Place of Charles Wesley in Early Methodism

by Joanna Cruickshank

Overview

Pain, Passion and Faith: Revisiting the Place of Charles Wesley in Early Methodism is a significant study of the 18th-century poet and preacher Charles Wesley. Wesley was an influential figure in 18th-century English culture and society; he was co-founder of the Methodist revival movement and one of the most prolific hymn-writers in the English language. His hymns depict the Christian life as characterized by a range of intense emotions, from ecstatic joy to profound suffering. With this book, author Joanna Cruickshank examines the theme of suffering in Charles WesleyOs hymns, to help us understand how early Methodist men and women made sense of the physical, emotional and spiritual pains they experienced. Cruickshank uncovers an area of significant disagreement within the Methodist leadership and illuminates Methodist culture more broadly, shedding light on early Methodist responses to contemporary social issues like charity, slavery, and capital punishment.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810873988
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	11/25/2009
Series:	Pietist and Wesleyan Studies , #31
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	202
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Joanna Cruickshank is a Lecturer in History at Deakin University, Australia.

Table of Contents

Editor's Preface ix

Acknowledgments xi

Abbreviations xiii

Introduction: Pain, Passion and Christian Faith 1

Chapter 1 Revisiting Charles Wesley 7

Chapter 2 Revisiting the Hymns of Charles Wesley 21

Chapter 3 Sorrow, Sight and Transformation 43

Chapter 4 Suffering and the Christian Story 73

Chapter 5 Suffering and the Sanctified Self 107

Chapter 6 Suffering and the Sympathetic Community 141

Conclusion Charles Wesley Early Methodism 169

Bibliography 175

Index 183

About the Author 187

Editorial Reviews

By opening up the largely unexplored treasury of Wesley's hymns, as well as offering edifying discussion of what is found therein, Pain, Passion, and Faith makes for compelling reading.

Books and Culture: A Christian Review

The success of Cruickshank's volume hinges on how skillfully she quotes Wesley's hymns to build her argument….Cruickshank's main argument is convincing because of how well her quotations support what she wants to say.

Wesley and Methodist Studies - Mark A. Noll

By opening up the largely unexplored treasury of Wesley's hymns, as well as offering edifying discussion of what is found therein, Pain, Passion, and Faith makes for compelling reading.

March 2010 Books and Culture: A Christian Review