존 웨슬리

Abstract

This thesis is a translation of the book, John Wesley by Janet & Geoff Benge.

John Wesley, best remembered as the Father of the Methodist movement, was born in England into a strong Anglican home: his father, Samuel, was a priest, and his mother, Susanna, taught religion and morals faithfully to her 19 children. On 9 February 1709, the roof of their home caught fire while they were all sleeping. The memory of the fire remained with him forever. In later years, he often quoted the famous text from Bible, 'A Brand Plucked out of the Fire (Zechariah 3:1-2)', to describe the incident. While educated at Christ Church, Oxford, Wesley joined a society 'Holy Club', founded by his brother Charles Wesley, whose members took vows to lead holy lives. Later he went to the United States to become the minister of the newly formed Savannah parish; but the venture was highly unsuccessful and he returned home beaten and depressed. When John Wesley had a personal spiritual crisis, Moravians who met on sail to Georgia did have a profound impact on him. Back in London, he worshiped with Moravians in the Fetter Lane Chapel and began to see the light when by chance he discovered the Lutheran doctrine of salvation by faith alone. Eventually, he started the Methodist Movement, which became a huge establishment within his lifetime. He taught that religion was meant for everyone regardless of social class and wealth and his teaching methods shadowed the same disciplined approach he applied to his own spiritual life. He had ridden a quarter of a million miles on horseback, stopping along the way to preach over forty thousand sermons. Later in 1790 the number of Methodist in England was 71,463, in the United States, 43,260, and in other parts of the world, including Scotland, the Caribbean, and Canada, 5,350. He strove not to create a new religion, but rather a new way of being a Anglican, the church of which he was an ordained minister. Focused on God's love and holy living, the movement Wesley founded quickly multiplied in vibrant Methodist societies all over England and influenced other nations for Christ.

'The world is my parish. - John Wesley'