John Wesley

This is a good biography of John Wesley's life, written in rough conjunction with the two hundredth anniversary of his death. It details his life, from his ambition to study theology through his spiritual turmoil to his revelation that lead to the formation of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a typical Oxford-educated Anglican who never advocated separation of his movement with the official Anglican church. But anytime someone blazes new territory, especially those who seek to aid the poor and downtrodden, suffer the retribution of those who stand for the status quo. unfortunately this book doe not do a good job of explaining why mainstream Anglicans had such problems with Wesley's efforts to aid the poor, but it does state how he was pelted with rock and threatened with death when he first would come to a new town. Wesley travelled extensively througout England, Ireland, and Scotland. His foray into the American colonies was a rather regrettable experience, but he moved on from the failures in his life rather well. He seems to have had a positive outlook and disposition that enabled him to move forward and persevere regardless of the troubles he faced. Modern day Methodism owes its existence to Wesley's determination and fortitude. He never wanted separation with the Church of England, but almost immediately after his death his successors made the break to a new denomination. Methodists will be interested in this book that gives a good account of their faith's founder. It is now out of print, but perhaps Methodist church libraries will have a copy. It was written by John Pollock, an English clergyman. At times his "Englishness" shows through and the reading is cumbersome for Americans. But then the English and Americans have always been two people separated by a common language.