Review of John Wesley’s View and Use of Scripture by Dr. Mark Weeter

by Lita Cosner

Anyone who has had many of Dr. Weeter’s classes knows that he quotes Wesley all the time. You may have thought, “He should just write a whole book about Wesley!” Perhaps you’ve even waited in breathless anticipation for that book to be written. Well, you’re in luck, because Dr. Weeter has written just such a book, entitled John Wesley’s View and Use of Scripture.

This book explains, well, Wesley’s view of Scripture and how he used it. Dr. Weeter starts out by explaining the different influences on Wesley. No one develops in a vacuum, and Wesley was no exception. His parents were a huge influence on him, giving him an early grounding in Scripture that remained with him his whole life. Daily study of Scripture “not only helped develop John Wesley’s own rigorous and disciplined approach to Bible study and the whole practice of his religious life, but it also influenced his whole concept of divine revelation and biblical authority.” (p. 8) He received a call to ministry while at Oxford, and his experiences there had a profound effect on him; it was at Oxford that he started “The Holy Club,” whose members would be mockingly called “Methodists” after the strict discipline they practiced. The Anglican church and Wesley’s study of the Church Fathers had a huge impact on his theology.

Wesleyans believe that the Bible is the inerrant word of God and that it is the primary authority for faith and all of life. We clearly inherited this view from Wesley; he “viewed the Bible as the ultimate authority in matters of faith and practice. To Wesley, the Scriptures were always first” (p. 66). Wesley appealed to the early church and tradition as complementary witnesses, and stressed the importance of the use of reason, but these could not be used to contradict Scripture. He believed that “Scripture is the best expositor of Scripture” (p. 78) and that Christians should develop their views from studying the whole Bible. He also believed that it is best to take the literal meaning of Scripture whenever possible.

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• Dr. Weeter’s first book gives us an insight into the self-described “Man of One Book,” John Wesley. (OWU Photo/Esther Shigley)

Wesley’s high regard of Scripture can be seen very clearly in the way it permeates his writing, speaking and preaching. Wesley believed that “the Bible was from God and that the ultimate purpose of preaching was soteriological” (p. 119) He demanded that Methodist preachers have a thorough knowledge of Scripture, including the original languages. He claimed to be a “Man of One Book,” but that did not mean that he did not read a wide range of other topics; he himself published over 400 works. “He had a strong belief in the study of logic to develop the faculty of thought and the field of medicine, history, and literature in order to become a more efficient servant of God by better understanding the human situation and power of experience.” (p. 154)

The reason Wesley regarded the Scripture as such a binding authority on all of life is clearly linked to his view of the inspiration of Scripture. Wesley’s view of the inspiration of Scripture “was one of the two most fundamental convictions in Wesley’s outlook. In rare moments of agnosticism there were two convictions which remained. There is a God and God has revealed himself in a book.” (p. 159). Wesley believed that good men could not write the Bible saying “Thus says the Lord” when the Lord didn’t really say so; bad men would not have written a book that forbids sin, so it must be from God (p.162).

Since he believed that the Bible was inspired by an omniscient God, “Wesley was quite willing to acknowledge human fallibility, but he would not accept the same imperfections in the Word of God.” His view was “If there be any mistakes in the Bible, there may as well be a thousand. If there is one falsehood in that book it did not come from the God of truth” (p. 171).

Wesley believed that Scripture had to be understood “through the same Spirit by which it was given” (p.192). Interpretation of Scripture was futile, in his mind, if not guided by the Holy Spirit. He believed that Scripture should be interpreted literally whenever literal interpretation would not result in absurdity, and that it needed to be interpreted in the correct context. He clearly held that the best interpreter of Scripture is Scripture. He also believed that the interpretation of Scripture should be applicable to people’s lives. Reason, experience and tradition were secondary guides to interpreting Scripture.

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• Dr. Weeter writes, “In [Wesley’s] rare moments of agnosticism there were two convictions which remained. There is a God and God has revealed himself in a book.” (p. 159). (Wikipedia Photo)

John Wesley’s View and Use of Scripture is a clear, interesting account of Wesley’s beliefs regarding Scripture, including copious quotes and references to Wesley’s writings, as well as opinions from Wesley scholars.

I expected the book to be dry and stereotypically “academic,” the sort of book you would just read for research or because it’s assigned, but I was pleasantly surprised by the combination of the accessible writing style and substance. It wasn’t “dumbed down,” but it also wasn’t completely inaccessible to someone who has never read any of Wesley’s work. It was an enjoyable and interesting read. You’ll probably still read it for research or because it’s assigned (particularly if you will be taking Life and Theology of John Wesley with Dr. Weeter), but you might just like it!