JOHN WESLEY AND THE ENTHUSIASTS

JOHN WESLEY AND THE ENTHUSIASTS

by
Lowell O. Ferrel

Why are Holiness people and the Pentecostals so incompatible? No one seems to be able to give a convincing basis for this incompatibility. Surely, there is something deeper down and farther back than just the fact that one group does not speak in "tongues" and the other group does.

It is this writer's intent to show that there truly is a difference between the two movements and that this significant difference is most clearly seen in the interactions between John Wesley and the enthusiasts of his day. Wesley was definitive in rejecting enthusiasm. The fact that he maintained clear-cut boundaries between his own doctrinal distinctiveness and the enthusiasts helps to explain why there is so little compatibility today between the Holiness Movement and the Pentecostals.

Definition of Enthusiasm

John Wesley understood enthusiasm as something of an ambiguous term. In his sermon, The Nature of Enthusiasm,(1) he discusses how sometimes the word is taken as: (1) ". . . a divine impulse or impression, superior to all the natural faculties, and suspending for the time, either in whole or in part, both the reason and the outward senses)"; (2) " . . . in a different sense, such as is neither morally good nor evil . . . an uncommon figure of thought, a peculiar fervor of spirit, a vivacity in strength not to be found in common men"; and (3) "Something evil . . . as calling the religion of the heart enthusiasm." It was in the first and third sense that the term was usually applied pejoratively in Wesley's day. Wesley saw enthusiasm as a "disorder of the mind" and something that "not only dims but shuts the eyes of the understanding." He contrasts the "fool" with the "madman."(2) He contends that a fool starts with right premises but has such impaired logic that the conclusions he draws are erroneous. By contrast, the madman starts from wrong premises but logically draws right conclusions. Wesley' s contention is that the madman and the enthusiast are similar. If one would accept the premise of the enthusiast, the logic would be quite reasonable. Wesley states the position rather strongly: "Every enthusiast, then, is properly a madman. Yet his is not an ordinary, but a religious, madness."(3) Wesley then goes on to give a formal definition of enthusiasm:

Enthusiasm in general may then be described in some such manner as this: A religious madness arising from some falsely imagined influence or inspiration of God; at least, from imputing something to God which ought not to be imputed to Him, or expecting something from God which ought not to be expected from Him.(4)

Wesley's comments here and elsewhere(5) make it clear that he considers enthusiasm to be gross subjectivity where one's impulses, impressions, visions, dreams and even conduct are assumed to be the result of direct communication with the Holy Spirit. In this particular way of thinking, the imminence of God is carried to such a logical extreme that one's own subjective impressions are confused with the activity of God. Before discussing some of the problems inherent in this approach to Christian experience, we shall examine what Wesley thought was characteristic of this approach.

Characteristics of Enthusiasm

In Wesley's sermon, The Nature of Enthusiasm(6), he acknowledges that there are "innumerable sources of enthusiasm"; but he selects for discussion those which "are most common, and for that reason, most dangerous." He discusses them under separate headings. The following four subtypes are specifically mentioned:

1. The first subtype of enthusiasm that Wesley considered is constituted by those cases where persons assumed they had a grace which in reality they did not possess. Such individuals might profess to either having been justified or sanctified when in reality they had neither experienced the rebirth nor the cleansing from original sin. Wesley felt that this kind of enthusiasm was rooted in self-deception and gave rise to a superficial religious experience that had no real roots or permanence. It is probably Wesley's under-standing of enthusiasm as it relates to this point that caused him to counsel his followers repeatedly to resist testifying to the experience of entire sanctification until they had a sure and certain witness of such from the Holy Spirit.

2. A second category of enthusiasm consisted of those who imagined themselves to have certain gifts from God which they did not actually possess. "Thus some have imagined themselves to be imbued with a power of working miracles, of healing the sick by a word or a touch, of restoring sight to the blind; yea, even of raising the dead.... Others have undertaken to prophesy, to foretell things to come, and that with the utmost certainty and exactness." Wesley felt that the dogmatic certainty that accompanied this form of enthusiasm eventually collapsed when "plain facts run counter to their predictions, experience performs what reason could not, and sinks them down into their senses."(7) Even in regard to prayer, Wesley felt that these kinds of enthusiasts often felt themselves to be under some kind of special control or direction of the Holy Spirit and while he acknowledged that there was a real influence of the Holy Spirit in the activity of prayer, he felt also that there is an imaginary influence, and this is often mistaken one for the other. He takes issue in this category with visions, dreams, strong impressions, or sudden impulses that are said to be an extraordinary activity of God on the individual. He is also concerned here with spectacular claims to divine guidance. Wesley's primary objection on this point stems from his conviction that in such cases subjectivity has been elevated to such a degree that it has taken on authority beyond even that of the Scriptures. Wesley also seemed to take a rather dim view of the claim that there was a special class of Christians or a select group of Christians who seemed to possess special powers or enlightenment beyond that of their contemporaries.

3. Wesley considered another form of enthusiasm to be defined by those persons who ". . . think to attain the end without using the means, by the immediate power of God."(8) He is here alluding to an assumed tendency to neglect common means of grace (Scripture reading, prayer, Christian fellowship, et cetera) in deference to an expectation of spiritual experiences devoid of spiritual discipline. Examples of this type of enthusiasm would be people who expect to understand the Scriptures without reading them or who expect to be able to speak in a public assembly without any preparation.

4. A final category was designated by Wesley to be made up of those individuals who imagined certain things to be the direct result of the providence of God when they were not. Wesley believed in a general providence and a particular providence to all persons. What he objected to was the person imagining himself or herself to be a "peculiar favorite of heaven." "Do you not see that he who, believing this, imputes anything which befalls him to Providence, does not therein make himself any more the favorite of heaven, than he supposes every man under heaven to be?"(9)

Problems with Enthusiasm

Subjectivity

Wesley was very much a product of both the Reformation and the Age of Enlightenment. From the former, he inherited a high view of Scripture which grounded revelation in objective reality. From the latter he gained an appreciation for reason as an alternative to primitive superstitions and vain imaginations. Enthusiasm threatened to undermine both Scripture and the need for the rational capacities of individuals! When accused of being an enthusiast himself, Wesley responded, "I have declared again and again, that I make the word of God the rule of all my actions; and that I no more follow any secret impulse instead thereof, than I follow Mahomet or Confucius."(10) Wesley eschewed private interpretation as much as he did private revelation, and consistently counseled his followers to subject matters of judgment to the certainty of the "law and the testimony." He wrote:

From those words, "beloved, believe not every spirit; but try the spirits, whether they be of God," I told them they were not to judge of the spirit whereby anyone spoke, either by appearances, or by common report, or by their own inward feeling; no, nor by any dreams, visions, or revelations, supposed to be made to their souls anymore than by their tears, or any involuntary effects wrought upon their bodies. I warned them, all these were in them-selves of a doubtful, disputable nature; they might be from God and they might not; and were therefore not simply to be relied on, any more than simply to be condemned, but to be tried by a farther rule; to be brought to the only certain test, the law and the testimony.(11)

In referring to the role of reason, Wesley contended, "Among them that despise and vilify reason, you may always expect to find those enthusiasts who suppose the dreams of their own imagination to be revelations from God. We cannot expect that men of this turn will pay much regard to reason. Having an infallible guide, they are very little moved by the reasonings of fallible men."(12) Wesley's understanding of the appropriate role of reason was: "Let reason do all that reason can: employ it as far as it will go. But at the same time, acknowledge it is utterly incapable of giving either faith, or hope, or love; and, consequently, of producing either real virtue, or substantial happiness. Expect these from a higher source, even from the Father of the spirits of all flesh."(13)

Wesley believed that divine guidance was not to be rooted in the ex cathedra pronouncements of any given individual as in popery, in the silent meditation of small groups as in Quakerism, or in the impulsive impressions of fanaticism and enthusiasm.(14) Faith was to be grounded in the authoritative word of God which in turn could be interpreted by its plain and simple meaning according to the operations of reason enlightened by grace.

Lack of Discipline

Besides undermining the authority of the Scriptures, Wesley thought that enthusiasm undermined Christian living as well. It must be remembered that the "method" in Methodism was at first a perjorative label applied to Wesley and his followers because of their strong commitment to living a disciplined life. For Wesley, the enthusiasts were an indolent group who, as he frequently put it, sought ". . . the end without the means; the expecting knowledge, for instance, without searching the Scriptures, and consulting the children of God; expecting spiritual strength without constant prayer and steady watchfulness; expecting any blessing without hearing the word of God at every opportunity." Wesley contended that the enthusiasts were often so certain that God had written the Scriptures on their heart that they felt they had no reason to study the Scriptures or even to attend the services of the church or to hear the preaching of the Scriptures. Wesley believed this carelessness or slackness in attending to means of grace was rooted experientially in pride.(15)

Misguided Priorities

Another serious problem in enthusiasm for Wesley was the simple fact that he felt it undermined the true focus of Christianity. He expresses this sentiment beautifully in the following passage:

It were well you should be thoroughly sensible of this-"the heaven of heavens is love." There is nothing higher in religion; there is, in effect, nothing else; if you look for anything but more love, you are looking wide of the mark, you are getting out of the royal way. And when you are asking others, "Have you received this or that blessing?" If you mean anything but more love, you mean wrong; you are leading them out of the way, and putting them upon a false scent. Settle it then in your heart, that from the moment God has saved you from all sin, you are to aim at nothing more, than more of that love described in the thirteenth of the Corinthians. You can go no higher than this, til you are carried into Abraham's bosom.(16)

Heresy

The essential elements of enthusiasm have presented a problem for the church in virtually every age. It would appear that the philosophical/psychological characteristics of enthusiasm were operative in the Corinthian church and occasioned the intervention of the Apostle Paul. In the last half of the second century, Montanism emerged in Phrygia. M. E. Dieter says of Montanism, "In one of the other of its many factions, it prevailed until the ninth century.(17) Montanism, as the reader may recall, was a revivalistic movement led by an individual named Montanus. Montanus proclaimed the "Age of the Spirit" and believed strongly in personal revelation, prophesy, radical moralism, celibacy, etc.

In our discussion of the enthusiasts it is quite interesting to note Wesley's reactions to Montanism. He was not as negative towards Montanism as one might anticipate. In one sermon, Wesley declared emphatically, "Nay, I have doubted whether that arch-heretic, Montanus, was not one of the holiest men in the second century."(18) On another occasion, when the Montanists were accused of being enthusiasts, Wesley defended their visions and ecstasies by claiming historical precedent in Joel and St. Peter.(19) Given the fact that Wesley was so much opposed to the enthusiasts, one wonders why he would have at times been so supportive of their Montanism. There may be two reasons for this. First, Wesley's theology, like most, evolved gradually over a period of time, and some of his favorable comments may have been reflective of his earlier thinking prior to his forming a strong reaction against enthusiasm. Secondly, Wesley may not have been defending the Montanists similarities with enthusiasts so much as he was affirming the positive qualities he saw in the character of the Montanists. He believed that the Montanists did not err greatly in their doctrinal understanding of the person of Christ and the respect they afforded to Jesus as the mediator between God and man. In addition, "Montanus was not only a truly good man, but one of the best men then upon earth; and that his real crime was, the severely reproving those who professed themselves Christians, while they neither had the mind that was in Christ, nor walked as Christ walked; but were conformable both in their temper and practice to the present evil world."(20)

In a similar vein, it is interesting to note Wesley's reaction to the Moravians, who also had marked similarities with the philosophical/psychological characteristics of the enthusiasts.(21) As in the case of Montanus, Wesley saw redeeming and highly admirable qualities in the lives of the Moravians. He spent a great deal of time with Moravians. Later, however, a serious breach occurred between Wesley and the Moravians. He felt that most of his actual objections to the Moravians stemmed from their "three grand errors":(22) Universalism, Antinomianism, and Quietism. As in the case of the enthusiasts, Wesley saw strong evidence of the Moravians' wanting the ends without the means. For example, the Moravians believed so strongly in salvation by faith that they felt a person could not attend to such things as reading the Scriptures, public and private prayer, fellowship, partaking of Communion attending the services of the church, etc., without trusting in these activities. Consequently, they downplayed their significance and urged their followers to rely solely on faith. This viewpoint was antithetical to Wesley's methodism which emphasized a strong reliance on Bible reading, prayer and other disciplines in Christian living. Secondly, the Quietistic emphasis on doing nothing and simply attending to the inner voice tended also to undermine a disciplined Christian life and the authority and power of the Scriptures.(23)

In summary, Wesley seemed to object more to the enthusiasts on pragmatic grounds than on the basis of the full force of historical precedent where the church had tended to see such movements as heretical. The reason why he did not draw more on this historical precedent in his opposition to the enthusiasts is not really clear. It may very well be that, because he himself was often falsely accused of being an enthusiast(24) and because he seemed to have a specific aversion to "labeling"(25), he may not have been so inclined. In addition, Wesley had both of his feet squarely planted in two significant traditions. First, he stood in the awesome shadow of the Reformation with its emphasis upon the authority of the Scriptures and the Age of Enlightenment's appeal to reason. Secondly, this theological understanding was planted firmly in a religion of the heart, which added a subjective component. Consequently, various perspectives developed with respect to Wesley. From the perspective of the Moravians and enthusiasts, Wesley no doubt took on the character of a mildly liberated but essentially dead practitioner of orthodoxy. But from the perspective of the orthodox, Wesley looked like an enthusiast, a Montanist, or a Moravian. Maybe, however, Wesley was a needed moderating influence that gave necessary balance and proportion to these two extremes and is a voice that needs to be heard today as much as it needed to be heard in his day.

The Wesleyan Response

Before asking how Wesley might counsel us today in dealing with the revival of enthusiasm, we should first look at his response to the enthusiasts of his day. Here there can be no question because Wesley was so explicit in what he advocated as the appropriate and proper response to them. One ". . . ought to be very careful to act with a Christian spirit, and to advance nothing but with temper, charity, and truth.(26)

In 1762, there had been a general outbreak of enthusiasm in London. Wesley says:

But almost as soon as I was gone, enthusiasm broke in. Two or three began to take their own imaginations for impressions from God, and then to suppose that they should never die; and these, laboring to bring others into the same opinion, occasioned much noise and confusion. Soon after, the same persons, with a few more, ran into other extravagances; fancying they could not be tempted; that they should feel no more pain; and that they had the gift of prophesy and of discerning of spirits.(27)

Wesley arrived in London in the fall of that same year and was criticized severely, as he puts it, "almost from every quarter." On one hand, the enthusiasts objected to him because "I was checking them on all occasions"; and others were reproaching him, saying that he was not checking them. A friend some distance from London wrote Wesley giving him the following advice which Wesley seemed to regard highly:

But what can real Christians do? Why, if they would act worthy of themselves, they should, (1.) Pray that every deluded soul may be delivered; (2.) Endeavor to reclaim them in the spirit of meekness; and, Lastly, take the utmost care both by prayer and watch fullness, that the delusion of others may not lessen their zeal in seeking after that universal holiness of soul, body, and spirit, "without which no man shall see the Lord."(28)

Wesley's approach to the enthusiasts was, in other words, redemptive. He engaged them forthrightly and attempted by the Scriptures to convince them of the error of their ways. For example, "About the same time, five or six honest enthusiasts were told the world was to end on the 28th of February. I immediately withstood them, by every possible means, both in public and in private. I preached expressly upon the subject both at Weston-Street and Spitalfields. I warned the society, again and again, and spoke severely to as many as I could; and I saw the fruit of my labor."(29)

On another occasion, Wesley wrote directly to a woman whom he suspected, among other things, of enthusiasm. He admonished her as follows:

A second thing which has given me concern is, I am afraid you are in danger of enthusiasm. We know there are divine dreams and impressions. But how easily may you be deceived here! How easily, where something is from God, may we mix something which is from nature! Especially if we have a lively imagination and are not aware of any danger.(30)

The Wesleyan Application to Charismatic Movement

What the writer has attempted to show throughout this paper is that John Wesley provides an adequate model for effectively responding to the historically constant problem of enthusiasm in its philosophical/psychological dimensions. Wesley stood on the side of tradition in insisting that theology be grounded in the Scriptures rather than in personal revelation and subjective impressions. Because of his emphasis on heart religion and personal involvement, he was obviously more empathetic towards the enthusiasts than many who would have simply labeled them as "heretics" or "fanatics." He viewed the enthusiasts as misguided and potentially dangerous in the sense that their practices, if not corrected, would eventually undermine the authority of the Scriptures and give host to a variety of problems such as an over-concern with supernaturalism, spiritual gifts, pride, etc. Consequently, Wesley did not subscribe to a "live and let live" philosophy but was given to active intervention in what he perceived as a real problem. What is especially interesting and instructive is the fact that Wesley did not major in minor points. That is, he did not focus on the superficial, secondary characteristics of enthusiasm, e.g., discerning of spirits, prophecy, predicting the end of the world, etc. He aimed his arrow directly at the more insidious, underlying problem of the enthusiasts' mind set which gave such a high view to the imminence of God and the blurring of boundaries between subjective impressions and divine revelations that the whole issue of accountability in the Christian community and the role of objective revelation was undermined. In this writer's opinion, Wesley was correct in identifying the true Achilles heel of the enthusiast movements; and where we go wrong today is in losing his vital focus and in believing, mistakenly, that the real difference between the holiness movement and charismatics is in the "tongues" issue By debating this relatively minor point, our arguments often lack credibility and persuasiveness-not only to charismatics but also to ourselves.

NOTES

1 The Works of John Wesley, 14 vols. (London: Wesleyan Methodist Book Room, 1872; Reprint, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1986), 5:467-478.

2Works 5:469.

3Works 5:470.

4Works 5:470.

5Works 8:106, 405-406, 445.

6Works 5:467-478

7Works 5:472.

8Works 5:475.

9Works 5:476.

10Works 8:406.

11Works 9:12.

12Works 6:351.

13Works 6:360.

14Works 8:214.

15Works 11:429.

16Works 11:430.

17Richard S. Taylor, ed., Beacon Dictionary of Theology (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1983).

18Works 6:328.

19Works 10:47.

20Works 11:485-486.

21 I.e., insomuch as both gave great emphasis to subjective experiences.

22Works 1:333.

23Works 1:334.

24Works 3:35.

25Works 8:106.

26Works 1:216.

27Works 11:406.

28Works 11:407.

29Works 11:408.

30Works 12:26f.

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