MYSTICISM
(see lecture #3)
Wesley espoused a mysticism/moralism in 1725, and then explicitly repudiated mysticism in 1738, maintaining that it “stabbed religion in the vitals.” However, his post-Aldersgate theology has an unmistakable mystical dimension in it. He continued to reject mystical “dross” even as the experiential dimension of his thought reflected mystical “gold.”
| DROSS | GOLD | |
| God: | absorption/union | communion |
| Christ: | moral/spiritual exemplar | incarnate one/atoning one |
| Sin: | undervaluation of original sin, impairment but not bondage of will | original sin, will bound, all of this remedied only by grace |
| Righteousness: | internal works righteousness (often complemented by external) | justification by faith |
| God’s “absence”: | “dark night of the soul” | sin |
| Attitude: | stillness | attend upon means of grace, affirm the affirmations of faith, obey concretely |
What Wesley Esteemed In The Mystics
total preoccupation with God
heart-experience
spiritual discipline
self-renunciation
holy living
perfection/purity of intention/love