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Their doctrines are identical in all respects with those of the Wesleyan Jlethodists. The points of polity or discipline in which they differ arc, that their ministers may remain as many years in a circuit as the people may desire; and they permit lay preachers to baptize their children, and to administer the Lord's supper, thus placing ministers and laj'mcn on an equality in minis- terial functions.
In addition to the serial publications previously named, the committee of the Reform Union resolved to take advantage of the book-room to secure funds for carrying on their work; and as large profits had been made by the sale of the hymn-books used by their so- cieties, the hook committee was the first to Xxy the ex- periment of enlarging the hymn-book which had so long been in use by English Methodists. The Rev. James Everett, who had himself once been employed in the book-room of the parent society, learning that there were onh' about eight hymns in the AVesleyan col- lection which were copyrighted, supplied their places by others of Charles Wesley's, and added to them as many more new and popular hymns as made a book of a thou- sand hymns. To these were added for the first time the authors' names, not in all instances correcth', but as nearly so as was then possible. The book was a suc- cess, and as the usual discount was allowed on it to booksellers, which at that time the Wesleyans did not allow, many thousands soon found their way even into the congregations of the parent society. That im- proved edition in due time led the way to a still better collection being issued by the book-room of the Meth- odist Free Churches, and since, a still more modern one by the Wesleyan Conference itself. The Reform book- room has for some years published the Local Preach- ers'' Magazine, at twopence monthly, a serial which has for many years, unofficially, been very helpful to many industrious lay preachers. It has also published other Methodist works, chiefly remainders of editions of good books which authors wished to dispose of, but which the rigid rules of tlie AVesleyan book-room prevented from admission into their sales. (G. J. S.)
WESLEYANISM
935
WESLEYANISM
"Wesleyanism, or Mktiiodist Arminianis.m, is a reproduction of the original doctrine of James Armin- ius (q. v.), the Dutch Kemonstrant, an epithet gained by his followers for their opposition to the Calvinistic views eventualh- embodied in the action of the Synod of Uort. The soundest and most prudent of the early Arminian theologians were Episcopius and Limborch, who developed the views of their great leader substan- tially as held by the Wesleyan Methodists both in America and Great Britain ; but a few of the Remon- strants, especially Grotius, and, to some extent, Curcel- lasus, exhibited signs of a freethiiiking tendency, espe- cially on the doctrine of the atonement. The interme- diate English Arminians carried these erratic elements to the verge of Socinianism, and thus gave a color to the charge of Pelagianism with which Calvinistic writ- ers— at least until very recent times — have been too frequently in the habit of branding Arminianisra in general. See AnMixiANisii.
John AVesley, the founder of Methodism, came of Ar- minian stock. His fiither, Samuel, like many of the evangelical Anglican divines of that period, was op- posed to the tenets of Calvinism (see Tyerman, Life of Samuel Wesle;/, p. IW), and the sons of the latter nat- urally grew up in the same sentiments. Whitefield, on the contrary, who was likewise a member of " the Holy Club," as the first Blethodists were called at Oxford, was of Calvinistic persuasion, and on this ground alone a separation ultimately took place from tiie Wesleys, AVhitetield eventually becoming the founder of the Welsh, or Calvinistic, Methodists of Lady Huntingdon's Connection. The views of Wesley are thus historically of a remonstrant or polemical cast on this subject, the main point of controversy always being the dogma of predestination, which is central in the Calvinistic scheme. We propose liere, however, to develop the principal features of Wesleyanism positively in a logical order out of the more radical idea of the divine nature. See Weslev, John.
1. Weslej'ans hold that God's foreknowledge is intui- tive and absolute, not being a deduction or inference from his purposes or power. They grountl this doc- trine upon Scripture: " Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate" (Rom. viii, 29). Dr. Charles Hodge, in his note on this passage {Commentary, p. 447), after frankly admitting that the "knowledge" here spoken of is not merely a cognition of the existence of the indi- viduals (for then it would apply equally to the elect and the reprobate), still ingeniously perverts the whole force of the argument by averring that " the foreknowl- edge . . . involves the idea of selection," which is tan- tamount to saying that there already was a secret bias or preference in the divine mind. Methodist Armini- ans, on the other hand, believe that this divine fore- knowledge has reference to the character of the persons contemplated as about to accept the offer of salvation. They thus truly place the divine prescience as the basis of the divine plan or purposes, and maintain that such a view only is real foreknowledge. In this way they escape the causational force of the divine pre-contem- plation, precisely as in the case of knowledge of any present or past facts which has no influence or power in producing them. See Omniscience, (iod foresees not only the future event, but also all its circumstances or conditions, and therefore knows that it is contingent, i. e. that altliough it certainly will take place, it yet might be otherwise. See Puksciexce.