The Wesleys In Cornwall

In nearly a half-century of missionary work throughout England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, brothers John and Charles Wesley found the southwestern county of Cornwall to be among their most serious theological and social challenges. Eighteenth-century Cornwall lacked population centers, and small towns and villages were isolated by inadequate roads. The adult population consisted mainly of miners, fisherman and smugglers--men more interested in the bulk of their pocketbooks than in the status of their souls. And the clergy of the Church of England overwhelmingly opposed the Wesleys and their itinerant preachers, encouraging Anglicans to disrupt the Wesleys' outdoor services and to attack and burn Methodist preaching houses. Although the Wesleys made some evangelical progress in Cornwall, the question remained upon John Wesley's death in 1791: did the mission to Cornwall succeed or fail? This book considers the mission with a close reading of the Wesleys writings, and covers the overall history of 18th-century British Methodism and its contribution to the religious and social history of the British Empire.

In nearly a half-century of missionary work throughout England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, brothers John and Charles Wesley found the southwestern county of Cornwall to be among their most serious theological and social challenges. Eighteenth-century Cornwall lacked population centers, and small towns and villages were isolated by inadequate roads. The adult population consisted mainly of miners, fisherman and smugglers--men more interested in the bulk of their pocketbooks than in the status of their souls. And the clergy of the Church of England overwhelmingly opposed the Wesleys and their itinerant preachers, encouraging Anglicans to disrupt the Wesleys' outdoor services and to attack and burn Methodist preaching houses. Although the Wesleys made some evangelical progress in Cornwall, the question remained upon John Wesley's death in 1791: did the mission to Cornwall succeed or fail? This book considers the mission with a close reading of the Wesleys writings, and covers the overall history of 18th-century British Methodism and its contribution to the religious and social history of the British Empire.

Two Men Who Changed The World John and Charles Wesley are, undoubtedly, two of the greatest heroes of the Christian faith who have ever lived. Their fearless preaching in the face of violent opposition and the rise of the Methodist movement powerfully influenced an eighteenth century England that was rife with corruption, drunkenness, crime and religious apathy; a country described by Bishop John Ryle a century later as "...barren of all good. There was a gross religious and moral darkness; a darkness that might be felt." In this most comprehensive biography of John and Charles Wesley to date, best-selling author, Julian Wilson describes in vivid detail the brothers' triumphs and failures, their conversion to true Christianity, their differing characters, their relationships with women, their prison outreach, their uncompromising preaching even when faced with death or serious injury, the growth of the Methodist movement and in John's case, his supernatural ministry, his work as a physician, his involvement in the abolition of slavery and his educational and social welfare initiatives. John and Charles Wesley may have lived in the eighteenth century, but their message and their ministry are as vital and relevant today as they were more than two hundred years ago.

List of members in v. 4-5, 7-10.