Calvin vs Wesley: Bringing Belief in Line with Practice.

Abstract

Don Thorsen is Professor of Theology at the Haggard Graduate School of Theology, Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, California. In this book he argues that, when it comes to practice, most Christians are closer to Wesley than to Calvin and that this is regardless of their stated theological position. In support of this thesis he offers a comparison between the two on the issues of the sovereignty of God, the authority of Scripture, predestination, prevenient grace, the scope of salvation, the quest for holiness, the nature of the Church, and the nature of ministry. In each case, he provides a clear and comprehensive account of the theology of each before comparing and contrasting the two. All technical words are clearly explained, making this a suitable introduction for those who have little or no prior knowledge of either the two men or theology, and of interest to the general reader.Despite the title, Thorsen makes clear that Wesley and Calvin agreed with each other more than they disagreed and, while he admits that his sympathies lie with Wesley, it is clear that he has striven to be fair to Calvin. That said, he characterizes Calvin as a systematically oriented theologian and he sees this ultimately as a weakness, arguing that Calvin allowed rational unity in theology to supersede individual experiences of faith and Spirit-led encounters.The book can clearly be recommended as an introduction to what each man said and in one sense it does exactly what it set out to do. However, the lack of a sense of historical context is regrettable. At times this came out simply in minor anachronisms, such as the fact the Wesley is regularly described as Anglo-Catholic. At other times, however, the book would have benefitted from a better awareness that the issues facing Calvin in the sixteenth century were simply different to those facing Wesley in the eighteenth, particularly when dealing with the issue of the relationship between Church and State. For example, the death of Servetus receives an inevitable mention, with no explanation of the different attitude to the nature of heresy which was prevalent in the early modern world.While the reading of both men is generally good, it is difficult to avoid the sense that Wesley always gets the more sympathetic interpretation. Issues in his theology are smoothed out slightly—for example, on Christian perfection—while the disagreement with Whitefield is played down, as is his lax attitude to Anglican Church discipline. Equally, in subtle ways, Calvin receives the opposite treatment. While the reading of Calvin put forward is certainly a reasonable one, the union with Christ receives disappointingly little attention and the argument that Calvin emphasized God's sovereignty over God's benevolence is not as clear-cut as Thorsen implies.Thorsen states from the beginning that he intends to focus on Calvin's and Wesley's own writings and, indeed, nearly all references are to primary documents. There is also no bibliography or any kind of guide for further reading.