Humility in the Writings of Charles Wesley and the Early Church Fathers/Mothers - Hardcover

by S. T. Kimbrough (Author), John H. Erickson (Foreword by)

Humility is a central focus of the early church fathers/mothers. Similarly, it is at the heart of Charles Wesley's thought expressed in his poetry, sermons, and journal. For Wesley, humility plays an active role in the process of salvation. "It can but lead to faith," he says. For the fathers/mothers of the early church, salvation void of humility is unthinkable. For Wesley the words "humble" and "humility" pervade almost every aspect of Christian character, personality, and experience. A careful examination of Wesley's writings reveals congruences with and a close relationship to the thought of the early church fathers and mothers on the subject of humility. Throughout this study, examples from witnesses of the Eastern church emphasize the closeness of their thought with that of Charles Wesley. A careful comparative study is made of St. Basil the Great's "Homily on Humility" and Wesley's multiple references to humility in prose and poetry. This leads to an interesting response to the question: How does one practice humility? St. Basil says, "Everything that Christ did was a lesson in humility." This study suggests that in the cycle of the Christian year and the liturgical rehearsal of everything that Christ did, one learns to practice humility.

Author Biography

S T Kimbrough, Jr. holds a PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary and is currently a research fellow of the Center of Studies in the Wesleyan Tradition at Duke Divinity School. He has taught on leading theological faculties in Europe and the USA. He has published numerous books with Wipf and Stock including Partakers in the Life Divine, which also addresses Charles Wesley's thought and that of Eastern Orthodoxy; The Lyrical Theology of Charles Wesley; Radical Grace; and many books of poetry.