Wesley: Quoted & Misquoted

[GraceSeeker]

"Wesley, misquoted - Methodism’s founder gets a little too much credit"

by Mary Jacobs, Sep 16, 2011 in UM Portal


It made for a great Tweet:
“Set yourself on fire with passion & people will come for miles to watch you burn—John Wesley.”

After megachurch pastor Craig Groeschel posted that saying on Twitter, more than 100 people passed it along by “re-tweeting.”
The only glitch: As far as historians can tell, John Wesley never uttered those words.

“I have no idea where that one came from,” said the Rev. Richard Heitzenrater, professor emeritus of church history and Wesley studies at Duke Divinity School and a leading authority on John Wesley, founder of Methodism.

More than 200 years after his death, the words of John Wesley (1703-1791) still carry a lot of weight among United Methodists and others in the Wesleyan tradition. Wesley’s prolific writings are rife with maxims that are wise, practical and quotable, and church members still cite them on topics ranging from Christian unity (“If your heart is as my heart, give me your hand”) to the global church (“I look on all the world as my parish.”)

But a few of the most popular Wesley quotations, it turns out, weren’t by John Wesley.

“There are many misattributions, from the Wesley Grace to the Wesley Rule to who knows what,” said Dr. Heitzenrater, who is working on a book about the most famous quotations of Wesley—including a chapter on quotes often misattributed to Wesley.

Absence of evidence

In 1996, the General Conference chose these “Wesleyan words” as its motto: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; and in all things, charity.”

“It’s a nice saying,” said Dr. Heitzenrater. “But it’s not Wesley.”

Similarly, United Methodists can find the “Rule of Life” attributed to Wesley in the lyrics of a hymn (Worship & Song, No. 3117): “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.” An earlier edition of Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations credited those words to Wesley, Cokesbury stores once sold a paperweight with a short version of the quotation, and many United Methodist pastors cite this as a favorite quote on their Facebook pages. But, Dr. Heitzenrater says there’s no evidence that Wesley wrote those words.

John Wesley never said that he burned all his sermons every seven years, nor did he write the “Three Simple Rules” or the Wesleyan Quadrilateral.

And the words of the “Wesley Grace,” which was once printed on the Methodist Women’s Society tea napkins—”Be Present at our table, Lord / Be here and everywhere adored / These favors bless and grant that we / May feast in fellowship with thee.”—may have been prayed by Wesley, but the blessing’s author was John Cennick, a Calvinist.

Pesky paraphrases

So how did Mr. Wesley get credit for so many words that he never said?

“Once [a passage] is misquoted and accepted, there’s a snowball effect,” said Geoffrey D. Klinger, associate professor of communication at DePauw University and a United Methodist. “People feel they can use that misrepresentation.”

The Rev. Kevin Watson, a theology instructor at Seattle Pacific University, noticed that when he identified a few of Wesley’s “misquotes” on his blog, deeply committed, a few visitors left harsh comments suggesting they didn’t welcome the factual clarification.

“That was the most surprising thing, how emotionally attached people were to some of Wesley’s misattributed quotes,” he said.

Dr. Jerry Tarver, professor of speech emeritus at the University of Richmond, says that misquotes may reflect an increasingly cavalier attitude toward accuracy in contemporary culture.

“While we recognize that defacing someone’s property clearly qualifies as a crime, defacing a line or stanza will bring social disapproval only in rare cases,” he said. “Preachers, politicians and business executives seem to feel that they are speaking for a great cause and the careless liberties they take with the words of others don’t matter much.”

In some cases, Wesley actually repeated the quote in question—but he was citing someone else. Wesley did say, “Once in seven years I burn all my sermons,” but he was quoting another preacher, and making the point that he did not agree.

Some famous Wesley “misquotes” are simply paraphrases of what Wesley actually said—a common source of error, according to the Rev. Brent Strawn, associate professor of Old Testament at Candler School of Theology and an ordained Church of Nazarene minister.
“Sometimes we put something in our own words, and it’s not malicious, it’s part of the way we appropriate things,” he said.

For example: Wesley is often quoted as saying “He may be as orthodox as the devil, and as wicked.” That’s a paraphrase of what Wesley actually said: “He may be almost as orthodox as the devil (though indeed not altogether; for every man errs in something, whereas we can’t well conceive him to hold an erroneous opinion) and may all the while be as great a stranger as he to the religion of the heart.”

Similarly, Wesley is often quoted as saying, “Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can.” The actual quote, however, is slightly different: “Having, First, gained all you can, and, Secondly, saved all you can, Then give all you can.”

In some cases, authors’ interpretations of Wesley’s work become popularly—and mistakenly—understood as Wesley’s own words. For example, the Three Simple Rules that appear in a book by the same name by Bishop Rueben Job (“Do no harm. Do good. Stay in love with God.”) have become part of the United Methodist lexicon. Many now assume that Wesley wrote them, but, while the first two are direct quotes, the third rule, “Stay in love with God,” is an interpretation of Wesley’s writing.

Similarly, the Wesleyan quadrilateral (reason, tradition, Scripture and experience) was not directly from John Wesley. It’s a synthesis of Wesley’s theology crafted by theologian Albert Outler. Not only did Wesley not produce the quadrilateral, scholars debate whether Wesley would entirely agree with it.

Dr. Strawn noted that some people think “Cleanliness is next to godliness” is in the Bible, but Wesley said it. It’s possible, though, that Wesley was repeating a common proverb. Francis Bacon may have said it first.

Internet follies

Wesley scholars agree that, when it comes to tracking down the authenticity of quotes, the Internet is both a fount of endless information as well as misinformation. When one website misquotes Wesley, others cut-and-paste and repeat the error.

For example: Do a Google search for “do all the good you can” and the first dozen or so hits will cite the quotation as coming from John Wesley. You’ll have to scroll down to the 14th hit—a Wikiquotes page on John Wesley—for the first hint that Wesley as the source is disputed.

Mr. Watson adds that Wesley left ample documentation of his words in letters, sermons and journals. “Historians do have a sense of what Wesley sounded like and how he communicated with people,” he said. Most historians would agree, for example, that the quote about setting oneself on fire with passion doesn’t sound like Wesley.

Finally, while Wesley did leave extensive written records—including his extensive journals, written in the code that Dr. Heitzenrater famously cracked—Dr. Ted Campbell, associate professor of church history at Perkins School of Theology, notes that historians can only make determinations based on available evidence.

“One of the grand dicta of historical study is, ‘You can’t prove a negative,’” he said. “You can’t prove that Wesley did not say something.”

Reliable sources

To check a quote for accuracy, Dr. Heitzenrater recommends a book, Wesley Quotations (The Scarecrow Press, 1990), by Betty M. Jarboe, a collection of quotes indexed by topic. “If it’s not in there, the chances are pretty good Wesley didn’t say it,” he says. (His book about Wesleyan quotations is two to three years away from publication.)

Another way of checking accuracy is to look for a citation (i.e. the letter, sermon or other document in which Wesley purportedly made the comment) and go to the source to check for accuracy. Many of Wesley’s writings are available online at www.umc.org.

“If a website doesn’t source the quote, to me, that’s a sign of unreliability,” says Jeffrey Rudy, a Ph.D. student in Wesleyan Studies and a member of Nicholasville (Ky.) United Methodist.

Dr. Heitzenrater cautions that even accurate quotes may be misinterpreted. He’s equally bugged when Wesley is cited correctly but out of context, such as Wesley’s declaration that he was “a man of one book.”

“We forget that the ‘man of one book’ in fact published hundreds and read thousands of books, and threatened to dismiss preachers who claimed that, as ‘men of one book,’ they read only the Bible,” he said.

Forgivable sins

Whether Wesley said them or not, some of these popular quotes are still worth repeating. Many are “citable as Methodist folk wisdom, even if wrongly attributed to Wesley,” according to Dr. Campbell.

“The sentiment ‘In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity’ is a thoroughly Methodist and Wesleyan concept,” he said, even though the original words are documented as the work of a Lutheran theologian.

Similarly, “‘Do all the good you can’ is a great example of Methodist folk wisdom, and to be commended as such, even if it was incorrectly attributed to Wesley,” he said.

But when attributing quotes to Wesley, accuracy is still important for United Methodists, Mr. Watson said.

“There’s a certain weight that comes from a Wesley saying,” he said. “If we’re going to give it that weight, we need to be accurate.”

Things Wesley DID say

1. The best of it all is, God is with us.

2. I am always in haste, but never in a hurry.

3. I look on all the world as my parish.

4. Beware you be not swallowed up in books!

5. Read the most useful books, and that regularly and constantly. Steadily spend all morning in this employ, or, at least five hours in four-and-twenty.

6. A Christian abhors sloth as much as drunkenness.

7. The more labor the more blessing.

8. Fervor for opinions is not Christian zeal.

9. Can anything but love beget love?

10. Do a little at a time that you may do the more.

11. I have often repented of judging too severely, but very seldom of being too merciful.

 

[Maid Marie]

Good stuff. I have often wondered about some "Wesley" quotes myself.

 

[Stefan P]

Very interesting, I didn't realise how attached people can be to attributing things to John Wesley that he never said. That said I do rather like this one:

Beware you be not swallowed up in books!

Something Wesley would probably admonish me for were he here to do so!

 

[GadFly]

Very interesting, I didn't realise how attached people can be to attributing things to John Wesley that he never said. That said I do rather like this one:

Something Wesley would probably admonish mboth interprette for were he here to do so!

It is understandable that all the early protestant leaders would be credited with many wise statements and sayings. Until Luther,Knox, Calvin and all the way to John Wesley, the new protestants had been starved from the hidden truths in the Scriptures. The Catholic churches had invented a strange and different Christianity during the Dark Ages that was not what the Christian's Scriptures taught. The Church had developed more along the lines of paganism than the teachings of Christ.
still
It was a new experience for Christians to have a private chance to interpret the Scriptures and it did take for protestants time to learn how to read the Bible and to recover from the silly pagan teachings of the Catholic Church. The recovery of the truth, was a real problem to Catholic authority, which resulted in the Council of Trent, which confirmed the Catholic Church's right to interpret and to alter the Scriptures. This is the right the Catholic Church still claims today.

By the time John Wesley arrived on the scene, many major trends in Protestantism were well established. Although he was never a Methodist, he must be credited with initiating the doctrine of personal holiness and sanctification in Christianity in the American culture. Where would Methodism be without Wesley's trend in interpreting the Scriptures without his never making an appearance on the American stage in history?

 

[Stefan P]

By the time John Wesley arrived on the scene, many major trends in Protestantism were well established. Although he was never a Methodist, he must be credited with initiating the doctrine of personal holiness and sanctification in Christianity in the American culture. Where would Methodism be without Wesley's trend in interpreting the Scriptures without his never making an appearance on the American stage in history?

Eh? Wesley was the founder of Methodism! Or have I stumbled into an area of controversy I never knew existed

 

[Redheadedstepchild]

Wesley never considered himself a Methodist though - he remained an Anglican.

 

[Stefan P]

Wesley never considered himself a Methodist though - he remained an Anglican.

Well that's a little unsettling. I will have a look into that tomorrow

 

[GadFly]

Eh? Wesley was the founder of Methodism! Or have I stumbled into an area of controversy I never knew existed

I was only agreeing with you and simply saying something very positive about Wesley and his contribution to Christian theology. I see no controversy here.

 

[Stefan P]

Oh I didn't read the most of your post that way, just the part about Wesley not being a Methodist. The rest of your post was great

It brought up Sola Scriptura in an oblique sort of way (the council of Trent) which is something else I have been reading plenty about. Being only a nominally baptised Catholic (a fact I didn't know until I was 38!) I had never heard the term and just assumed all churches based their theology purely on the bible. Very interesting subject indeed!

 

[GraceSeeker]

Eh? Wesley was the founder of Methodism! Or have I stumbled into an area of controversy I never knew existed

Wesley never considered himself a Methodist though - he remained an Anglican.

Right on both counts.

Today all the denominations with Methodist in their name (and quite a few others that don't have it) look back to Wesley as their forefather.

Wesley clearly did consider himself a "Methodist". After assuming leadership of the Holy Club the group began to be called a bunch of "methodists" by outsiders. And though it was a originally used as a term of derision, in time it would be worn proudly by those who were known as Methodists. Wesley would establish whole Methodist Societies -- groups of people within the Church of England organized according to principles that he set forth.

Wesley even wrote a tract "The Character of a Methodist" in which sets forth to clarify what is meant by the label "Methodist". On another occassion Wesley sought to give advice to the group that assembled under his direction "Cautions and Directions given to the Greatest Professors in the Methodist Societies.” So, again, I assert that Wesley did consider himself a Methodist. But we must realize that these Methodist Societies that he organized and provided leadership for were all organized within the Church of England.

However, from all that we can tell, Wesley never sought to found a new denomination called Methodists. Methodism was simply intended to be a revival movement within the existing church. It was with some hesitation that he would one day send Thomas Coke from England to America to serve as a General Superintendent of the Methodists there. He took the rather unorthodox step of ordaining him on his own authority and instructing him to do the same with Francis Asbury on his arrival in the new United States. Wesley had to have known that this step would result in the formation of a new Methodist Church in the new country that would be just as independent of the Church of England as the former colonies now were of the country of England. But he himself would never leave the Anglican Church.

 

[GraceSeeker]

Where would Methodism be without Wesley's trend in interpreting the Scriptures without his never making an appearance on the American stage in history?

I'm unclear.

Are saying that Wesley never made an appearance on the American stage?

Or

Are you asking where Methodism would be without Wesley having made an appearance on the American stage?

 

[Redheadedstepchild]

Right on both counts.

Today all the denominations with Methodist in their name (and quite a few others that don't have it) look back to Wesley as their forefather.

Wesley clearly did consider himself a "Methodist". After assuming leadership of the Holy Club the group began to be called a bunch of "methodists" by outsiders. And though it was a originally used as a term of derision, in time it would be worn proudly by those who were known as Methodists. Wesley would establish whole Methodist Societies -- groups of people within the Church of England organized according to principles that he set forth.

Wesley even wrote a tract "The Character of a Methodist" in which sets forth to clarify what is meant by the label "Methodist". On another occassion Wesley sought to give advice to the group that assembled under his direction "Cautions and Directions given to the Greatest Professors in the Methodist Societies.” So, again, I assert that Wesley did consider himself a Methodist. But we must realize that these Methodist Societies that he organized and provided leadership for were all organized within the Church of England.

However, from all that we can tell, Wesley never sought to found a new denomination called Methodists. Methodism was simply intended to be a revival movement within the existing church. It was with some hesitation that he would one day send Thomas Coke from England to America to serve as a General Superintendent of the Methodists there. He took the rather unorthodox step of ordaining him on his own authority and instructing him to do the same with Francis Asbury on his arrival in the new United States. Wesley had to have known that this step would result in the formation of a new Methodist Church in the new country that would be just as independent of the Church of England as the former colonies now were of the country of England. But he himself would never leave the Anglican Church.

The underlined is what I meant - that he didn't consider himself a Methodist as in a member of a new denomination with the same name. I should have been more clear.

 

[Stefan P]

The underlined is what I meant - that he didn't consider himself a Methodist as in a member of a new denomination with the same name. I should have been more clear.

Ah that makes perfect sense now. I see that Wesley remained very committed to the Anglican Church, and probably saw Methodism as a revivalist movement within that framework.

 

[GadFly]

I'm unclear.

A. Are saying that Wesley never made an appearance on the American stage?

Or

B. Are you asking where Methodism would be without Wesley having made an appearance on the American stage?

I am saying B.

 

[Stefan P]

If I can be so bold ... Methodism would be very much alive and well in the UK (where I live) even if Wesley had not gone to America. A more accurate question would be "Where would American Methodism be without Wesley having made an appearance on the American stage?"

That might be tougher to answer, as its my (limited) understanding that George Whitefield did far more to advance the movement in the US than Wesley did.

 

[Maid Marie]

That might be tougher to answer, as its my (limited) understanding that George Whitefield did far more to advance the movement in the US than Wesley did.

If my memory is correct, Whitefield once said that he needed Wesley to keep the Whitefield's new converts grounded and growing in Christ.

 

[GraceSeeker]

If I can be so bold ... Methodism would be very much alive and well in the UK (where I live) even if Wesley had not gone to America. A more accurate question would be "Where would American Methodism be without Wesley having made an appearance on the American stage?"


That might be tougher to answer, as its my (limited) understanding that George Whitefield did far more to advance the movement in the US than Wesley did.

Well, Wesley's visit to America was particularly nonproductive. He left here an abject failure as a missionary and in doubt of his own salvation. So, I'm not sure that his time in America did much to advance American Methodism.

About the only good that came out of his trip to America is the terror that he experienced on the voyage. Caught in the storm, fearing for his life, questioning his own salvation, and thus also fearing for his eternal soul Wesley witnessed the peace that seemed to be present in the midst of that storm of some of his fellow passengers, a group of Moravian. This question of how they could have such peace and apparent assurance in their own hearts while terror filled his gnawed at Wesley. It is that question that led him to be receptive to attend the meeting at Aldersgate Street, and it was there he felt his heart "strangely warmed." And the rest, as they say, is history.


So, I think it is safe to say that Wesley's appearance on the American stage did little for either American Methodism or British Methodism. But Welsey's voyage to America set the stage for the ultimate warming of a heart that would become a brand plucked from the burning igniting a revival across England that would even reach across oceans to take root in America as well. Neither country would be the same apart from that experience.

(Imagine, the terror of a strom at sea being an act of God's prevenient grace for two whole nations.)