Wesley’s Theological Beliefs/Aldersgate
Wesley is recorded in history to have experienced a great move of God and the Holy Spirit in his life while attending a prayer meeting on Aldersgate Street in London England. It is known that on May 24, 1738, John Wesley had a personal spiritual awakening. This experience is suggested that John had a New Birth Experience, as documented in his personal journal. Some denominations that have come from the original root of Methodism believe that night John was given a divine experience through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit as those of the Pentecostal faith believe this experience is believed by many to be the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Subsequently, “his preaching was especially effective with
…show more content…
Most of these ideals came at the foot of his parent’s teachings during the family worship time. However, the more vital and more involved parent, his mother, had the greatest influence. Hickman states: “John Wesley, unlike most eighteenth-century Anglicans strongly affirmed the prayer book ideal of the Lord’s Supper every Lord’s Day. He received communion on an average of twice a week throughout his adult life and declared in his sermon ‘The Duty of Constant Communion’ that it is the duty of every Christian to receive the Lord’s Supper as often as he …show more content…
Belief in the Father head of the Trinity, the virgin birth, Jesus’ death by crucifixion, and the bodily resurrection of Jesus is vital to the understanding of Wesley’s theology and the writings found in his sermons. Wesleyan Methodists take from this prayer the belief that the gathering of people for worship and learning, as stated in “the communion of saints” is vital to personal spiritual growth. Continuing in the prayer that states “the holy catholic church”, Wesley and many others believe that denominations are not important, rather, the fact that the church is universal. An excellent example of the church universal is found in “The term "catholic" (with a lowercase "c") does not refer to any specific denomination or group of Christians. The term comes from two Greek words that together mean ‘throughout the whole.’ This single word, ‘catholic,’ means throughout all time and places and also points to the essential unity or wholeness of the church in Christ.” This debate continues today between the protestant faith traditions and that found in the Roman Catholic