Active Faith: Resisting 4 Dangerous Ideologies with the Wesleyan Way

by Paul Wesley Chilcote

Overview

Christians are invited to practice the way of Jesus by engaging in four formative practices representing central themes of the Wesleyan way: humility, hospitality, healing, and holiness. These four practices function as counterpoints to four growing dangers based on fear in the contemporary church and in society:



1. Christian fundamentalism

2. Nationalism

3. Dispensationalism

4. Antinomianism.



Each of the four practices is an antidote related to the quest for a particular virtue as well, namely, truth, joy, peace, and love in resistance to these dangerous movements.



Each of the four chapters discusses the relationship of these practices to scripture, identifying a signature biblical text or story related to each. They introduce the reader to a spiritual mentor who can help them understand and embrace the practice more fully. They describe contemporary forms of Christianity that distort or compromise our received faith tradition, directing their attention to a contemporary issue in which these distortions figure prominently and in which a progressive Wesleyan perspective offers an alternative vision of Christian authenticity. Finally, the chapters offer guidance showing how readers can engage in these practices on a very practical level.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781791001728
Publisher:	Abingdon Press
Publication date:	10/01/2019
Pages:	112
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Paul W. Chilcote is a retired United Methodist elder and professor of historical theology and Wesleyan studies who has taught on three continents. An award-winning author, he has published nearly thirty books, including Praying in the Wesleyan Spirit, A Faith That Sings, and Recapturing the Wesleys' Vision. He is a Benedictine Oblate of Mount Angel Abbey in Saint Benedictine, Oregon.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Prologue: Practicing a Way Forward Together xiii

Chapter 1 Truth and the Practice of Humility 1

Resisting Fundamentalism

Chapter 2 Joy and the Practice of Hospitality 21

Resisting Nationalism

Chapter 3 Peace and the Practice of Healing 39

Resisting Dispensationalism

Chapter 4 Love and the Practice of Holiness 57

Resisting Antinomianism

Epilogue: A Progressive Wesleyan Declaration 75

Appendix A A Word to Progressive Wesleyan Christians 77

Appendix B An Olive Branch Extended 81

For Further Reading 83

Notes 87