Wesley Corpus

8. The account you give of the Moravians in general is the very same I had given before -- viz. that next to those of our own Church, ‘who have the faith and love which is among them, without those errors either of judgment or practice, the body of the Moravian Church, however mistaken some of them are, are in the main, all of whom I have seen, the best Christians in the world.’ In the same tract I sum up my latest judgment concerning them in these terms: ‘I believe they love the Lord Jesus in sincerity and have a measure of the mind that was in Him. And I am in great earnest when I declare once more, that I have a deep, abiding conviction by how many degrees the good which is among them overbalances the evil,[I speak of the simple and artless part of their congregations; as for the teachers in their Church, it is my solemn belief (I speak it with grief and reluctance) that they are no better than a kind of Protestant Jesuits (Wesley). See letter of Feb. 2, 1745, sect. I. 12.] and that I cannot speak of them but with tender affection, were it only for the benefits I have received from them; and that at this hour I desire union with them (were those stumbling-blocks once put away which have hitherto made that desire ineffectual) above all things under heaven.’ 9. In what respects the Brethren are Antinomians, in what sense they lean to Quietism, I have spoken at large. If they can refute the charge, I shall rejoice more than if I had gained great spoils. My brother, I heartily wish both you and them the genuine, open gospel simplicity; that you may always use that artless plainness of speech in which you once excelled; and that by manifestation of the truth you may commend yourself to every man's conscience in the sight of God. -- I am Your affectionate brother. To Joseph Cownley [6] BRISTOL, September 20, 1746.