Wesley Corpus

If John Jones, [To assist Wesley in administering the Lord’s Supper, John Jones in 1764 was ordained by Erasmus, Bishop of Arcadia in Crete, and afterwards by the Bishop of London. See Wesley’s Veterans vi. 32; and letter of March 1, 1764.] my brothel or any other preacher has preached sharply on this head, I certainly am a stranger to it, and therefore not answerable for it. I persecute no man on this account, or any other; and yet I cannot consent that any of our lay preachers should either preach predestination or administer the sacraments to those who are under my care. But is it immoral It is immoral to think, speak, or act contrary to the love which ‘thinketh no evil.’ Now, of this both Charles and you are palpably guilty in thinking the body of the Methodists (either preachers or people) are fallen from the simplicity and uprightness of the gospel. Whatever seven or eight of the preachers may be who have warmly debated this point with you, whatever two or three hundred of the people may be who have been hurt by the disputants on either side, the main body of the Methodists never were more simple or upright than at this day. Therefore your thinking so ill of both preachers and people is a manifest breach of the law of love. And whoever is or is not fallen from the spirit of the gospel, it is certain you are for one. But after all this pother, what is the persecution concerning which you make so loud an outcry Why, some of our lay preachers did what we thought was both ill in itself and likely to do much harm among the people. Of this, complaint was made to me. And what did I do Did I expel those preachers out of our community Not so. Did I forbid them to preach any more Not so neither. Did I degrade them from itinerant to local preachers Net so much as this. I told them I thought the thing was wrong and would do hurt, and therefore advised them to do it no more. Certainly this is a new species of persecution! I cannot but think you might as well call it murder.