Wesley Corpus

The Friday following the full moon is the watch-night, the next Sunday but one the lovefeast. Pass smoothly over the perverseness of those you have to do with, and go straight forward. It's abundantly sufficient that you have the testimony of a good conscience toward God. - I am, with tender love to Betsy, dear Sammy, Yours affectionately. To Mary Bishop [17] LONDON, October 18, 1778. MY DEAR MISS BISHOP, - I am not unwilling to write to i you even upon a tender subject, because you will weigh the matter fairly. And if you have a little prepossession (which who has not), yet you are willing to give it up to reason. The original Methodists were all of the Church of England; and the more awakened they were, the more zealously they adhered to it in every point, both of doctrine and discipline. Hence we inserted in the first Rules of our Society, 'They that leave the Church leave us.' And this we did, not as a point of prudence, but a point of conscience. We believe it utterly unlawful to separate from the Church unless sinful terms of communion were imposed; just as did Mr. Philip Henry, [The favorite pupil of Busby at Westminster School preached as a Nonconformist 1672-81. See letter of June 14, 1786.] and most of those holy men that were contemporary with them. 'But the ministers of it do not preach the gospel.' Neither do the Independent or Anabaptist ministers. Calvinism is not the gospel; nay, it is farther from it than most of the sermons I hear at church. These are very frequently un-evangelical; but those are anti-evangelical. They are (to say no more) equally wrong; and they are far more dangerously wrong. Few of the Methodists are now in danger from imbibing error from the Church ministers; but they are in great danger of imbibing the grand error - Calvinism from the Dissenting ministers. Perhaps thousands have done it already, most of whom have drawn back to perdition. I see more instances of this than any one else can do; and on this ground also exhort all who would keep to the Methodists, and from Calvinism, 'Go to the church, and not to the meeting.'