Wesley Corpus

Wesley Collected Works Vol 8

AuthorJohn Wesley
Typetreatise
YearNone
Passage IDjw-wesley-collected-works-vol-8-491
Words362
Catholic Spirit Universal Redemption Primitive Christianity
You say, “With regard to subtlety, evasion, and disguise, you now would have it thought, that you only found this ‘in many of them; not in all, nor in most.” (Page 80) “You now would have it thought !” Yes, and always, as well as now. For my original charge was, “I have found this in many of you; that is, much subtlety, much evasion and disguise.” (Vol. I. p. 327.) But you add, “Let the reader judge from the following passages, whether you did not charge the Mora vians in general with these crimes: ‘I had a long conference with those whom I esteem very highly in love; but I could not yet understand them in one point, Christian openness and plain ness of speech. They pleaded for such a reservedness and close ness of conversation. Yet I scarce know what to think, con sidering they had the practice of the whole Moravian Church on their side.” True, in pleading for such a reservedness of conversation as I could not in any wise approve of; but not in using much subtlety, much evasion and disguise: This I dare not charge on the whole Moravian Church. Those words also, “There is darkness and closeness in all their behaviour, and guile in almost all their words,” I spoke, not of all the Mora vians, nor of most ; but of those who were then in England. I could not speak it of them all; for I never found any guile in Christian David, Michael Linner, and many others. 6. “We are next to see how you get over the objection I made good, in three several particulars, that you have prepared the way for spreading of these tenets. The first you say nothing to here; the Second you quote very partially thus: “By coun tenancing and commending them.’ And why would you not add ‘And being the occasion of so many of them coming over among us?” Because I was not the occasion. I was in deed the first Englishman that ever was at Hernhuth. But before I was at Hernhuth, (I find on later inquiry,) the Count himself had been in England.