John Wesley's Scriptural Christianity

Rating:
Summary: A real time saver
Review: In the introduction of this work, Oden is careful to distinguish his efforts from those of Outler. Oden notes that he is primarily a systematic theologian and that Outler was primarily a historical theologian. Hence, Oden writes, "My method is primarily systematic, Outler's historical." The bottom line for the reader is that you can either pick and read through Wesley's works trying to remember where he addressed certain subjects or you can pick up a copy of this book. Throughout this effort, Oden quotes from and abstracts-in contemporary prose-Wesley's writings subject by subject and then orders it all in a systematic fashion proving the overall consistency, width and depth of the material Wesley covered throughout his lifetime. In addition, Oden heavily references each subject and topic so that you can then read the context from the material he drew from. Of further interest, Oden offers suggested reading should a topic peak the readers interest to the point that they would like to learn more from other Christian thinkers. At the back of the book Oden provides both Scripture and subject indexes. Hands down this is an invaluable reference for topical Wesleyan studies and it is the closest you'll come to a systematic theology written by Wesley himself.

Rating:
Summary: One of the finest books in Wesleyan scholarship
Review: This book is a must read reference for any Methodist or Holiness pastor whose tradition values what John Wesley has wrote. Thomas C. Oden gives a Biblical framework for what Wesley wrote in a manner that is far easier to deal with than Wesley's journals.

Rating:
Summary: An Interesting Idea
Review: Thomas Oden offers the reader a systematic theology based on the writings of John Wesley. The problem is that Wesley was not a systematic theologian, at least that is the common perception. Most students, myself included, consider Calvin to be systematic and Wesley to grow and change ideas as he aged. Oden challenges this assumption in this excellent text on the subject. Read the book and decide for yourself if you agree with Oden or popular opinion. By the way, Oden is the perfect person to tackle this topic. He is a Professor of Theology and Ethics at Drew University. His Ph.D. is from Yale. He knows his subject.

WARNING: This text examines a narrow subject. Unless you have some grasp of Wesleyan theology or an interest in the beliefs of Methodism you may have trouble digesting this book.