Wesley, and not being pigeon-holed

 I am just going to say this upfront I am not a pigeon-holed Christian that hate or accuse those from a different branch of thinking to be committing heresy.  That is not my right, only God gets to sit in judgment of other's actions and beliefs.  I find certain historical figures that were and are still influencing the direction of Christianity.  John Wesley is one of those I find fascinating.  If he saw what had become of his thinking in the form of systematic theology, Wesleyan theology, and the Methodists Churchs that claim his teachings as their found dogma, he would be shock and ashamed in large parts of it.

I do not believe in reading about him that he had the intention of his version of learning to study and understanding the Bible to be a theology.  As I understand him, he was writing both to a small elite group of theologians and trying to provide a way for the minimally educated churchgoers to be able to understand and appreciate the bible and learn both the words and the meaning. Let us all be honest.  Luther, Calvin, Arminius, and even Wesley were trying to find ways to give the common person to understand.  Most of those that attended were barely literate if at all.  The learned by memorizing text and scripture, but most did not understand.  They chose to believe what the Priest or clergy told them it meant.  All these theologians wanted that changed.   No one way was wrong.  The systematic way was a direction that felt a system would work better than the others.  In my opinion, it was all that was meant in the way it was done.

The problem with everything, and what we all face now, is that the original intentions are lost throughout time and sides are taken.  That is what I have encountered in just presenting a look at an important figure in the historical development of Christianity. Look how far we have strayed from what Christ was trying to do.  He just wanted to reform the Jewish belief and way of doing business.  He wanted to change his religion, not be the founder of another one.   He failed in his mission to reform but succeeded in finding another based on his teachings.   Instead of celebrating this, we all tend to fight over how to celebrate his teachings, each staking out our own beliefs as a territory and fighting against anything that is not the same.   Why can't we all just celebrate his coming, passing, and resurrection and not get tied down to a singular way to see it?  Just a question that vexes me.  

So when I am talking and researching Wesley, I am not trying to insult anyone or to tell you your belief is wrong.  I am celebrating just another way people have found to praise God and Jesus.  That's is all that is important.

Okay, Soapbox is done.