Talk:Christian perfection

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[edit] Perfectionism?

How does this doctrine differ from the "Perfectionism" commonly associated with Charles Finney? Is it in that Christians under his scheme cannot sin and remain a Christian? --Flex June 29, 2005 12:48 (UTC)

To answer my own question, I consulted this assessment, which was an external link under Finney's page:

Finney's perfectionism was excluded outright from the New School Presbyterian community, and tolerated at the margins of the Congregational community. The situation with the Methodists is more muddled and confusing than it is with the two Calvinist denominations. Here Finney played an important role in encouraging a trend that had begun before Finney; but it is also true the intellectual influences between Finney's perfectionism and Methodism worked both ways, with Finney deriving much of his inspiration from the Methodist tradition.

The Methodist perfectionist tradition could be traced back to the John Wesley; and it has been ably chronicled by other historians, most effectively by John L. Peters. (25) The Wesleyan tradition of perfection (or entire sanctification, or holiness) rested upon the belief that God might grant a second blessing to members of His Church, and thus it had some important variations from Finney's emphasis upon perfect obedience as a requirement of God's law.

Although a part of the Methodist heritage, this aspect of their theology received comparatively little attention during the opening decades of the nineteenth century. In his superb recent study of American Methodism, John H. Wigger notes that Wesley's ideas of entire sanctification received a diminished emphasis in America. During the 1830s, however, the holiness movement gained new importance, led by the remarkably energetic lay woman, Phoebe Palmer. For the remainder of the nineteenth century, the holiness movements attracted an important, but not unanimous following among the various Methodist denominations. It also led to several schisms, especially after the Civil War.(26)

Finney's role in the Methodist perfectionist movement could be described as both influenced by and influencing the Methodists. For all of his protestations of originality, there is little doubt that either Finney or Mahan would have conceived of a perfectionist theology without the influence of the Methodist tradition. In return, Finney, and the Oberlin faculty, gave further stimulation to the holiness movements with American and British Methodism. As Peters has pointed out Finney's endorsement of Perfection was welcomed by many within the Methodist community.(27)

Nevertheless, it must be remembered that the resurgence in Perfectionism began independently of Finney. Moreover, important Methodists, such as George Peck, editor of the Methodist Quarterly Review and a leading promoter of holiness, asserted that Finney's emphasis upon legal obedience differentiated him from the Methodists. Finney responded by confirming that his theology differed from the Methodists. "I [Finney] had known considerable [sic] of the view of sanctification entertained by our Methodist brethren, but as their view of sanctification seemed to me to relate almost altogether to the states of the sensibility ... I could not receive their teaching." (28)

--Flex June 29, 2005 13:17 (UTC)

Flex: Here is a good place to look for a basic overview of Christian perfection according to John Wesley. It's important to note that "perfection" as taught by Wesley and "mainstream Methodism" is not completely synonomous with "entire sanctification" as taught by the Holiness branch of Methodism (which, while without question Wesleyan, was heavily influenced by John Fletcher). Methodists view it more as a process; Holiness folks view it as a crisis. Finney's version of perfection came later, and doesn't really factor in to the Methodist understanding of the doctrine... but he sure upset a whole lot of Presbyterians/Calvinists with his take! KHM03 29 June 2005 13:36 (UTC)