Methodism

This is very much more than an introduction to Methodism. Using considerable scholarship and a keen theological imagination, Abraham sets Methodism within a broader Christian framework. The result is an honest assessment of the development of Methodism; a penetrating assessment of contemporary Methodist churches; and suggestions for how a faithful Methodist tradition might live in apostolic faithfulness. * Gareth J. Powell, Wesley and Methodist Studies *Worldwide there have been many published assessments of Methodism some ancient, some modem - some critical, some romantic. I think I am aware of a good many of them. At last there comes a scorcher: Methodism: A Very Short Introduction by William J Abraham (Oxford University Press). The book loses nothing and gains everything for being in the celebrated OUP “A Very Short Introduction” series. * Norman Wallwork, Methodist Recorder *This very readable work is not only entertaining; it also succeeds in making Methodism accessible to both the scholar and the non-specialist. * Philipp Reisner, Reading Religion *Abraham’s Methodism offers some very helpful insights into the theological history and diversity of the Methodist movement and is therefore a worthwhile read for those interested in Methodist thought. * Christopher Corbin, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Anglican and Episcopal History *

William J. Abraham is the Albert Cook Outler Professor of Wesley Studies, and an Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas. He grew up in Methodism in Ireland, knows Methodism intimately in its diverse forms within the USA, and has had extensive experience of Methodism in Europe, Central America, and Malaysia. As a scholar he has worked as a philosophical and systematic theologian in conversation with the Methodist tradition from Wesley to the present. Aside from various papers on various historical aspects of Methodist theology, he has co-edited with James E. Kirby, The Oxford Handbook of Methodist Studies and written a popular introduction to the theology of John Wesley, Wesley for Armchair Theologians.