Politics Strangely Warmed: Political Theology in the Wesleyan Spirit

For centuries Christians have wrestled with how to witness faithfully to the peaceable kingdom of God while also living as citizens within an earthly nation-state. Differing theological traditions have offered wide-ranging contributions to the field of political theology yet the Wesleyan tradition has too often remained largely silent. In this volume Coates turns to two key figures within his own Wesleyan tradition--John Wesley and B. T. Roberts--in order to construct a distinctively Wesleyan political theology. He argues that embedded within Wesleys theology were the seeds of a radically people-centered egalitarian politic despite the fact that Wesley himself never fully realized these implications himself. Ultimately however the populism of B. T. Roberts and his work to organize the Farmers Alliance of the late-nineteenth century would come to represent one concrete historical manifestation of Wesleys theology in the public sphere. Here is a book not merely for academics interested in the Wesleyan tradition or political theology but also for all followers of Christ who desire to see the church model the ethic of Christ before the worldly powers in the midst of this saeculum. In this book Greg Coates examines John Wesleys understandings of the image of God and its consequences for political action and the way in which one American Methodist B. T. Roberts followed them to a more consistent and helpful political praxis than Wesley himself did. He argues persuasively that Roberts assuming Wesleyan commitments to the poor holistic salvation and a biblical eschatology offers a framework for political and social engagement that promises freedom from the current false ideological alternatives we often face. It is a discussion that remains faithful to the scriptural story read and lived in the light of tradition experience and reason. I commend it to all seeking to navigate through the electoral wildernesses around us. --David W. Kendall Bishop Free Methodist Church Indianapolis IN Coates undertakes informed yet critical engagement with the central founding figures of his Free Methodist tradition in seeking theological grounding and orientation for political engagement today. Thereby he not only establishes himself as an emerging voice in his field but models contextualized theological reflection for contemporary Christian life. --Randy L. Maddox William Kellon Quick Professor of Wesleyan and Methodist Studies Duke Divinity School Durham NC Coates is an important new voice in Wesleyan Studies. His critical inquiry and appreciation for nuance allow him to breathe new life into well-worn Wesleyan ground as well as to offer welcome insights by including Wesleys American Holiness heirs in his search for a Wesleyan political theology. Alongside of this solid scholarship Coates wants to give readers a way to put his ideas into practice. This book is a go-to resource for students of Wesley and for all Methodists who want to discern what their denominational heritage teaches about how they can engage faithfully in politics. --Mark R. Teasdale E. Stanley Jones Associate Professor of Evangelism Doctor of Ministry Program Director Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary Evanston IL Gregory R. Coates an ordained elder in the Free Methodist Church is a graduate of Asbury Theological Seminary (MDiv) and Duke Divinity School (ThM). He is currently a PhD student at Garrett-Evangelical Seminary in Evanston IL. He is married to Courtney C. Coates a far better writer than himself.