Customer Reviews

Grace and Responsibility: A Wesleyan Theology for Today

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Cobb, John B., Jr. Grace & Responsibility: A Wesleyan Theology for Today. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995.

Cobb writes from the perspective that because our current situation is very different from the culture that John Wesley lived in, much of what Wesley taught is no longer useable for today's United Methodist. Cobb recognizes the lack of a unified sense of identity among United Methodists and suggests that a clarified role in the mission of the church must be preceded by a unified theology. He attempts to come to terms with the theological heritage from Wesley by reappraising his work and finding relevance of Wesleyan thought for the contemporary world.

It appears to me that the reviews below are not representative of all who have read this fine work. While this is not Cobb's best book by any stretch, he does a fine job showing how his process hermeneutic applies to Wesleyan theology. Ask any ten Methodists what it means to be Wesleyan, and you'll likely get several different answers. Cobb finds a way to discern a unifying strand in the possible answers and points it toward mission and practice.

With Cobb, what you see is what you get. When his theology has weak spots, he is the first to admit it. What I find in this book is an intellectually honest, faithful, and meaningful approach to what Wesleyanism and how it can be lived out in our current cultural context. Strongly recommended.

John Cobb presents us with an update, modern concept of what Wesley might have thought theologically today. He gives us some possible ways to further the theology of Wesley by being Wesleyan ourselves. I found the book very illuminating, interesting, and helpful in my own studies of John Wesley. Enjoyed it very much. Thank you.

J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"

Cobb's book is an excellent interpretation for our context of what it means to follow Wesley, indirectly (and sometimes directly) addressing the basic question of how one follows a tradition in a new time and place that is so very different than that of its original founder. (Lutherans seeking to interpret Luther, and Calvinists seeking to interpret Calvin, would be other Protestant instances of this task.) For example, Wesley was a political "conservative" who supported Tory politics; but, in the economic issues of his day, wherein Whig ("liberal") politics supported complete open-market economic theory that hurt the working poor, Wesley was a Tory precisely because of his support for the poor over and against complete open-market theory. This would make Wesley a "liberal" in current day American politics.

Cobb's book does not purport to be a United Methodist theology, but rather, as the book's subtitle says, "A Wesleyan Theology for Today." Note the indefinite article "A." Cobb recognizes, as do all of us who write historical theology as our profession, that such a task is interpretative, as is all our theology. Cobb does an excellent task of interpreting Wesley for our context, even if others might disagree; and, this book has proved quite useful in graduate courses that I have taught on Wesley's theology.

John Cobb notes that much of what John Wesley addressed in his writing was situational in nature, and that Wesley's theology needs to be 'made relevant' if it is to be useful today. From this starting point, Cobb writes an interesting theological commentary with a 'Wesleyanist' slant. His ideas are useful, and sometimes profound. But they are not essentially faithful to Wesley. Indeed, they are so far removed from Wesley as to make it appear that John Wesley simply provides a scarcely related background to Cobb's own theological discourse. In some ways, it is not unlike hearing a sermon that ignores the text that is being preached.

Ultimately, I think one's comfort or discomfort with Cobb's attempt will be shaped by whether or not the reader agrees with the claim that Wesley's theology is too particular to his own time to be relevant today. For my part, I think there is much in Wesley that is still relevant. I therefore disagree with Cobb's premise.

Nevertheless, this book IS worth reading, and no student of contemporary Methodism should be unfamiliar with it.

Cobb is a process theologian trying to communicate to the reader how Wesley's theology can be relevent today. He's not in his area of specialization in this book and doesn't seem to really want to carry on. I expect that Cobb knows of what he speaks, but the book is burdened with academic language and, in my opinion, missed opportunities at connecting Wesleyen tradition to today. As a well-educated reader with a keen interest in Christianity's search for relevence in today's world, even I had trouble slogging through this one. Your experience may be better than mine, but I would recommend this one only reluctantly. Not an old book, but seems dated.